Review by Erika Storbeck -- Chronicles Journey Toward Hope
1 posts
[Following is a volunteer review of "Chronicles Journey Toward Hope" by Marvin Wilmes.]
Marvin Wilmes, the author, and main character in this book, Chronicles: Journey toward hope, shares with us some events from his life. Throughout his life, starting as the oldest child in quite a normal and stable, but big family, Marvin shares with us the physical, but more, the emotional events as he experienced each one of them. The age gap between him and the other siblings, creates a unique relationship between them, as the younger children always looked up to him for guidance and care. Always being the older brother, unknowingly put a level of strain on Marvin, for, as a young adult, he was called home to take care of the household and his siblings when his mother became ill with cancer. Seeing her health deteriorate, and knowing she would never recover, was hard on the family, but with young Marvin taking care of the family, and his father taking care of the farm, they managed to do it. After her death in 1984, Marvin continued with his life, but could not get over his mother’s death. It becomes clear that he valued his mother’s approval and support deeply. Being a teenager, and into adolescence, there had been some changes in his life – leaving school, military service, and going to college. Through all this, he always had the sense of security and comfort of a home and family to go back to. After his mom’s passing, he became an emotional drifter, to quote his word, “Unplugged” as he so appropriately named Chapter 1. This book is a reality, a life, lived to the full, with ups, downs, and the don’t-knows, of happy and sad, depression and joy, all mixed together in a “Journey toward hope”. It shows the importance of faith, loyalty, dedication, and support,
At the beginning of each chapter, you will find a Quote, a Bible verse, and a short message as introduction to that specific chapter. I have never seen this method of writing, but it is a very good creative idea, by an excellent writer, and something every reader should keep close to their hearts in our own lives. Marvin makes no secret of his Christianity throughout the whole book, but he never tries to persuade anybody into his religion, or any church.
My only difficulty while reading this book, was that during the first chapters, the author, uses extremely long sentences, which is indicative of his emotions bubbling out, as it happens to most people suffering from depression (once you start talking, everything spills out), which I can understand and respect, but I found it confusing as I could not figure out a timeline of events. He jumps from one thing to the next in the blink of an eye, being career changes, leaving school, flunking out of college, and then mentioning he is a college graduate, etc. When I chose the book, being chronicles, I was not expecting a history lesson, but something that starts at a beginning, develops to a purpose, before leading to an ending, a full story of someone’s life.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Some people are reluctant to choose chronicles as their choice of reading material, but I can assure you, that during the reading of this book, I did not experience one boring moment. As a matter of fact, the story is fast flowing, realistic and to the point. The author is factual, and honest. He uses a mixture of physical events and emotions in such a fine balanced way, that readers can easily associate with his circumstances. The grammar and spelling are excellent, and although I would like to suggest the use of a comma more often in the first chapters, just to separate individual thoughts, I have to compliment the professionalism of the entire book
Chronicles: Journey toward hope, is exactly that. I don’t even want to call it a book, I experienced it as Marvin Wilmes telling me the story of his life, as if in the same room with him. All of us grow up, enter into adulthood, and live our lives, but not all of us suffer the losses Marvin did at a tender age. Being an introvert, he did not even realise that he was suffering of depression, until he suffered even more losses. Feeling each loss intensely, he continued developing in his relationship with God, not allowing any events to interfere in that relationship. Even when it was difficult to stick with decisions he had made, he kept praying and going on with life, giving his utmost best. I recommend this journey to anybody who needs inspiration, or just someone who can understand them. It is a great example of faith, hope, perseverance, loyalty and support.
******
Chronicles Journey Toward Hope
View: on Bookshelves |
Marvin Wilmes, the author, and main character in this book, Chronicles: Journey toward hope, shares with us some events from his life. Throughout his life, starting as the oldest child in quite a normal and stable, but big family, Marvin shares with us the physical, but more, the emotional events as he experienced each one of them. The age gap between him and the other siblings, creates a unique relationship between them, as the younger children always looked up to him for guidance and care. Always being the older brother, unknowingly put a level of strain on Marvin, for, as a young adult, he was called home to take care of the household and his siblings when his mother became ill with cancer. Seeing her health deteriorate, and knowing she would never recover, was hard on the family, but with young Marvin taking care of the family, and his father taking care of the farm, they managed to do it. After her death in 1984, Marvin continued with his life, but could not get over his mother’s death. It becomes clear that he valued his mother’s approval and support deeply. Being a teenager, and into adolescence, there had been some changes in his life – leaving school, military service, and going to college. Through all this, he always had the sense of security and comfort of a home and family to go back to. After his mom’s passing, he became an emotional drifter, to quote his word, “Unplugged” as he so appropriately named Chapter 1. This book is a reality, a life, lived to the full, with ups, downs, and the don’t-knows, of happy and sad, depression and joy, all mixed together in a “Journey toward hope”. It shows the importance of faith, loyalty, dedication, and support,
At the beginning of each chapter, you will find a Quote, a Bible verse, and a short message as introduction to that specific chapter. I have never seen this method of writing, but it is a very good creative idea, by an excellent writer, and something every reader should keep close to their hearts in our own lives. Marvin makes no secret of his Christianity throughout the whole book, but he never tries to persuade anybody into his religion, or any church.
My only difficulty while reading this book, was that during the first chapters, the author, uses extremely long sentences, which is indicative of his emotions bubbling out, as it happens to most people suffering from depression (once you start talking, everything spills out), which I can understand and respect, but I found it confusing as I could not figure out a timeline of events. He jumps from one thing to the next in the blink of an eye, being career changes, leaving school, flunking out of college, and then mentioning he is a college graduate, etc. When I chose the book, being chronicles, I was not expecting a history lesson, but something that starts at a beginning, develops to a purpose, before leading to an ending, a full story of someone’s life.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Some people are reluctant to choose chronicles as their choice of reading material, but I can assure you, that during the reading of this book, I did not experience one boring moment. As a matter of fact, the story is fast flowing, realistic and to the point. The author is factual, and honest. He uses a mixture of physical events and emotions in such a fine balanced way, that readers can easily associate with his circumstances. The grammar and spelling are excellent, and although I would like to suggest the use of a comma more often in the first chapters, just to separate individual thoughts, I have to compliment the professionalism of the entire book
Chronicles: Journey toward hope, is exactly that. I don’t even want to call it a book, I experienced it as Marvin Wilmes telling me the story of his life, as if in the same room with him. All of us grow up, enter into adulthood, and live our lives, but not all of us suffer the losses Marvin did at a tender age. Being an introvert, he did not even realise that he was suffering of depression, until he suffered even more losses. Feeling each loss intensely, he continued developing in his relationship with God, not allowing any events to interfere in that relationship. Even when it was difficult to stick with decisions he had made, he kept praying and going on with life, giving his utmost best. I recommend this journey to anybody who needs inspiration, or just someone who can understand them. It is a great example of faith, hope, perseverance, loyalty and support.
******
Chronicles Journey Toward Hope
View: on Bookshelves |
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