WHAT I LIKED ABOUT FOREVER LOVED, EVE’S STORY
This book was a short and easy read – I actually enjoy them longer, but I felt like I could give this one to a friend and have it not be overwhelming if the friend isn’t a word nerd like me. I like that Ms. Chee fleshed out what might have happened, to get us thinking about it. If you didn’t think storytellng like this could be a part of Bible study, think again. It’s a great way to engage with Scripture and use your God-given imagination to have a conversation with God about his Word. I also liked how Ms. Chee used this story to show how all our insecurities and brokenness are rooted in sin – which means there is also a solution!
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THIS TELLING OF EVE’S STORY
I think it’s totally acceptable to “fill in the blanks” to make a story like this come alive. We don’t know exactly how these events happened, and as mentioned above, thinking about how they might have happened actually helps us to engage scripture, think critically about it, and apply it to our lives. But I do think we need to tell our readers when we’re doing that. And Ms. Chee does. But she does it in a footnote, not in the body of the text. Only nerds like me read footnotes. So someone could be reading this, and either a) think some of the parts of the story are straight out of Scripture (some are, some aren’t), or, b) because of a), assume that Ms. Chee is off on a limb and about to fall out of the tree. I would suggest that she move that paragraph out of the footnotes and into the body of the text, so it is clear to every reader exactly what’s happening here.
It’s not the most grounded book – based in part from Ms. Chee’s spiritual experiences, not just Scripture. That doesn’t make it bad, but I would challenge you to do exactly what Ms. Chee said to do in the aforementioned footnote: read the Scriptures for yourself and join the conversation. And like my friend Joey would say, eat the meat and spit out the bones. Also, the story is told in first person present, which just isn’t my favorite…it’s so hard to pull it off well. If that bothers you, this story might not be your favorite.
WOULD I RECOMMEND FOREVER LOVED, EVE’S STORY?
Yes, even though the writing style wasn’t my favorite, I would recommend this story. I think it could be a valuable tool to reflect on our relationships with God – and with men – in a way that challenges us and invites us to grow, but also surrounds and comforts us with God’s presence. Don’t read it independently – bring it into conversation with Scripture and with prayer, and perhaps you’ll even find some of your own healing and restoration along the way as you discover Eve’s story of healing and restoration.
I received a review copy of this book; all opinions are my own.