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Immortality
If you had a free summer, how would you fill it? Chemistry Professor Emily Worth is working with friends at Bishop Space Repair, Inc who are repairing satellites in space via repair robots. She’s finishing a design for a new type of battery. And she’s also doing some traveling to explore the Rocky Mountains. It’s going to be an enjoyable three months. A relatively new Christian, she wants to know God better than she does now and that, too, is part of her summer plans. What she hadn’t considered was a summer romance, but walks into one compliments of God who has been richly blessing her. This is the story of Emily Worth and Noah Shepherd. It’s also a story of God’s romance with us through Jesus for God has purposed in His heart to love us forever. Dee Henderson is the author of numerous novels, including An Unfinished Death, Taken, Unspoken and the acclaimed O’MALLEY series. Several titles have appeared on the USA Today Bestseller list; Full Disclosure has also appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. Her books have won or been nominated for several industry awards, such as the RITA Award, the Christy Award and the ECPA Gold Medallion.
365 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 28, 2018
264 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
About the author
Dee Henderson
71 books4,194 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Dee Henderson is the author of 27 non-fiction and fiction titles, including Jesus our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus the Truth and the Life, The Good News Project, Taken and the acclaimed O’MALLEY series. Several titles have appeared on the USA Today Bestseller list; Full Disclosure has also appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. For details visit: DeeHenderson.com
Dee Henderson is the author of 27 non-fiction and fiction titles, including Jesus our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus the Truth and the Life, The Good News Project, Taken and the acclaimed O’MALLEY series. Several titles have appeared on the USA Today Bestseller list; Full Disclosure has also appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. For details visit: DeeHenderson.com
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 29, 2019
Interesting
Another good book by Dee Henderson. Different than most of her stories as it is not as easy a read. If you like digging into the Bible and studying you will enjoy this book more than if you don't. The story can be read on its own, just not quite as smoothly without stopping, or going back and rereading to stop with a Bible and time to think which differs from all but two others of her books and novellas. It is fun to hear about some of the characters from previous books. I gave it four instead of five stars only because I had harder time following parts of it, though I'm sure some of that is my problems (med side effects, etc.)
Another good book by Dee Henderson. Different than most of her stories as it is not as easy a read. If you like digging into the Bible and studying you will enjoy this book more than if you don't. The story can be read on its own, just not quite as smoothly without stopping, or going back and rereading to stop with a Bible and time to think which differs from all but two others of her books and novellas. It is fun to hear about some of the characters from previous books. I gave it four instead of five stars only because I had harder time following parts of it, though I'm sure some of that is my problems (med side effects, etc.)
December 13, 2019
Be aware that this is not like Dee Henderson's other books. The plot gets lost in the LONG conversations between characters, and doesn't hang together very cohesively. I skimmed long sections when I wasn't in the mood for a seminary class. I do not agree with a lot of what is written, but it is thought-provoking and made me think through what I do believe.
December 22, 2018
Disappointment
The first book by Dee Henderson that I have been vastly disappointed in. To reach the conclusions on length of life , healing , and the praying in tongues verse's are taken out of context and other verse's completely ignored. God set the days of man and man can not change them. Vastly disappointed will be her first book I will never reread , not so much a story as an attempt to promote a style of Christianity that is not historically or Biblically correct.
The first book by Dee Henderson that I have been vastly disappointed in. To reach the conclusions on length of life , healing , and the praying in tongues verse's are taken out of context and other verse's completely ignored. God set the days of man and man can not change them. Vastly disappointed will be her first book I will never reread , not so much a story as an attempt to promote a style of Christianity that is not historically or Biblically correct.
December 9, 2019
FRUSTRATING
Characters
Emily, as a Chemistry Research Professor, was a nice, if somewhat bland and perfect character. Giving a character an intriguing interest (chemistry, fireworks, re-chargeable batteries) does not an interesting character make.
She had very few struggles or conflicting desires, even her sadness over her parents' deaths felt like a token "last minute" struggle in the last 20% of the book.
Noah, a Bible professor at the same university, was rather less likeable. There was nothing "bad" about him... he just came across as extraordinarily methodical in his "wooing" of Emily (which she apparently didn't realise, being surprised when he agrees to a date 90% in) and as a result somewhat creepy.
Plot
There's very little plot. I can understand why. The author's thesis is that when you become a Christian life is full of gifts and nothing goes wrong. When it does (for instance, you get a headache - an oft-quoted example in the book) you simply pray for it to go away, and it does.
Not only this, but you also become perfect, to quote: "you are righteous now... you will automatically and without effort show your new nature... you have a divine nature that does not sin." [Interestingly, this is contradicted in the final pages of the book, when the author admits that we do, indeed, sin sometimes.]
Unfortunately this leaves very little drama or conflict. The plot involved Emily and Noah having a "perfect summer" (another oft-referenced fact).
Emily goes on expensive holidays, flies business class with Noah, eats delicious food, receives bountiful recognition for her inventions, and struggles with what to do with all the money she is about to make, and which of two equally-amazing jobs she should take.
Style
As other reviewers have said, this lacks the polish of Henderson's traditionally published works. Several personal peeves include:
- not giving Satan a capital letter
- the consistent use of the adjective "elegant" by both characters and the narrator. ie. "That is an elegant concept"
- repetition of phrases, including identical sentences repeated with the space of a few paragraphs
- near the end, "its" without a contraction apostrophe several times
- jarring notes by the author inserted mid-story. ie. "if you want to skip the rest of the conversation/message skip to chapter X." Honestly, that feels like the author is admitting that she thinks readers will find her story boring. If you know something is boring, why put it in?
- I'm Australian, so I'm more than willing to give Henderson the benefit of the doubt, but no
body I know speaks this formally and in such detail in casual conversations like these characters do. Perhaps they do in the US.
Content
I'm not going to attempt to refute each and every one of Henderson's (copious) theological points here. I'm simply going to list them, and state that they are heresy, plain and simple. Her main theme is: Most Christians go about their life without taping into the glorious power they have as children of God. Emily and Noah, of course, are not like the rest, they see clearly and so live blessed lives of bliss.
Her points (some backed up with out of context Bible verses, others simply stated as fact) include:
- All Christians can live forever on earth (or, at the very least, until 120 years old) as long as they believe it will be so
- All disease and trials can be healed as long as people have enough faith
- As long as a "true" Christian prays, any dead person can be raised (unfortunately, no one prayed for Emily's parents, and they're too long gone now for prayer to work)
- Perfection is achievable on earth
- When "true" Christians "die", "the medical examiner doing our autopsy can't find a cause for why we stopped breathing as our bodies are in perfect health"
- Christians should spend 17 hours per week with God, if you don't, you're not really living as a "true" Christian
The list goes on. The sad thing is, these characters truly love Jesus. There is much to be inspired by their walk with Him. There are some truths in here, but there are a lot of falsehoods and misconceptions.
The reason I know this is because the Gospel is complex and rich. It is a message which can be given to university professors in Chicago and to prostitutes in a war-torn country. It provides a satisfying answer to suffering and pain.
Emily and Noah's gospel does not do this. As the book concludes the characters each reiterate that they are deeply blessed by God. Their proof? They have good jobs, lots of money, lots of time, beautiful places to live, and a promising relationship.
If this is the sure sign of God's blessing, what use is Emily and Noah's in the real world? None at all.
Characters
Emily, as a Chemistry Research Professor, was a nice, if somewhat bland and perfect character. Giving a character an intriguing interest (chemistry, fireworks, re-chargeable batteries) does not an interesting character make.
She had very few struggles or conflicting desires, even her sadness over her parents' deaths felt like a token "last minute" struggle in the last 20% of the book.
Noah, a Bible professor at the same university, was rather less likeable. There was nothing "bad" about him... he just came across as extraordinarily methodical in his "wooing" of Emily (which she apparently didn't realise, being surprised when he agrees to a date 90% in) and as a result somewhat creepy.
Plot
There's very little plot. I can understand why. The author's thesis is that when you become a Christian life is full of gifts and nothing goes wrong. When it does (for instance, you get a headache - an oft-quoted example in the book) you simply pray for it to go away, and it does.
Not only this, but you also become perfect, to quote: "you are righteous now... you will automatically and without effort show your new nature... you have a divine nature that does not sin." [Interestingly, this is contradicted in the final pages of the book, when the author admits that we do, indeed, sin sometimes.]
Unfortunately this leaves very little drama or conflict. The plot involved Emily and Noah having a "perfect summer" (another oft-referenced fact).
Emily goes on expensive holidays, flies business class with Noah, eats delicious food, receives bountiful recognition for her inventions, and struggles with what to do with all the money she is about to make, and which of two equally-amazing jobs she should take.
Style
As other reviewers have said, this lacks the polish of Henderson's traditionally published works. Several personal peeves include:
- not giving Satan a capital letter
- the consistent use of the adjective "elegant" by both characters and the narrator. ie. "That is an elegant concept"
- repetition of phrases, including identical sentences repeated with the space of a few paragraphs
- near the end, "its" without a contraction apostrophe several times
- jarring notes by the author inserted mid-story. ie. "if you want to skip the rest of the conversation/message skip to chapter X." Honestly, that feels like the author is admitting that she thinks readers will find her story boring. If you know something is boring, why put it in?
- I'm Australian, so I'm more than willing to give Henderson the benefit of the doubt, but no
body I know speaks this formally and in such detail in casual conversations like these characters do. Perhaps they do in the US.
Content
I'm not going to attempt to refute each and every one of Henderson's (copious) theological points here. I'm simply going to list them, and state that they are heresy, plain and simple. Her main theme is: Most Christians go about their life without taping into the glorious power they have as children of God. Emily and Noah, of course, are not like the rest, they see clearly and so live blessed lives of bliss.
Her points (some backed up with out of context Bible verses, others simply stated as fact) include:
- All Christians can live forever on earth (or, at the very least, until 120 years old) as long as they believe it will be so
- All disease and trials can be healed as long as people have enough faith
- As long as a "true" Christian prays, any dead person can be raised (unfortunately, no one prayed for Emily's parents, and they're too long gone now for prayer to work)
- Perfection is achievable on earth
- When "true" Christians "die", "the medical examiner doing our autopsy can't find a cause for why we stopped breathing as our bodies are in perfect health"
- Christians should spend 17 hours per week with God, if you don't, you're not really living as a "true" Christian
The list goes on. The sad thing is, these characters truly love Jesus. There is much to be inspired by their walk with Him. There are some truths in here, but there are a lot of falsehoods and misconceptions.
The reason I know this is because the Gospel is complex and rich. It is a message which can be given to university professors in Chicago and to prostitutes in a war-torn country. It provides a satisfying answer to suffering and pain.
Emily and Noah's gospel does not do this. As the book concludes the characters each reiterate that they are deeply blessed by God. Their proof? They have good jobs, lots of money, lots of time, beautiful places to live, and a promising relationship.
If this is the sure sign of God's blessing, what use is Emily and Noah's in the real world? None at all.
April 8, 2022
Chemistry professor Emily Worth asked God to help her have a closer relationship with Him and to give her a good plan for her summer. In response, she found herself led not to take any summer classes to teach for the first time in years, to leave time open to see the Rocky Mountains and other locations she was interested in and to seek out religion Professor Noah Shepherd to tutor her in Scripture and how to apply it to her life.
The result was beyond anything either she or Professor Shepherd could have imagined. Her coming to his office to ask for his tutelage turned into an instant friendship. He enjoyed sharing his knowledge of the Bible with her as much as she enjoyed receiving it. They made time in their busy lives for one another, enjoyed time spent with mutual friends and without trying to, found themselves mutually attracted to one another and willing to date and see where it could go.
I enjoyed this- not a traditional romance by any stretch of the imagination, but more of a depiction of the kind of relationship God wants to have with us shown through an easily developed romantic relationship between two like-minded people.
The result was beyond anything either she or Professor Shepherd could have imagined. Her coming to his office to ask for his tutelage turned into an instant friendship. He enjoyed sharing his knowledge of the Bible with her as much as she enjoyed receiving it. They made time in their busy lives for one another, enjoyed time spent with mutual friends and without trying to, found themselves mutually attracted to one another and willing to date and see where it could go.
I enjoyed this- not a traditional romance by any stretch of the imagination, but more of a depiction of the kind of relationship God wants to have with us shown through an easily developed romantic relationship between two like-minded people.
January 9, 2021
I am simply shocked and disappointed this is a Dee Henderson book. I truly did not like this book. It felt more like a Bible study than a relaxing fiction book. The entire book is a dialogue between two people about different scriptures in the Bible. I also think the author took way too many liberties with interpreting the scriptures. The author is also clearly a prosperity gospel follower and I felt like she was trying to convert me in this book. I literally had to force myself to finish this book. Then to add insult to injury, the book had no ending. She just stopped writing! 😡. I sooo hope Dee goes back to known writing style. I would not recommend this book ( sorry).
February 23, 2020
This was a really difficult book for me to read up until Chapter 15. There were many one sided theological conversations, mini-lectures. I didn't always agree with her theology. Some discussions gave me something to think on and research. Once I got to Chapter 15, the book quickly picked up. It took me about 4 months to get through this book. Usually I can finish one of Dee's book in about a week.
January 5, 2019
Great book
I really enjoyed reading the story Even though it took me a while to get through it, I really enjoyed seeing Emily and Noah's relationship unfold, and I really enjoyed reading their conversations about scripture. I came to the conclusion that I want to know God and have a deeper relationship with him.
I really enjoyed reading the story Even though it took me a while to get through it, I really enjoyed seeing Emily and Noah's relationship unfold, and I really enjoyed reading their conversations about scripture. I came to the conclusion that I want to know God and have a deeper relationship with him.
December 16, 2020
Dee Henderson is one of my favorite authors and it was nice to see some familiar characters again. However, this book had a lot more theological content that seemed to come from certain denominational convictions rather than more generalized Christian truths that most Christian denominations agree with. Be prepared for topics like faith healing, speaking in tongues, etc.
November 18, 2018
Very spiritual reading, motivational and intense. Deeply appreciate the in-depth study of the Bible. I finished several books of Dee’s prior to reading this one. Loved them all and have gone back to reread a couple of them. She has created an incredible thirst that cannot be quenched.
May 25, 2019
This book is wonderful. It is exactly as Dee Henderson writes in her post. It is deep and worth exploring the wonder of God. Make sure you have time to really sit and concentrate because of the theology concepts in this book. It is one that invites you into study and learn more about God.
July 4, 2019
Self Published without the usual polishing of a Dee Henderson Book. Her interpretation of the scripture is different than I've heard before. The characters are heavy handed with their beliefs and don't allow time to process these radical ideas.
November 28, 2020
I can’t even finish this book. If Henderson wanted to publish her theological views, she should have done so in nonfiction. And the number of grammatical mistakes in this book is embarrassing for an established author. I am sorely disappointed.
December 29, 2020
Unusually Disappointing
Was not expecting so much scripture. Reading her books is usually to have leisure once I've done my own study of the Word. Truly disappointed. She needed to stick with fiction laced with some scripture. This should have been done as a Bible study, which is what it seemed more she was trying to do. Too mixed up to enjoy.
Was not expecting so much scripture. Reading her books is usually to have leisure once I've done my own study of the Word. Truly disappointed. She needed to stick with fiction laced with some scripture. This should have been done as a Bible study, which is what it seemed more she was trying to do. Too mixed up to enjoy.
June 15, 2021
I so dislike giving a bad review, especially when it’s one of my favorite authors 😩. A very slow read, hard to stick with, way to much information and not enough story. Sorry, Dee Henderson, not on my list to read again
September 3, 2018
Wow
This book is so deep i am going to need to read it again. So much information, so much to think on and so much to study. A great book.
This book is so deep i am going to need to read it again. So much information, so much to think on and so much to study. A great book.
September 22, 2018
For me, far too much information and not enough story. I find Dee's writing very hit and miss. Some of her books are among my favorites, others I can't finish. This is one of those I can't.
October 25, 2018
Not her best work
Deep, hard to read, lengthy conversations. I see where she wanted to go, but hard to keep following with pages and pages of the conversations.
Deep, hard to read, lengthy conversations. I see where she wanted to go, but hard to keep following with pages and pages of the conversations.
November 21, 2020
Immortality
A very good inspirational story about love and faith in God and having full beliefs that we will not die
A very good inspirational story about love and faith in God and having full beliefs that we will not die
October 31, 2022
very good, but intense
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews