Book Review: Wrestling with an Angel by Greg Lucas

My review of Wrestling with an Angel by Greg Lucas has just been posted at the Biblical Counseling Coalition book review site.

This is how it begins:

“Gut-wrenching grace.”  That was my three-word-reaction to reading Wrestling with an Angel by Greg Lucas. This book is drenched in grace but was forged in suffering.

Wrestling with an Angel is a practical-theological reflection on lessons one dad has learned through fathering a severely disabled son.

It is both easy and hard to read. It’s easy to read because it is fast-paced and filled to the brim with vivid stories. The chapters are short, tersely written, and come right out of the experiences of the author, a down-to-earth police officer. It’s easy to relate to Lucas and his family.

And that’s the hard part–because Lucas’s family has dealt with severe suffering as they’ve seen Greg’s son Jacob grow from a tiny toddler enduring unexplained seizures to a difficult-to-manage young man. And it doesn’t necessarily grow any easier.

It is hard to read because it is so real. I kept thinking, “This is what it is like.” Blood, guts, and feces all make an appropriate but dismally authentic appearance in the course of the story.I found myself sobbing as I read it. Now, I’m a “softie,” but I don’t normally cry when just reading a book. This book is evocative while not being at all sentimental.  Lucas also finds humor in unlikely places. I didn’t just cry–I laughed and nodded through my tears.

The author will be speaking this weekend at the Desiring God conference on disability.  He also writes a great blog--the latest post brought tears to my eyes again.

Highly recommended.

Read my full review here.