3 out of 4 stars
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The Transformation Of A Lost Soul by Forrest J. Beverly is a magnificent book telling the story of author’s life. This autobiography can also be called a bildungsroman because this is a story of formation and transformation.
This is a well formatted book which is divided into four parts: Where It All Started, My College Years, DAE (Drug Enforcement Administration) Years, and The Transformation.
In the first part, ‘Where It All Started’, Forrest J. Beverly talks about his childhood and his early education at school. He shares with us his tough childhood in which he suffered from verbal abuse and physical abuse by his father and hunger. Being a black person he faces racism throughout his life.
During his hard life God helped him in different ways. He was blessed with a great mother. Mr. Style, his math teacher and band director at school, also proved to be a godsend for him who helped him learn and play music. With his support he became a good little flute player at the age of 10. His journey as a saxophone player started from playing in a small combo and then he became member of very successful bands, and had more opportunities to flourish when he went to college. However, Going to college and pursuing his studies at Florida A&M University was not something easy. He had no idea what he was going to do about room and board expenses and tuition fee. But God helped him in ways he had never thought of.
After his graduation he started working in DAE as a special agent and worked undercover. He played music as a sideline. When he was charged with perjury, he faced a really hard time. Winning the case was a matter of life and death for him because for an agent of law enforcement agency guilty verdict mostly proved to be a death sentence as they either ended up getting badly hurt or killed in the prison.
In the last part, ‘The Transformation’, the writer shares his feelings about God. Throughout his life he felt that God was never with him when he needed him the most until, after being at a very low point in his life after the death of his two dear friends, he asked Him for guidance. It was then that he started to realize that He was with him all the time.
I really enjoyed reading this book as it is a rich store of amazing anecdotes about Beverly’s different periods of life. He has related many interesting and heart-touching events when he was helped by someone or he helped others. Some amusing events from his childhood and college life made me smile. This book maintains a very good balance, it can make you laugh and it can have you crying as well.
I loved reading it also because it made me aware that everyone is tested by the trials and tribulations of life. However, God gives us strengths and skills to overcome difficulties and provides help to us in different forms to get through it. Beverly’s transformation is an opportunity for us to look at our lives from a different angle. We need to carefully see the works of God in our lives rather than considering them coincidences, as Beverly says: “But if you were to examine these coincidences, there are far too many, and the time period in which they happened far too great, to just be coincidental.” Imagery in the book was awesome, I felt like being there with Beverly witnessing every event of his life.
Generally speaking, this book is for everyone because it is about life, its hardships and hidden surprises. However, I would specifically recommend it to those who are interested in reading non-fictional stories about real-life people. It is also for those who seek spiritual transformation.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It is a great book but there are some grammatical mistakes, such as ungrammatical switches between present and past tenses in the clauses, use of singular verb with plural noun, etc. One of the recurring mistakes is the use of ‘this time’ instead of ‘that time’ while referring to a past event. Most of the mistakes are of such a kind that they can easily be overlooked while speaking but I think they may not be acceptable in writing. Besides, I wish Beverly had told us more about his family life, wife and children.
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The Transformation of a Lost Soul
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