ABOUT THE BOOK - CHOOSING TO SEE
Sharing her personal story for the first time, Mary Beth Chapman, wife of award-winning recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman, has written the book Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope (ISBN: 978-0-8007-1991-3, $21.99, Revell). The book, which will hit shelves this September, was co-authored by Ellen Vaughn, a New York Times bestselling author and inspirational speaker.
In Choosing to SEE, Chapman bares her heart and soul as she shares honestly about her personal journey - from her childhood, to challenges of married life, to the sudden and tragic loss of a daughter. Choosing to SEE follows her lifelong wrestling match with God, questioning why the life she had planned so carefully doesn't seem to match to the plan that God has mapped out for her. The book also explores Mary Beth Chapman's relationship with God in the face of the unexpected, and in the pain of such a brutal loss. Throughout the pages, Chapman tackles these questions with grace, grit, insight, and most of all, hope.
"I have cried so many tears mixed with the sadness of missing Maria and the joy of remembering her!" Chapman writes. "I think when those tears get all mixed up together and fall, it has to water the dry places of our hearts and begin to slowly heal us..."
ABOUT THE AUTHORS - MARY BETH CHAPMAN AND ELLEN VAUGHN
Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman have been married for 25 years and have six children: Emily (24), Caleb (20), Will Franklin (19), and Shaohannah Hope (10), Stevey Joy (7), and Maria Sue, who is now with Jesus. In 2001, the couple began an adoption ministry, Show Hope, which began as an assistance to families in the process of adoption, particularly by helping tear down the financial barrier that prevents many from bringing an adopted child into their home. To date, Show Hope is now an internationally recognized voice for orphan advocacy and has given over 2,300 financial grants, affecting the lives of children from 45 different countries, including the U.S. In addition to giving financial grants, Show Hope empowers families, churches and communities with adoption and orphan care resources and advocacy efforts. Mary Beth currently serves as the president of Show Hope. Along with her husband, she has also co-authored three books for their Shaoey and Dot children's series, and she continues to write a compelling blog found on her website. The family resides in middle Tennessee.
Mary Beth Chapman will be speaking at 12 upcoming Women of Faith conferences this year, as well as on the "A Night with the Chapmans" concert tour scheduled for this fall. She is represented by Creative Trust Literary Group located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ellen Vaughn is a New York Times bestselling author and inspirational speaker. Her recent books include It's All About Him, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times nonfiction list. In addition to her nonfiction work, Vaughn is an award-winning novelist. Vaughn and her husband Lee live in the Washington, DC area.
BUSYJULIE'S REVIEW
This book is Mary Beth Chapman's personal story of how she coped and is coping with the horribly tragic loss of her daughter, Maria. The start of the book is very jolting. Immediately, the reader is drawn in with "the call" Mary Beth received, that Maria was involved in an accident. But then, we hear Mary Beth's story of a high performing childhood, painful adolescence, newlywed and early marriage years, and the births and adoptions of her children. Mary Beth then describes in painful detail the dark times that followed Maria's death. She is real and does not sugarcoat anything. In the midst of all the pain, Mary Beth gives hope to the reader. Something good can come out of despair when you trust that the Lord will carry you through. Life is never perfect and bad things do happen to good people. But as the book says, "...even in the hard times, there is hope if you choose to SEE." (Check out the book for a beautiful explanation of the title!)
Available September 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book to review on my blog. These are my honest opinions. I received no monetary compensation for this review.
