Books I Read in 2019

I was able to start this book on vacation last year. :)

Here is the list of books I read in 2019. I had started this list of descriptions and had almost completed it by Jan. 1 when I had originally planned to post it. But then I just couldn’t—sometimes when you’re grieving, everything else seems meaningless. It felt inauthentic to post something that didn’t relate to David and my experience of grieving for him during this time. 

Even as I was writing the descriptions in this list, it became emotional for me because I see them as two different groups: 1) the books I read before David died, and 2) the books I read after David died. There are a few books on this list that I was in the middle of reading during the days right before his death, and it was a long time before I could pick them up again because they remind me that I had no idea that I was about to lose my brother. In one of them I even found a prayer that I had written for his surgery days before he went into the hospital, and it’s still just really hard.

But this week I decided that I did want to go ahead and post this because each of these books have been a gift of encouragement and/or enlightenment to me. I want to remember that God gave me these books in this season, and I want to share them with others so they can decide if they want to read them too.

Earlier this year I decided to subscribe to the Audible app, which means that I can choose one new audio book to download each month. For me, this has been a great fit because I drive so much, and I like to listen to books in the car. I have found that I don’t like listening to research type of books because they lose my attention if I’m not looking at the words. But I especially love listening to memoirs that are narrated by the author (instead of another person) because when I hear the author’s voice reading the words, it seems more heartfelt. I have marked which books I listened to on Audible.

1. Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive & Foster Parents by Melissa Corkum & Lisa Qualls 
    I loved this little book. Each day’s devotional is written by a different adoptive or foster parent. They share verses that have meant a lot to them in their adoptive/fostering journey. It was really encouraging to me, so I ordered it to give to a few friends who are adoptive & foster parents. 

2. Alongside: Loving Teenagers with the Gospel by Drew Hill 
    I want to buy this for all my friends who are teachers in middle schools and high schools. Technically, it’s written for parents and youth pastors of teenagers. This was good for me to read when I felt frustrated as a parent! I liked the prayers at the end of each chapter.

3. Remember God by Annie Downs (AUDIO)
    I’ve followed this author for several years, and it was good to hear the life lessons she shares in this book. It’s a memoir, but it held my attention like a novel. Among a lot of other things like work and losses, Annie discusses singleness in her late thirties.     
4. Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I was, and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry (AUDIO)
    This author fascinates me. I think I listened to this all in one weekend because I kept wanting to hear more. This is her personal story of coming to know Jesus and trusting Him with every aspect of her life. I encourage everyone to hear her story. And if you’re on Instagram, you should follow her because her videos of her husband and daughters are hilarious.

5. Psalms of Ascents by Beth Moore 
    I love the book of Psalms, and this Bible study focuses on Psalms 120-135. Beth Moore describes how the Israelites would sing these psalms together as they made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem each year. I loved the history and studying the meaning of each psalm. 

6. Where the River Ends by Charles Martin 
    I want to read more by this author. This book is fiction, and he has published a lot of fictional books. This was not suspenseful, but it was very good.    

7. Job: A Story of Unlikely Joy by Lisa Harper 
    This is an easy read for a bible study on the book of Job. It meant a lot to me as I studied it in my time of grief this summer.

8. The Book of Comforts by Faires, Faires, Wenet, and Wilder
    My friend gave me this book after my brother’s death. It is a beautiful devotional book. I sat on my porch a lot this summer, reading the short stories. It’s not specifically for grieving deaths—although there are stories of people grieving—but it’s also about finding comfort in God through the various hard disappointments and losses in life. It’s a great gift for someone who is going through a difficult season. 

9. Psalm 23: The Shepherd with Me by Jennifer Rothschild 
    I’m so thankful for this book. After my brother died, I felt God drawing me in to learn more deeply about Him in Psalm 23. God was stirring this in my heart, and I watched a video study on RightNow Media on Psalm 23 by Matt Chandler. Then I heard about Jennifer Rothschild’s book on Psalm 23 and decided to order it. I loved it. I worked through the lessons slowly because I didn’t want it to end.  

10. The Complicated Heart: Loving Even When It Hurts by Sarah Mae (AUDIO)
    This is a beautifully written, heart-wrenching, but redemptive and hopeful story of Sarah Mae’s relationship with her alcoholic mother. She describes her experiences as a teenager living with her mother and how her mother’s alcoholism hindered her mother’s ability to parent and nurture her. Sarah explores how living with the pain of her “mother wound” affected her in her adulthood and how she sought healing from it. At the end of each chapter, Sarah includes portions of her mother’s journals to show a window into her mother’s pain and perspective. Sarah’s mother passed away in 2016, and she shares how God helped bring restoration to their relationship in their last years together. 
    This book contains some of the tragic realities of their life. Sarah Mae does a good job of handling these parts of the story sensitively.

11. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (AUDIO)
    I was hooked on this book. It’s the true story of a young attorney who decides to represent prisoners on death row who have been convicted unjustly. There is a movie coming out on this book, and there is no way the movie will be as good as the book. This would be a perfect book for a book club because it made me want to talk to everyone about the stories in this book!

12. The Bible Experience: A Dramatic Audio Bible Performed by 400 of Today’s Biggest Stars (AUDIO)
    I know there are a lot of great ways to listen to the Bible, and this might not be the easiest way because the individual books are not clearly marked. But I do enjoy this version!

13. Start with Amen: How I Learned to Surrender by Keeping the End in Mind by Beth Guckenberger
    I heard Beth speak at a conference I went to in March. She and her husband founded Back to Back Ministries, which ministers to orphans in several countries. Between biological, foster, and adopted children, they have raised 10 kids. I loved listening to her and was eager to begin reading her books. I really enjoyed this book, which shared her journey of faith in parenting and ministry in Mexico. I have to say that I almost love hearing her speak even better and would recommend listening to a few of her messages on youtube: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34kGsGeRmqI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghztXSebdx8

14. Grief Share: Your Journey from Mourning to Joy
     My family and I have together gone through the workbook and video series of Grief Share. It as been a helpful tool in giving us understanding of the complex emotions we feel in losing David. It was important for us to talk about these things together, and I'm so glad we have had this resource.

15. Something Needs to Change: A Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need by David Platt (AUDIO)
     In this book, David Platt tells about his trip to villages in the Himalayan Mountains. I have never studied this region or heard firsthand accounts of conditions from this area, so I was really intrigued to hear the details of his trip. He was very moved and overwhelmed by all the urgent physical and spiritual needs. He is honest with the despair he felt in witnessing this, but he also shares how he plans to respond.