I am not sure how or when I discovered Emily’s blog. All I know for certain is her writing struck a cord deep in my soul.
Then I read a novel written by her, A Promise In Pieces, which I loved and I was all in – wanting to read anything Emily would write. So I pre-ordered her memoir, Atlas Girl: Finding Home In The Last Place I Thought To Look and waited a very long time for it to arrive in my mailbox. A very long time.
It was worth the wait!
This is a memoir and so much more. From the first page, Emily weaves a story, her story, much the way a novel would read. It is full of emotions with rich details which draw you in immediately. I fell in love with each of the persons mentioned in this book. Emily’s honesty is raw as she shares painful experiences, breaking open her doubts, her anger and her faith.
This book is a journal of her travels, not only to foreign lands but of her journey with God.
It is a journey not of just survival but of overcoming in spite of the odds.
It is a love story weaving together the love of a man and a woman who were committed to make their relationship work. It is the love story of a daughter and her parents. It is a love story of a fragile woman and her God. And it is real.
My heart skipped a beat as I realized my husband and I were in Japan and China at the same time as Emily, visiting many of the same sights. I cried as she shared of her miscarriage and subsequent surgeries to rid her body of precancerous cells as it brought back my own memories. And I rejoiced as I fully identified with her words, “This is marriage; to be stronger, when the other is weak.”
Atlas Girl is a book about travel but more so, it is a book which demonstrates the lengths our God will travel to come after us, pursuing us in order to bring us back home to Him. And all the proceeds from this book go towards funding The Lulu Tree, a ministry “dedicated to preventing tomorrow’s orphans by equipping today’s mothers”, in Uganda.
This book is highly recommended and truly is a must read!
The book is available today. I want to urge you to order and read the book for two reasonsĆĀ – the book will greatly impact your life and it will support The Lulu Tree. There can be no better return from the purchase of a book than this!
Linking up with … Unite and Soli Deo Gloria and Titus 2 Tues. and Teaching What Is Good and Titus 2sday and Testimony Tues. and Booknificent Thurs. .
I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book-I will have to check it out! Her story sounds pretty incredible. It is always an amazing thing to look back and see the many ways God has intervened in someone’s life. A lot of times we miss it when it’s happening, but hindsight is 20-20, right?
At times, hindsight surely gives us the clarity we did not have at the time. You will absolutely love the book. I highly recommend it!
You always write such wonderful reviews, Joanne. I joined her Facebook page with every intention of being all over reading her book but reading continues to be slow for me. I am anxious to read though. Thanks for sharing. Much love. xoxo
Thank you, Beth. Easy to review a book when you absolutely loved it from start to finish. This was truly a terrific book which touched me deeply. And slow reading has a purpose in our lives too š Much love to you!
I just downloaded Atlas Girl and I can’t wait to read it. Thanks for this insightful review. I’m so glad I stopped by!
You will love it. It gets better & better with each passing page as you fall in love with Emily & her family.
You drew me in immediately with this book review. Sounds like one more book I need to add to my summer reading. I might need a longer summer! š
Mary, that is the best suggestion I have heard! I am all for longer summers š
Great review, Joanne! I can’t wait to read this book. My stack just keeps growing bigger!! Appreciate you linking up to Testimony Tuesday!
Thank you, Holly. It was a great book. My summer list keeps growing as well. I am all for Mary’s suggestion above – let’s have longer summers :))
It sounds like a wonderful book! Thank you for the insightful review. One more book for my stack of books to read š
It truly was a wonderful book. You will be blessed for reading it!
Wow thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday! I’ll have to mention this novel to my Bookclub!
You will all love it! Thanks for letting others know about it too!