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4 out of 4 stars
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It's amazing how God revealed Himself and His love in Fatima's life. Having grown up in a staunch Buddhist family, an encounter with Jesus seemed an impossibility. A rough experience with two churches would have sealed that fate, but God continually implored her concerning His love. Life was never favorable to the author in many ways. She grew up in a broken family, suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her stepdad, was heartbroken severally by the very boyfriend she trusted, suffered domestic violence in her marriage—which later led to a divorce, and suffered the pain of losing a child and bearing a child suffering from sickle cell. Even within these distracting boulders, God still had His way of revealing to the author who He was and who she was. Follow the author's life journey in The Prescription Is In The Dirt by Fatima C. Oliver.
The overall experience of reading this book was amazing—in fact, this is an understatement. I enjoyed the author's honest recount of her life and learned so much from it. It was painful to see some of the predicaments she went through, but the realization that she was able to bear it all with God's help is enough consolation. Even though she sometimes sank into insecurities, uncertainties, guilt, and doubt, she was still able to find her identity in the end. It is wonderful how she managed to find hope even in the most unpleasant situations.
I felt heartbroken when she recounted the distress and breakdown she underwent after losing her first child, Kiara, to complications of premature birth. I'm not a woman and perhaps can't relate to situations around pregnancy and giving birth, but I admit that I felt her pain after losing Kiara. She expressed the experience in a way that gripped my innermost sympathy. Reading how she cried bitterly, asking God why it was all happening, always smelling the blanket Kiara was wrapped with the five hours she had been alive for countless times, and the trauma she endured was just too emotive to bear.
There are many things worth noting in this book, but I will only give my views on domestic violence for the sake of brevity. I understand that having grown up in a dysfunctional family, where love and being understood were nonexistent, Fatima was not mentally strong to confront the very man (Alan) that gave her exactly that for the first time. However, no amount of love, romance or who-knows-what will ever justify abuse. This should be a lesson that nobody should keep up with abuse no matter the circumstances or what everyone else says.
There's nothing I disliked about this book, so I'll give it a 4 out of 4. This, I must confess, is among the few books I am giving a perfect rating because of the impact it has had on me and not by considering the technicalities of its quality or whether I enjoyed the book. The love and intention of God in our lives are prominent in this book, which was another wonderful takeaway. The book is professionally edited, but there are a few instances of sentence fragments.
This book is perfect for Christian readers looking for self-identity and purpose in their lives. Nonbelievers can also read it—if they don't mind the unfamiliar Bible verses and Christian-centered narration.
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The Prescription Is In The Dirt
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