From the My brother died on December 13, 2002. I was 21 years old. This is the real, raw story of how, in my grief, death threatened to swallow me up. It’s about anger and abandonment and a monsoon of tears. This is also the real, raw story of how, in my grief, I saw death swallowed up by life. It’s about joy and love and holy defiance. It’s the story of how my brother died. And I didn’t.
Praise for Swallowed “This book is a breathtaking and beautiful look at what it means to be alive in a world full of death. Unflinchingly honest, thoughtful, and deeply inspiring just like the author who wrote it. Smart, heartfelt, and often hilarious, I had no clue how much I needed to read this book. It will be a source of healing and comfort to many.’This book is for anyone who has ever felt loss or found themselves at a loss for how to comfort someone grieving. A profound look at how we grapple with love and faith and daily life in the face of great loss.” -Brad Montague, New York Times bestselling author, creator of the Kid President video series, joy rebel
About the Jennifer (JL) Gerhardt is a writer and storytelling minister. Her previous books include Prayer, In Practice , Think How to get rid of anxiety, guilt, despair, and the like to finally find peace of mind, and Live or a study in Philippians . She blogs at godscout.com. As a storytelling minister for Round Rock Church of Christ, she enables God’s people to share their stories of redemption, rescue, and belonging in Christ. Jennifer is married to Justin Gerhardt, a preacher, and together they have two daughters, London and Eve. Jennifer is an INFJ, lover of chai tea lattes, recreational swimmer, believer in the power of white paint and Dietrich Bonhoeffer fangirl.
I've had two losses that hit me hard: my mom, and my second miscarriage. Both required a lot of processing. I recognized a whole lot of the feelings in this book: the hyper-awareness of how near we are to death, the questioning of who God really is and if He can be trusted; fear, darkness, and that hard independent shell of pride.
Reading this book made me cry for Jennifer, and for myself, and for the basic human inadequacy to face this monster that takes away our people.
And yet, it's not depressing. Throughout the book, she holds on to God and hope, and manages to use a terrible death to magnify His greatness. I came away with my perspective shifted back to the transitive nature of our life here, and a deeper appreciation of our hope for heaven.
This is a Christian book about grieving. The author lost her beloved brother to a car accident when they were both in their twenties. Walking through her grief with her was very difficult at times, but it was rewarding as well. She has a lot of insightful things to say about grief, especially as it relates to her faith.
I would recommend this, but I'm not sure who I would recommend it to. It would definitely depend on the person. Her experience was raw and heartbreaking and long. I don't think I could have read this immediately after losing my parents or my sister. However, with a little distance, I think it has great value. I also believe it will help with future losses (which are, of course, inevitable).
I read this as a physical book (unusual for me) and tabbed the heck out of it.
This book was an amazing read by JL Gerhard’s. She gives us all a vivid look in to something so personal and extremely painful. Jennifer allows us to walk through her journey of losing her brother with her. She says one of her goals is to give others a friend as they experience loss and that’s just one of the many gifts she gives through this book. She has generously given us all a first hand account to see God moving in our lives and shows us how he’s always there, holding our hands even through our darkest and hardest days.
I read this book in one sitting, my emotions mimicking the ocean waves on the cover. A raging ocean in a rallying cry against death, the peaceful surf of relinquishing, the neverending waves a promise of hope and eternity. Praise God for Jennifer answering a call to use her gift to eloquently help us through our grief, to know we're not alone. That life building up on the other side of grief doesn't negate the hole you feel, that you can be both happy and sad.
Sad, beautiful, inspiring, funny, insightful. So many ways to describe Swallowed up!! Knowing the author of this book personally, made reading the book much more impactful, and I can confidently say that this book is true art! It takes a lot of talent and passion to write something of this magnitude, and I would recommend it to anyone, especially those who are struggling with or have gone through loss, or those who just want to learn more about the beauty of life.
Gerhardt gives a candid and hopeful message on death for any Christian. I would recommend the book to anyone, but especially to those who might be struggling with grief and loss. My only complaint is that Les Miserables is referred to as a play. Little editing errors like that are minor, but distracting nonetheless. Overall, it's a great read.
A beautiful book on death, grief, and suffering. Gerhardt openly shares so many hard feelings surrounding the death of her brother. Ultimately, she says, those of us who are still alive after losing a loved one must choose to live. That’s how we fight death—with love and light and life. She doesn’t gloss over the hard, but gives hope for the grieving.
This book was amazing. It helped me with perspective in a difficult season of my life. I am not dealing with the physical death of a loved one but the death of a relationship and this book has helped me think about how to move forward with that loved one in a new way.
This book was SO good. Well written, funny, engaging, real. Do gift it to anyone mourning/grieving pretty much anything (whether the actual death of a loved one or something else).