Book Review: Clear Winter Nights by Trevin Wax
Chris Walker seemingly had it all: fresh out of college, engaged to the perfect girl, business opportunity lined up, team member of a church plant, then some family secrets came out at his beloved grandmother's funeral and everything fell down around him. He had been entertaining some doubts already about his faith in God and the religious culture he had been raised up in, but when his foundation crumbled beneath him he knew he had some serious thinking to do. At the same time, his grandfather needs his help for a few days and the opportunity to have some time away from things looks like a great idea. Little does Chris know that as much as he needs some uplifting during this time of his life, so does his grandfather who is recovering from a recent stroke.
Having grown up in church and being raised by a Christian mom and Grandmother, I completely relate to Chris' crisis of faith. My husband and I were also youth leaders in our local church and walked many teens and their parents through this rite of passage time and time again. Growing up means looking at things through your own eyes, and more often than not things aren't as pretty as you thought they were. There is nothing wrong with asking questions for yourself. Wax states, "You're asking big questions and wrestling with important things, and there's no shame in that. You want to own your own faith, not satisfied to go through the motions of a faith you've inherited."
In this book, Chris' grandfather has his own issues that he is working through and I enjoyed his point of view as well. As young people, we somehow buy into the misconception that our elders are supposed to have it all together. This book provided an accurate glimpse into the battle that every Christian wages with in his or her own mind and provides hope that answers can be obtained.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Listen to a podcast from the author here.
Having grown up in church and being raised by a Christian mom and Grandmother, I completely relate to Chris' crisis of faith. My husband and I were also youth leaders in our local church and walked many teens and their parents through this rite of passage time and time again. Growing up means looking at things through your own eyes, and more often than not things aren't as pretty as you thought they were. There is nothing wrong with asking questions for yourself. Wax states, "You're asking big questions and wrestling with important things, and there's no shame in that. You want to own your own faith, not satisfied to go through the motions of a faith you've inherited."
In this book, Chris' grandfather has his own issues that he is working through and I enjoyed his point of view as well. As young people, we somehow buy into the misconception that our elders are supposed to have it all together. This book provided an accurate glimpse into the battle that every Christian wages with in his or her own mind and provides hope that answers can be obtained.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Listen to a podcast from the author here.
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