Review of Growing Through the Storm

[Oyedeji Okikioluwa]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Growing Through the Storm" by Sheila Malsam.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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What happens when life seems to take a travailing route no matter how hard it is avoided? Do you throw in the towel or find it as an opportunity to grow and learn? In Sheila Malsam's 234-page Growing through the Storm, the author shares the stormy contentions of her marital journeys and uncovers the art of learning from tedious challenges.

Born and raised in a Christian home in South Dakota, the author enjoyed the countryside and its charms. She delved actively into farm duties even as the last child of ten siblings and grew up to be part of the community. During college, she met and fell in love with Brad. When he proposed after college, she accepted despite some certain reservations she held. As the next stage of life began for the two of them, life took a sharp turn, and things grew awry. After fourteen years of struggling with this haze, the author left the marriage with two children, Eric and Jenna. Ready to commit to love again, things fall apart within three years, and the author can't help but question life. Would she ever find the love she sought? Read to find out more.

Sheila Malsam shared her story with raw openness and genuineness of intentions; it draws the reader in. She barely sugarcoats and drives the narrative from an unbiased perspective. The title is very fitting to the book's contents, as each turn brought some amount of growth to the author's life. The brazen situations she went through also serve as educative life lessons to readers and teach some major life lessons.

I commend the honesty of the author's emotions. She wasn't one to play down her true intentions and feelings. She was quite candid. I also noticed the unique personality of the author. She didn't bash the characters of the men despite their shortcomings but just stated the reasons behind their fallout with a concise statement of their role. It was a very intriguing, curious, and thought-provoking act for me. It was a delightful experience to read this book. I felt I had watched Eric and Jenna grow and felt very attached and adamant about letting them go. My favorite scene was when Jenna was leaving for college, and Dan assured her that her mother would be well taken care of. It was a very emotional scene for me.

There is nothing I dislike in this book. The book is exceptionally well edited, as I did not observe any errors in it. Therefore, I rate Growing through the Storm 4 out of 4 stars.

I recommend this book to readers going through a hard time in life and wondering when the storm will be over. I believe such readers would find this book a worthwhile read about overcoming life's problems and learning to trust God in all situations.

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Growing Through the Storm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Patty Allread]

This book sounds like an inspiring story, and I like the cover art, which certainly depicts the book's theme. I admire the author's ability to see life's disappointments as an opportunity to grow.

[Margi zuu202]

So often we think God dosent hear us during our struggle when we cryout to him like many often praying and not getting responses ..nice book well written and reviewed BOTD congratulations