Saturday, October 15, 2016

Wrapped in God's Grace by Barbara Bras GIVEAWAY

Enter the Giveaway at the end of this post.
This is a memoir different from any I have read before. It is more like three vignettes, two about the author's life and a third about her grandparents.

The first vignette covers a recent sixteen year period and tells of how she and her husband had been waiting for seven years to have a child. At thirty five years old, she fell into despair. And then there was an adoption that healed her heart. She did not realize that there would be difficulties and challenges. At fifty one years old, she realizes her fifteen year old son is heading toward prison. She is trusting God will save her son from himself.

The middle vignette is about her grandparents, survivors of the atrocities in Armenia in 1915. We read of families forced marched by Turkish soldiers. Bras's grandmother lost her own mother during the march then ended up in an orphanage. Bras's grandfather had been sent to South America and then returned to fight for his native country. He managed to find his surviving female cousin and they made their way to America where they married.

The third vignette takes us back to Bras growing up in the 1950s. She tells of breaking her engagement, failing at college and dropping out, going with some fellows to Wyoming, coming back home pregnant, marriage and divorce, getting a teaching degree, and dating. It wasn't until she surrendered her will to God that her life turned out better than she could have ever imagined.

Bras does a good job creating readable accounts of her experiences and that of her grandparents. She has added dialog and action, making the stories very interesting. The order of the stories is unusual. We first read of recent events leading up to the present. Next we go back two generations. The final story goes back to Bras's teen and young adult years. I would have preferred the stories to have been in chronological order.

As is sometimes the case with memoirs, there is an emphasis on her disobedient years and actions. In the end, however, we are reminded of God's grace and how He provided for her. I would have preferred fewer boyfriend stories and more about God's grace and mercy.

I am taking part in a blog tour of this book. You can find links to other reviews and a guest post from the author here.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Barbara Bras has written her memoir to show the amazing way God has blessed her. She has also written a novel that was recently released. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. You can find out more at http://authorbbras.com/.

Everlasting Arms LLC, 150 pages. You can purchase a copy here.



I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review.

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