Joel

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Uplifting
Review: I differ with another reviewer in that I was not bothered by passive voice nor the occasional personal aside. Joel's book gave me an incredibly authentic view of what it is like to live in America with a highly visible disability. His expression of his equal discomfort with the extreme reactions of both pity and hero-worship was very eye-opening. His faith in God is clearly what helped him through his challenges and gave purpose to his life. I began the book thinking that it would have been better had Joel been allowed to die at the scene of the accident. By the middle of the book, I came to see that his life, while having tragic aspects, was not the tragedy that his loss would have been. A fascinating read, but keep a few tissues nearby in the early chapters!

Rating:
Summary: A great book, but different than readers might expect
Review: I expected to write a glowing review of this book. However, I wanted to share that I was a bit disappointed in a couple things.

Many sentences begin with the word "and," "so," or "but," and the passive verb "was" is very overused. These are a definite no-no for professionally-published books that the co-writer should have edited out to make for better reading.

Nit-picking aside, the main disappointment with the book is that I expected it to be about how Joel dealt with being different, followed by practical applications on how readers could apply these truths to their own lives. Although we get snippets of this in several passages (p. 203), the book is mostly an autobiography of someone trying to live as normal a life as possible, without any practical advice for readers. Page 195, for example, contains a paragraph that is a list of 19 names of friends. Although this paragraph has a lot of significance to the writer, it doesn't to readers. A lot of the stories relayed in this book may have a similar effect: they are important to Joel, his friends, and family, but how do they apply to me as a reader?

Joel does not give readers any advice on how to get through difficult times; he does not directly speak to readers and let them know that they can apply what he learned through his story to their own lives. He does say how he makes it, which is through his faith and his very supportive family. People who are disabled and do not have supportive families may wonder, then, how they will get through. Readers would probably like to know: What else got Joel through? What did he learn along the way? How can God use us despite (and because of) our differences? What can we do when we feel different from the rest of the world? Are there any coping strategies he has learned? How might others, who are going through much lesser difficulties than him, get by?

The four-star rating may seem contradictory since my review may come across as negative. However, I do not want to dissuade people from reading this book. Joel Sonnenberg's life story is incredible and inspirational. Just go into reading the book knowing that it will read more like an autobiography than an autobiography/devotional/self-help mix. It was not what I expected, but it is still a book about someone you need to "meet."

Perhaps this book will have a sequel that will address questions readers may still have about how they can apply Joel Sonnenberg's inspirational story to their own lives. If so, I'll be waiting for it! :)

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful book, highly recommended!
Review: I got the book, read half, and my wife asked if she could "take a look at it." She read it in one night and loved it. Then my assistant grabbed it from me, and now she won't give it up! All of us agree that this is a wonderful book about winning through hard times. Highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Courage
Review: I read this book in a week. It was so inspirational, challenging, and encouraging all in the same time. Joel didn't let any of his disfigurements keep him limited. If only we would do the same. I have many people waiting in line to read this book and hope they'll purchase their own copies for their libraries. It's amazing. I even taught from it this week at the college I work at.