Quadriplegic since age 17, Joni Tada is famous around the world as an author, singer, painter, speaker, radio and TV host, and advocate for the handicapped. She holds six honorary doctorates. Her husband Ken is famous as... well, Joni's husband. Marriage is always tough, but the marriage of a severely disabled and incredibly popular, gifted woman to a pretty much ordinary guy is bound to have extra challenges. Ken and Joni open up in this book with remarkable transparency about how their marriage eroded, and about how God intervened to reconnect them better even than they started.
The writing is delicious. Joni is a good author in her own right, but it seems that Larry Libby gave the work some extra touches that make it read almost like a novel. The skillful use of flashbacks, third-person perspective, and simply exquisite flashes of English keep this book stuck in your hands. For example, where an average author might have said, "The weather was gorgeous", they write, "It was one of those days when a person could reflect on the multiple millions of people crowded into Southern California and say, 'I get it.'"
My only concern with the book is that Ken credits John Eldredge's Wild at Heart with helping their marriage. The problems in Eldredge's theology of masculinity have been well documented by others. I'm thankful that Ken received help from Eldredge, but I wish it had been from a more biblical source, such as Stuart Scott's The Exemplary Husband or even Doug Wilson's Father Hunger.
But still, the book is well worth reading; an encouraging glimpse into how Jesus' power to sustain a marriage is greater than all the combined forces of hell, cosmos, and flesh to tear it apart. Watch the trailer too.
Note: I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for writing a review. My review was not required to be positive.
Dear Daniel,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I would love to have this for my reading as well. Once again thanks for sharing the good resource.
In Him,
Janak