This Is a Story About God: The True Account of Two Men, an Impossible Surgery and the God of the Universe

A liver transplant reinforces the faith of pastor David Nash and those around him

In her first book in five years, Kiemel (I'm out to change the world) tells the story of God's providence in healing her cousin David Nash. Kiemel had a front row seat to observe the struggle of Nash and his family as he awaited a liver transplant. Kiemel depicts the exasperation and depression that Nash, an ordained minister, experienced. She reports that, in the midst of his illness, Nash came to believe that God wanted him to be less self-absorbed and to start sharing God's love with other patients. So Nash began to pray for others, including the potential liver donor, Serafino, and his family. As Kiemel intertwines Serafino's story with Nash's story, she discerns God's gracious love at work in both Nash's new lease on life and Serafino's death (reserving the upper case for God). "i can only tell you how I see it. that in a Holy God's arrangement, we all have a time for joy and a time for tears. in a Holy God's scheme of things, our days are numbered. but counted carefully. lovingly... david would carry the liver of serafino. and every time he touched another with God's grace and love, serafino was a part...." Kiemel's writing is lyrical and engaging, but her conception of God's providence ultimately seems too simplistic and her argument for its existence relies too much on sentiment and too little on rigor.

Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Every once in a great while, a truly special book comes along, and this is such a one. Writing in fictional form, Anderson tells the inspirational true story of David Nash, who was still a young man when diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. With his only hope for survival a liver transplant, David, a minister, firmly believes God will save him. As he waits and waits for a liver to become available, he grows closer to God. Though at times losing patience, David never forgets that God has a plan for him. A lyrical and eloquent celebration of life, this book from inspirational author Anderson (First Love, Wolgemuth and Hyatt, 1991) is a brilliant portrait of a man's strong faith. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.