The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippetts

A young mother battling cancer invites readers to embrace grace in every season of life.

"I never expected to be sitting on my daughter's bed with the sinking feeling her mama was going to die of cancer and not of old age. This is my own testimony of what is broken and ugly being made right and redeemed. The brokenness of today causes us to look at hope for tomorrow."

While her story includes a long battle with cancer, The Hardest Peace holds wisdom for all who have met what Tippetts calls the "hard edges" of life. Whether it's a marriage you didn't expect to fall apart, a job you thought you'd never lose or a rebellious child, everyone will come face to face with at least one of these moments.

This is an amazing book about Tippetts' journey to finding the hardest peace, the peace in the midst of hard. She was raised and bruised by her father's anger. As a teen she escaped into beer, pot and relationships. She met Jesus her senior year and Jason as a camp counselor. It has been sixteen years of marriage with four wonderful children.

She tells her story in a compelling way. A church difficulty, moving to Colorado

for a church plant, their home in the path of a forest fire, then finding the lump in her breast. Headaches, an MRI indicating the cancer had entered her brain.

Tippets writes as a broken person, realizing that brokenness may be her greatest strength. “In the depths of my illness,” she writes, “I have been able to set aside my striving and look for God's presence in my suffering. My season of weakness has taught me the joy of receiving, the strength of brokenness, and the importance of looking for God in each moment.”

“This is not the story I had planned,” Tippetts writes. Perhaps you are living (or have lived) a story you didn't plan. See below how you can share your story.

I am taking part in a blog tour of this book. You can read other reviews here.

Read stories others have shared on Tagboard.

Kara Tippetts and her husband, Jason, have four children and lead a church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Cancer is only part of Kara’s story. Her real fight is to truly live while facing a crushing reality. She blogs faithfully at http://mundanefaithfulness.com/.

David C Cook, 183 pages. You can buy a copy here.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the Litfuse Publicity Group for the purpose of an independent and honest review.