3 out of 4 stars
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Confessions of the Heart is an enlightening book by Canaa L. Lee and is written in hopes that her story will help others understand their need for the Savior.
The book is a collection of poems and letters written by the author in addition to a few narratives recounting her transformation from being a woman of the world to being a woman of God. The poems depict her emotions about certain people and issues including the bitterness and anger she felt towards her father, her feelings about racial discrimination, and her portrayal of what and how a man should be. The letters are addressed to various people that played significant roles in her life like her father, her mother, her sister, a friend, the pastor who was instrumental to her conversion, and a man she met on a Singles cruise.
The author tells about the unpleasant treatment she received from her father, the criticisms, the insults and the name-callings, and how no matter how well she did in school she just could not make him proud of her. This issue with her father, which started when she was young, strongly affected her relationship with the men she dated as an adult. But most importantly, it hindered her relationship with God. Her father’s death changed something in her and made her reevaluate herself. She realized what really matters the most, not money nor career, but getting married, establishing a family and a better relationship with God.
The best part of the book, for me, is the apparent passion and enthusiasm of the author not only to her mission of reaching out to people to share the good news but to Jesus Christ, the Savior, himself. Her conviction is awe-inspiring and her intensity is captivating. Her letters convey messages of love, forgiveness and hope of salvation through Christ Jesus.
However, though her messages are apparently written with the best of intentions, other readers may find them overzealous, preachy and even, at some points, judgmental. Moreover, the book may sound more like a collection of sermons than ‘an intimate account’ of her life as the author states in the introduction of the book and the purpose of which is to evangelize and not simply to share her story.
Furthermore, the description of her father is, somehow, ambiguous and so is the description of her relationship with him. Though the author mentions ‘criticisms, insults and name-calling’ the book lacks any detailed account of a specific incident to warrant the pain and bitterness she describes, and that makes it difficult for the readers to connect with the author, empathize with her, and understand the resentment she felt towards her father. Finally, there are too many noticeable errors within the entire book like incorrect usage (like claimed instead of claiming) and mostly typos including missing words, repeated words and wrong use of words.
I, therefore, rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to readers who enjoy Christian books. They may find it inspiring and enlightening.
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Confessions of the Heart
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