Humorous and insightful at the same time: My review of Lisa Samson's "The Sky Beneath My Feet"

"The thing is," I say, glancing toward the shed's window, "my husband had a psychotic break this morning. He's holed up in the shed right now, saying he won't come out for a month, not until God talks to him or something..."

Beth has been looking forward to an upcoming sabbatical her husband, Rick, is set to enjoy. Rick is the Men's Pastor at their mega-church, and Beth knows they need some time together away from the pressures of church life. But her plans for a romantic getaway in Florida take a sudden turn when Rick decides to hide in the shed until he hears from God about what he wants him to do in the future. Beth is left to sort out her family, a task that becomes increasingly complicated as they get wrapped up in a violent peace-march, she discovers one of her son's is smoking marijuana, and Beth realizes that she herself may have lost her way.

Lisa Samson has long impressed me with her ability to write utterly unique fiction, with each book having a completely different feel such that I never know what to expect. I was completely mesmerized by "The Sky Beneath My Feet", caught up in the wonderful character of Beth and her off-the-wall family. Now, there were moments I wanted to march into the pages of the story and hit Rick upside the head. For a men's pastor, he certainly makes the rest of us men look bad as he comes across as completely selfish much of the time until the last quarter of the story. However, the premise of this story is certainly one I haven't encountered before, and I found myself outright laughing one minute, and then pondering deeper things the next. I love how Beth re-discovers a part of herself she'd forgotten, and how the whole family comes to realize that they've been "faking it" and going through the motions, especially in their spiritual life. Lisa Samson challenges readers to take an honest look at their own heart and their relationship with Jesus and ask ourselves whether we are hiding behind the walls of our church or whether we are going out into the world and being the hands and feet of Jesus.

I quite enjoyed this book and award it 4 out of 5 stars.

An ebook has been provided courtesy of the publisher, Thomas Nelson, via the Booksneeze program, for the purposes of this unbiased review.