Life is Beautiful by Sarah M. Johnson {Book Review}
I received a Kindle copy of Life is Beautiful ($6.49 value) in exchange for this review. Any opinions expressed here are honest and my own.
Are you looking for new and inspiring reading material? I have one for you called Life is Beautiful: How a Lost Girl Became a True, Confident Child of God by Sarah M. Johnson.
Sarah shares her testimony in the most beautiful and inspiring way. Here is a summary:
Life is Beautiful: How a Lost Girl Became a True, Confident Child of God, by Sarah M. Johnson, takes you on a full journey of trauma, loss, and finally resilience. While on a mission’s trip in Guatemala, a small Cessna Caravan’s engine blows while carrying fourteen passengers. Unfortunately, the Cessna crashes in a remote village, leaving eleven of the fourteen passengers dead. One passenger, Sarah, shares her story in Life is Beautiful, about the deaths of her father and brother; her mother’s extreme physical and emotional injuries, and Sarah’s self-discovery to accept this new life. Life is Beautiful, however, is more than a story about an airplane crash. Life is Beautiful shares the personal struggles of Sarah’s father’s drug use, his recovery, and redemption to be a better person. He gives back by doing missions work in Africa, takes in Sarah’s aunt dying of uterine cancer, and eventually leads their family to the mountains of Guatemala. Sarah also discusses her struggles with alcohol use and depression; where she eventually hits rock bottom. It is not until she starts seeking God through prayer, books, and therapy, where she starts to turn her life around. Life is Beautiful is not only a unique story, but it shows the strength of God’s Will. When all hope is lost, she never gives up on God. This story is a true testimony of God’s love for His people, and when one seeks a spiritual journey and connection with God; He gives back in love, forgiveness, and happiness.
I love how Sarah after all her trials never gives up and turns her back on God. After going through trials with my husband through the years, those temptations were there, but God always showed himself to us and our family. It became our testimony much like Sarah’s.
I highly recommend this book for anyone going through major trials in their life and looking for purpose. Without God in Sarah’s life, she couldn’t have moved forward in life. God held her up and gave her strength and forgiveness through it all. It’s so beautiful and caused me to tear up a few times. Do you feel hopeless and alone? This book is for you. You can purchase on Amazon!.
Here is an excerpt of Chapter 1:
Chapter 1 – The CrashI remember all of the emotions, the trees whipping by, everything happening so fast, dad yelling, Here we go, and mom screaming, Stop it. I remember my brother Zachary looking back at me, his eyes bright with fear as I prayed God I remember the sense of something coming; you know it’s coming and I remember the violence of the plane plowing into the ground as we attempted an emergency landing in a roughhewn field…Boom, boom, boom…and then nothing but an unnerving silence. I don’t know if I blacked out or merely paused with my eyes closed in the stillness of those first few moments. Awareness comes slowly. Then in a rushed breath of shock and revelation, Thank God I’m alive. My eyes open to an eerily lit silence where sunlight and shadow intermingle, making it difficult to see into the new geography of the plane’s interior. My head and body buzz. My mind trips on the dissonance of dangling upside down, held a few inches from the ceiling of the plane’s cabin by my seatbelt. Taking stock of my body, I notice that I peed my pants and there is a small cut on my left arm. Looking up, I see that one foot is missing its shoe. My eyes squint into bright sunlight that passes through a relatively large doorway next to me that was torn open. The only noise to break the silence is the erratic popping of electricity; the final groans of a dying airplane. I move my arms first and then my legs, which causes small shards of glass to fall from where they’re lodged in my clothes and upturned seat. I tilt my head back toward the ceiling beneath me and it is covered in broken glass. My hair dangles down away from my face, but the position of my body and the way sunlight cuts through the cabin makes it difficult to see much of the plane. In those few seconds I realize that I am okay and begin to think that maybe we are all okay; that the crash wasn’t so bad.
To learn more, go to http://lifeisbeautifulbook.com/ Connect with Sarah on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.