When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances

Rating:
Summary: Class and Dignity
Review: My Husband and I had the good fortune to meet Gene and Carol when they were Youth Ministers at our small Baptist Church in Newaygo Mi. We spent many enjoyable times with them. They were so much fun, the type of people that leave a lasting impression on you. Carol's beautiful smile, Gene with that twinkle in his eye, are a wonderful Christian couple !
When we heard about Jason, our hearts ached for them...we knew that they would handle this tragedy with all the class and dignity they could, with the Lord's help. I was very anxious to read Carol's book and see how they were doing. The book reinforced for me that their tremendous faith would see them thru and open new doors.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Every Woman!
Review: Carol Kent endured a terrible tragedy, but her friends, husband and her God surrounded her with encouragement and strength. The book is short enough to read in one sitting, but so meaningful that you will want to linger over it. There are also discussion questions at the end of each chapter. There are also private journal entries from Carol's husband, which can help men who are grieving. Most helpful to me were the examples Carol gave of how her friends cared for her; no one is ever prepared for a tragedy but this book will teach you how to respond when one does come.

Rating:
Summary: Comforting the comfortable
Review: Carol Kent is an excellent writer who understands the power of story and emotion. This book's subtitle that includes the words "unthinkable circumstances" is the first indicator though of what I find troubling about the book and why I would suggest it to others only selectively. The Kents have obviously been through hell and back--but it is not the uniqueness of their situation, being one up on suffering over everyone else, which is how Mrs. Kent sometimes sounds, that qualifies her to write the book. The agony is unmistakeable, tangible, and the reader feels for this good family who we believe somehow, deserved better...don't all parents who do their best deserve the best behavior in their children? It's what we believe--and this is the fallacy that the Kents can so honestly address and almost do from time to time. But, the average reader who is not already approaching the book with a strong faith will feel more guilt than comfort. More faith...more faith...more and more and more...and then it will all be well. Not exactly, faith does not keep the worst, whatever that might be for any family or person, from happening. There is a gentle brilliance to the book, but it is not enough to divert attention from what doesn't exactly ring true to human experience. The chapter titled "Why Didn't God do Something" for example, it offers no answer to the question, only reassurances that God cares. Yes, we know. But sometimes the pain is so huge that we can't get away from the question and God's caring doesn't feel like enough. When someone cares and has the power to change something but chooses not to, isn't that a kind of meanness? No, she can't possibly offer a reasonable response to the charge--but she tries so hard that it's almost heart-breaking. There seems to be little room for mystery in the realm of the faith portrayed in these pages.

Rating:
Summary: A fine writer and excellent book
Review: Carol Kent is an excellent writer, she is, a writer's writer in fact. This book has left her dangling as a target for those who like to take pot shots at others. I admire her courage for writing the book. It's really absurd for anyone to believe the Kents are hauling in a boatload of money because of this book. That's not the reality in Christian publishing. No one is getting rich from anyone else's suffering. But, Mrs. Kent is a writer and she certainly has earned the right to make a living as a writer because she is skilled and gifted. Such a writer, we only hope, will be able to earn a fair recompense for their work. A good writer has a responsibility to so frame her work that it is meaningful for the reader and not simply the telling of their own experience. With her usual skill Carol Kent has done so again. This book is worth reading. It is memorable and well-written.

Rating:
Summary: Help and Hope
Review: Carol Kent not only shares her inexpressible pain over the sudden change/loss in her life due to her only child's arrest for murder, she also takes time to encourage her readers to look into their own lives for the Isaac they may need to lay down--or to reflect on the one they already have. I was brought to tears as I read about her suffering--always shared in a noble and authentic way--so like the Carol I have heard speak and teach. I was able to ponder my own loss, the Isaac that I was called to lay down 25 years ago. A new level of inner healing occurred. I recommend this book to everyone and anyone who is ready for God's mercy and comfort in the midst of sorrow.

Rating:
Summary: A Love Giving, Mind Altering, Life Changing Book
Review: I bought this book on a Thursday morning and could hardly put it down until I finished it within a handful of days. It is the story of the author's son murdering another man and God's work throughout a life shattering tragedy. God's timing for having me read it was incredible. Perhaps it is your time to read this story. Carol Kent's writing of her family's true life tragedy manages to express both gut wrenching raw honesty with promises of hope and God's true love conquering all. Conquering ALL- rarely can we speak in absolutes and yet Carol's dependence on her Lord reminds us that God's love conquers ALL. Like me, you will be grateful for the gift of her writing and the courage she displays in sharing her family's horrific yet tender story.

Rating:
Summary: A Love Giving, Mind Altering, Life Changing Book
Review: I bought this book on a Thursday morning and finished it within a handful of days. It is the story of the author's son murdering another man and God's work throughout this life shattering tragedy. God's timing for having me read it was incredible. Perhaps it is your time to read this book.

Carol Kent's writing of her family's true life tragedy manages to express both gutwrenching raw honesty with promises of hope and God's true love conquering all. Conquering ALL- rarely can we speak in absolutes and yet she reminds us that God's love conquers ALL. Like me, you will be grateful for the gift of her writing and the courage she displays in sharing her family's story.





Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I have always had the greatest amount of sympathy for the Kent family, and, at times, for Jason as well. That said, as a friend of Doug Miller (the murder victim) I find it inappropriate that the Kent family is now profitting from this tragedy. Through much soul searching I have forgiven Jason and am fully aware that he acted on information that was false, inflammatory and designed to encourage him to commit a murder. I even, at times, feel sorry for him. I know one day he will realize how he was manipulated and he'll then have to face that he is spending his entire life in jail over a lie. I cannot comprehend what the Kent family has gone through knowing that their only child is in jail. I do understand that they are wanting to tell their story in the hopes of helping others. If that is the case, they should do so in their personal ministry or do something to honor Doug. Do not do so by profitting with this story. Doug's death should not be a means for the Kent's personal prosperity.

Rating:
Summary: National Coverage
Review: I read When I Lay My Isaac Down and was absolutely amazed at not only the story but also the help it gave me in my every day life. I recommended it to everyone I know, and then I saw the author, Carol Kent, on MSNBC last night. She reminded me of the power of her story and message and, in turn, I wanted to remind all the women out there: read this book!

Rating:
Summary: A book about surrender, and the lessons it can teach
Review: In some theoretical realm we all know that life can change drastically in an instant --- a slip on the ice, a freak accident. But most white-collar, suburban churchgoers do not expect the message that Carol Kent and her husband received in October 1999, just a few weeks after she had mused, "Does life get any better than this?" (Their careers --- directing a national Christian speakers' bureau --- were on track. Their only son --- an earnest Christian, a navy lieutenant --- was married and the stepfather to two young daughters, whom they enjoyed grandparenting.) The devastating news? That their son, Jason, was in jail, charged with the first-degree murder of his wife's ex-husband --- a crime witnessed by several bystanders. With this as the book's setting, you quickly understand the subtitle "Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances."

As may be obvious, the book's title is drawn from the biblical story of Abraham, who was willing to give up all claim to his son Isaac. It is a book about surrender and the paradoxical lessons it can teach. "There is hidden power in our unthinkable circumstances," she says. Subtitles of the eight chapters outline the journey: "The Power of Unthinkable Circumstances;...of Relinquishment;...of Heartache;...of Community;... of Hope;...of Faith;...of Joy;...of Speaking Up."

The narrative, which includes quotes from journals of Carol and her husband, draws the reader into the depths of parental wipeout but without dragging the reader through detailed specifics of the author's own circumstance. It is, at the same time, a very personal and yet impersonal story. You "see" emotion and spiritual process and growth more than you "see" Jason or the courtroom, for example; in some ways Jason is representative of any "heart sacrifice," any relinquished dream. (Unlike Abraham, the Kents have seen no miraculous and evident "deliverance." Jason is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.) "When we release our grasp...It's an act of trusting God when we cannot envision a positive outcome. But in the end, it's the only thing that works."

Carol's spiritual discussion in some chapters is supplemented by anecdotes tracing other people's faith journeys: a woman hearing that a husband has sexually abused a daughter, a single man losing the love of his life. The copyright page says some of these are "true to life" and included with permission; others are "composites of real situations." This disclaimer made it hard for me to endow a few compelling anecdotes with real-character authenticity.

Because of their nationwide ministry, the Kents have been "upheld" by a network of supportive "stretcher bearers" who have girded them in ways that may be enviable to the average reader. But I encourage the average reader to set aside that distinction and walk this journey alongside the author, who dares through darkness to hope in God's redemptive purposes --- some of which she can identify by the end of the book: "If [we] had never endured unthinkable circumstances, we might not have understood the pain of brokenness.... If there had been 'a lamb in the thicket' for our family, we wouldn't have launched Speak Up for Hope," a new prison-related ministry. "If life hadn't held unspeakable tragedy, we never would have been the recipients of such extravagant love."

Each chapter ends with questions that help the reader process personal pain. To her credit, at the end of the book, Carol goes out of her way to establish that her pain is not necessarily greater than that of other people's losses. "We don't need a meter to tell us which pain hurts the most. All of our heartaches produce great sadness, and telling our stories to each other brings a release, a comfort, and the knowledge that somebody cares." Most of all, she's newly aware of the love of God. "I know He loves me more than I love my 'Isaac.'"

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence