Book Review - The Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances by Andy Andrews
Category Book Review Andy Andrews The Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances
Andy Andrews is a master at telling stories that weave principles into the narrative. His latest book, The Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances, is no different. He takes a true story that he experienced, and shows how anger can destroy a life and how forgiveness can set that life free.
Andrews discovered a buried "treasure" while trying to remove a tree from his property. It was a can that contained a family picture, some buttons, a ring, and a medal that traced back to the German submarine corps from World War II. Given that this was found on the Gulf coast in Alabama, it did present a real mystery as to how it got there. He starts to talk with some of the older people in the community, those who would have been around during the war. What he learns is a surprise to him. The Germans were active in the Gulf with their U-Boats, sinking cargo ships to disrupt the American war effort. But much of this was hushed up by the government to prevent a loss of morale by those at home. This explains how a submariner might have been present in Alabama, but what was the story behind the picture? Andrews finally finds a couple that remember certain incidents at the time, and they tell him a tale of lost love and hate. But through forgiveness and understanding, hate is soon replaced by love and freedom from a self-imposed prison.
Even if you aren't interested in the principle angle of the book, the story is still fascinating. The first question that almost everyone asks him (and it would have been my primary question also) is "this is true?" He explains it as "yes, for the most part." Before you start to think it's fabricated, it's not. It's just that he's changed locations and names as the primary players are still alive. The experiences and general events *did* happen, and it's due to forgiveness that all things worked out as they did.
The Heart Mender is an excellent read, both for the example of how forgiveness can heal, and for the story of survival during war time in an unfamiliar country.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free
Andy Andrews is a master at telling stories that weave principles into the narrative. His latest book, The Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances, is no different. He takes a true story that he experienced, and shows how anger can destroy a life and how forgiveness can set that life free.
Andrews discovered a buried "treasure" while trying to remove a tree from his property. It was a can that contained a family picture, some buttons, a ring, and a medal that traced back to the German submarine corps from World War II. Given that this was found on the Gulf coast in Alabama, it did present a real mystery as to how it got there. He starts to talk with some of the older people in the community, those who would have been around during the war. What he learns is a surprise to him. The Germans were active in the Gulf with their U-Boats, sinking cargo ships to disrupt the American war effort. But much of this was hushed up by the government to prevent a loss of morale by those at home. This explains how a submariner might have been present in Alabama, but what was the story behind the picture? Andrews finally finds a couple that remember certain incidents at the time, and they tell him a tale of lost love and hate. But through forgiveness and understanding, hate is soon replaced by love and freedom from a self-imposed prison.
Even if you aren't interested in the principle angle of the book, the story is still fascinating. The first question that almost everyone asks him (and it would have been my primary question also) is "this is true?" He explains it as "yes, for the most part." Before you start to think it's fabricated, it's not. It's just that he's changed locations and names as the primary players are still alive. The experiences and general events *did* happen, and it's due to forgiveness that all things worked out as they did.
The Heart Mender is an excellent read, both for the example of how forgiveness can heal, and for the story of survival during war time in an unfamiliar country.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free
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