My Body is not a Prayer Request by Amy Kenny

 

If I could only recommend one book this year, this would be the one. With a mixture of honesty, humour, and self awareness Kenny lays out an important mixture of disabled history, theology, and autobiography to lay out some of the realities of disability within the church.

Considering the text is less than 200 pages, Kenny packs a lot of content in providing a great overview into the issues surrounding disability justice, accessibility, and thriving.

I appreciated how Kenny took the time to look into historical issues like the church's poor relationship with ADA, to how that culture is continuing to affect disabled individuals today.

As a disabled person, many of the historical and cultural elements were familiar to me.  It really is so valuable though to have a resource that is engaging and easy to recommend to others who are looking to broaden their awareness on disability issues. 

I was also encouraged and amazed at Kenny's work presenting teachings on how disability is positively presented in scripture and the value the disabled church brings to the full body of Christ. I cannot remember another place despite attending a religious college and being part of a faith community where disability was so embraced and celebrated as part of the gospel story as I saw Kenny lay it out here.

There are two elements I could see some readers taking issue with and I feel they're worth addressing. First, there are many sections of the book which feels more autobiographical than readers may be expecting.  I found this extremely helpful to highlight just how different each disabled experience is. Kenny is the expert in their own life and so that is the foundation that anchors her experience. I appreciated how Kenny both speaks to fundamental truths of disability as well as acknowledges the limits of her own perspective.

The second thing some readers may find surprising are the times that the tone of the book becomes more pointed/aggressive. At first, it caught me off guard too until I released that, as a disabled person myself, I wasn't used to seeing disabled people unashamedly taking up space and calling out where the North American church has failed their disabled members and neighbours.

As a disabled person, to see the challenges of the disabled church acknowledged and our strengths celebrated was meaningful in a way that is hard to put into words.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Book was provided courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. and Baker Publishing Group.

Where the Road Bends by Rachel Fordham

 

Rachel Fordham has returned with a new tale of second chances and starting over. 

Where the Road Bends features a young struggling farmer Norah King, on the cusp of her wedding in 1880s Iowa to save her farm and Quincey Barnes a former fighter trying to find a better way of living.

As usual, Fordham has presented a story with wonderful protagonists filled with enough charming characteristics to draw readers to their side and just enough rough around the edge to make them relatable. 

I have to say though, Mrs. Dover is probably my favourite character in the book, she really was brilliantly written as a way of connecting the misfit crew of the Mission Hotel. Her warmth and wisdom helped her steal every scene she entered and oh how I'd love to read more of her story.

It is fair to note that this novel does include themes of violence towards women as well as the physical, emotional, and mental recovery from those events. While Fordham doesn't get graphic in her descriptions, her ability to pour emotion into her characters could make these themes triggering for some readers.

That said, Fordham really took time to craft Norah's journey through trauma and recovery with respect. I also felt that Fordham's willingness to incorporate Norah's recovery: her fear responses to trauma triggers, the physicality of her recovery, and the emotional fallout, allowed the redemptive and restorative nature of the story to come more clearly into focus. 

I've come to appreciate how Fordham gives her characters room to breathe, grow, and make mistakes. There's no rushing to gloss over or fix the loss, grief, or trauma in this book (with one exception I'll mention shortly). I've come to appreciate how Fordham lets her characters have room to speak as it adds to their charm.

My only negative take away from the story was the more fantastical elements of the ending. 

Don't get me wrong, it was wonderfully written, hits a strong emotional chord, and falls in line with what most readers will probably find themselves hoping for. Maybe it's the cynic in me of late, but the ending feels a little too Hallmark with the town's final stand against Norah's past.

4 out of 5 stars.

Book was provided courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. and Baker Publishing Group.