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Briefe an Gott: Eine bewegende Geschichte voller Inspiration und Hoffnung

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Tyler ist neun Jahre alt und leidet an einem Gehirntumor. Ein schwerer Schlag für ihn und seine Familie. In seinem kindlichen Vertrauen schreibt er Briefe, in denen er Gott sein Herz ausschüttet. Diese Briefe gelangen in die Hände des Postboten Brady McDaniels. Doch was soll dieser damit tun? Nach und nach entfalten die Briefe ihre lebensverändernde Wirkung. Im Leben des Postboten. Und im Leben vieler anderer ...

Dieser ergreifende Roman beruht auf einer wahren Begebenheit. Er zeichnet ein lebendiges Bild von der Kraft kindlichen Glaubens. Tausende hat die Geschichte von Tyler und seinen Briefen an Gott inspiriert und so deren eigenes Glaubensleben enorm bereichert.

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2010

33 people are currently reading
800 people want to read

About the author

Patrick Doughtie

2 books11 followers

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5 stars
554 (55%)
4 stars
271 (27%)
3 stars
128 (12%)
2 stars
33 (3%)
1 star
14 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
Profile Image for Greg.
1,128 reviews2,148 followers
March 5, 2010
I want in on the hating of this piece of shit early. I'm staking out a claim to ground floor disdain at this book, the movie that is forthcoming that the book is based on and the at least two other books that also came out today relating to this vehicle. Barnes and Noble's across the country will be putting up displays soon for this piece of shit, probably orchestrated by the religion buyer who is an evangelical stooge hired away from Wal-Mart.

Fuck this shit.

Here is the description of the book from goodreads.com:

Inspired by the major motion picture Letters to God, this novel is for readers eager to read more of this inspiring story. Tyler, a nine-year-old boy, is stricken with incurable brain cancer and begins to write letters to God. He turns his suffering into spiritual lessons for his widowed mother, his embittered adolescent brother, and a troubled postman. This story of hope will help readers from all walks work toward greater understanding of God’s presence and care.

There are some details missing here. Cancer boy writes a letter to God, and decides to mail it, apparently to Heaven, which judging by the postmark on the cover is somewhere in the United States. The cynical post-man is having a bad day and thinks getting this letter to deliver from the dying kid is really stupid and sticks the letter in his pocket. Later that night he's getting hammered at some dive bar and he comes across the letter, shows it to the bartender, who tells him he should bring it to his pastor, which he does, setting in to motion a syrupy and predictable plot (yes, I know this is so even though I haven't seen the movie nor read the book, how do I know this? Because I'm not an idiot, anyone with an IQ of over 30 could guess the plot of this shit just by looking at the back of the book).

This looks like bullshit, and my anger is probably mostly at now being forced to always have this crap to deal with in my section, like The Love Dare crap.

But really my problem is that there is enough of an adult portion of our society that needs immature crap like this and will most likely feel that it betters their lives having seen this. This is fairy tale bullshit that goes in the same crap bucket as Mitch Albom and The Shack. Can't we grow the fuck up and deal with our lives and the fact that we are one day going to die like adults and not have to sugar coat our lives with silly dreams and wishes that might be cute coming from a 3 year old ("when I die I'm going to sit on Daddy's lap forever, I love daddy."), but from anyone else it's not cute.

Or maybe the reason I got so nauseated by this book this morning was because one of the companion books was written by an ex-football player now minister--something that is also bothering me today, but you'll have to wait for my second review of the day to find out more about why that angers me.
Profile Image for Selene Garcia.
10 reviews1 follower
June 2, 2010
love this story..im berely in the third chapter and i cant stop reading it.
Profile Image for Keiki Hendrix.
231 reviews522 followers
October 12, 2010
"A genuine story full of inspiration and hope sure to stir you back to your own innocence and trust in a faithful God."

A simple story, told in a simple script that will capture your heart. Many believe that great books should be written with grand and glorious style.While I do agree that I am often astonished by such writing, I am equally astonished at the premise and simple delivery of what God can do in a life and told in the most elemental of ways.

Such is the case with the book Letters to God: From the Major Motion Picture by Patrick Doughtie and John Perry

A beautiful story based on the true life events of Patrick Doughtie's son Tyler and his struggle with brain cancer. You will read of compassion, strength and endurance is this short little book. You will also be saddened and comforted as you discover (or maybe rediscover your own) childlike outlook on life and on God.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the uncommon innocence and simple trust. This is the heart of Christianity and books like this encourage us to remember, to rediscover, and to walk in simplicity in our own relationship with God.

You will cry reading this book. But tears are not always bad. This is a great book to read to child who is facing some struggle in life or even to an adult who is trying to make sense of some tragic event in his or her own life.

I recommend this book for all of the above or for just anyone who wants to see what God is looking for in the heart of His children.

Reviewed by: Keiki Hendrix
Reviewed for: The Vessel Project
Profile Image for Robyn S..
86 reviews7 followers
June 10, 2010
This was an amazing book. It was so heartwarming and had a great message. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone!
Profile Image for Amanda.
259 reviews67 followers
July 23, 2011
When I finished reading this book, I wasn't sure how to rate it. I finally decided on four stars based on the following reasons. On the negative side, I wasn't thrilled with the author's writing style. His style was very simple, perhaps at maybe an 8th or 9th grade reading level. He also seemed to be trying too hard to describe everything. I love details and descriptions as much as the next person, but he just went overboard with it. For example, when Ty and Sam are going through the closet to get Patrick's letters, the description was something like, "Luckily, not all of the boxes fell down. Also luckily, the boxes were taped closed, so there was no mess on the floor." And finally, it seemed a bit on the preachy side. "Pray to God" was on nearly every page. I got it, I got it. You want us to pray in times of trouble. However, there was a lot of good stuff in this book too. Despite its preachy tone, the message was quite clear: that we need to have faith and trust in God, even in our darkest moments. And also that hard times, including losing a loved one, are part of life, but God is there to help us through. I also thought the character development was excellent, particularly with Ben. Out of all of the characters in this novel, he is the one that seemed to make the biggest leap in faith. Additionally, the author boldly tackles difficult questions -- even the ones we don't have the answers to. Despite the fact that I teared up more than once reading this book, I still found it very-heartwarming, and will recommend it to all of my friends and family members.
Profile Image for Joanne.
2,642 reviews
September 15, 2010
I've heard good things about the movie, so wanted to read the book first. I can completely imagine this as a movie - it's plot-driven rather than character-driven. Events happen too quickly (e.g., the heroine's single mother slog through nursing school is summarized as "four years went by"). It does a lot of telling rather than showing - a character arches an eyebrow, for example, and we're told that it's "in disbelief" rather than being left to infer it for ourselves. Was it a screenplay first? The writing just goes Thud.

It's a tearjerker, though intentionally so, which makes me resist it. I do like the idea of writing letters to God as a form of prayer, and Zondervan seems to have capitalized on that in the appendix with devotionals, journals, and whatnot.

Query: Why does nearly every contemporary Christian novel feel obliged to have at least one Black friend for the protagonist, who's pretty much identified as, "the Black friend," given lines like, "Girlfriend, I tell you..." and that's it? Did somebody in publishing land decide that this would make a book "multicultural"? It does not.
Profile Image for victoria.
162 reviews
November 4, 2015
Letters to God is so sweet! It was very sad & I cried. It was a perfect family but an event with the dad left them helpless. The stay-at-home mom had to find a job. The mailman,was a huge drunk and his life was going down hill. He was failing on his job and went to the bars each night. When the boy, Todd was diagnosed with cancer I dropped out in tears. I loved Todd's bestfriend Sam. She stuck up for him, they had a great friendship throughout the book. The mom was depressed in most of the book which gave a downing and make you melchlony. But he was a very happy, positive child. It was very though provoking. The boy began writing letters to God and the mailman didnt know what to do, so it goes from there. I liked it! :) It was a very easy read, took me about 2 to 3 days. It didnt make me want to pick it up, it was a light read that I read through bordom. :D
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Megsprincess87.
20 reviews
May 8, 2011
I absolutly loved this book. First hearing about it at church, I was so excited to pick it up. This story is based on the true story of a little boy who has a brain tumor. It definitly pulls at your heart strings, I shed a few tears.... ok ok... I cried like a baby. It was so encouraging though. This little boy truly shows us how to trust God through life's most difficult circumstances. He is dying of cancer, but yet, prayers to god in the form of letters... and this book has something to teach us all.
Profile Image for Theresa.
21 reviews
April 7, 2010
I just read this book in about five hours. I couldn't stop to put it down and used a whole box of kleenex. This book was sad and uplifting at the same time. Alyssa is reading it next. Movie comes out April 9 and I can't wait to see it.
3 reviews
April 12, 2010
This is one of the BEST Books Ever! It is Sad, but Wonderful! A nine year old little boy Named Tyler is diagnosed by Brain cancer. His family and himself is wondering why God would let a child get cancer! This is a very inspirational book!
Profile Image for Robin.
108 reviews
September 3, 2010
This book was easy and quick to read but seriously sad. Not sure how I feel about it. I knew going in it was sad and as the story went along---I also knew what was going to happen would be sad. Won't say it was a bad book but very sad yet also uplifting message through out.
Profile Image for Lauren.
14 reviews1 follower
September 13, 2011
This book was absolutely amazing! I cried throughout the whole book because of how touching this book was. Makes you realize how wonderful a child-like faith is and is encouraging to adults to know that we should seek to have this kind of faith in God!
2 reviews1 follower
March 27, 2010
To think one child can make that big of an impact with that much faith!
''...pride is the devil setting you up for humiliation, but humiliation is preparing you to be humble."
Profile Image for Serefina.
14 reviews
July 12, 2010
I thought that this book was rather good but lacked character depth and emotion in areas. However, I enjoyed the book and will read it again at a later date.
1 review
October 9, 2018
This book, “Letters to God” is written by Patrick Doughtie and published by Dunamas Holdings. This was published April 4th, 2013, 1st edition. This book has 378 pages and is available for $16. In this book, a young boy goes through his struggle of cancer by writing letters to God. Doing this, this young boy inspires many people around his neighbors to do the same. A postman becomes extremely involved in his situation. This is not the best book I have ever read but definitely tugs at your heart strings. This book has a great message and I highly recommend it. Patrick is best known by this book and the movie that was created after.
Profile Image for Abigail.
392 reviews7 followers
July 14, 2017
ahhhhh I love this book so much! I've watched the movie so many times and I don't really know why it took me so long to read the book, but I loved it. It was exactly like the movie which made me really happy. It was so heartbreaking but I learned that in any situation, no matter how bad, trust God always. I just love this story so much!
Profile Image for Ania.
531 reviews10 followers
March 13, 2018
Wzruszająca historia, może nie w pełni wiarygodna, ale na pewno dająca do myślenia.
Czytałoby się znacznie lepiej gdyby nie styl jakim została napisana. Chwilami wręcz dziecinny i niezręczny. Poza tym to kolejna pozycja, którą czytałam w ostatnim czasie z bardzo źle wykonaną korektą. Szkoda, że zaniedbania, odbijają się na wartości opowiedzianej historii.
Profile Image for Diane Eskridge.
100 reviews14 followers
November 28, 2018
I got half way through this and was ready to quit but decided to soldier on, not that it was bad but it was not compelling me forward either. I am glad I finished the book though. It was a good story based on strong faith but the general writing was a little less than for me.
38 reviews
June 22, 2025
Teaches us how our kids are watching us from a young age. They follow our patterns. We impact them in big ways. As their parents, we are often their world. We can help empower them to change the whole world. Leave a Legacy!
Profile Image for Jess Ketchum.
122 reviews8 followers
August 12, 2018
The book made me just as emotional as the movie. What I enjoyed the most was that the first 12 chapters was full of information the movie did not contain. It was nice know more of the family's story.
Profile Image for Janet.
631 reviews3 followers
May 1, 2020
Inspirational story. I've seen the film. When. Heard that there was a book out too, I just had to get it. So glad I did.
2 reviews
Read
June 28, 2022
it was heartwarming, sentimental, and insparational, but sad at the end.
Profile Image for Amanda Huck.
86 reviews2 followers
July 17, 2024
Such a beautiful book! Made me cry fell times.
Very spiritual and easy to read.
I do recommend!
Profile Image for Brandy McGuire.
55 reviews1 follower
March 12, 2017
As someone who has been slowly making her way back to the Lord, this book is a wonderful testament to God's love.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews

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