Mommy Brain

(Divine by Karen Kingsbury was provided to me free of charge by Active Christian Media, who received it from the publisher for the purpose of being reviewed.)

Divine is not an easy book to read. I’ve read most of Karen Kingsbury’s books, and I thought I knew what to expect. She deals with very real issues in her books: cancer, adultery, adoption, premarital sex. And I always cry when I read her books. I also get jealous and a little skeptical at the way God seems to speak to her characters and wonder why He doesn’t speak to me that way. But that’s another topic for another time.

I couldn’t put this book down. It is a modern-day Mary Magdalene story. In place of the seven demons that Jesus delivered Mary of Magdala from, Ms. Kingsbury uses abuses and bondages that her main character, Mary Madison, is delivered from.

The childhood abuse and terror Mary is subjected to are terrible. The author deals with them in a realistic way without going into details that would be too much. But reading this story and knowing that there are children out there suffering abuses like this broke my heart.

I was also very glad that she doesn’t make light of the ongoing consequences and damage resulting from abuse and destructive choices. She doesn’t say, “And then she got saved and POOF all her problems went away.” The fact that God uses our past to teach and mold us and to minister to others is realistically presented.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book. Just make sure you have lots of time to read and plenty of Kleenex on hand.