Archive for February, 2008

Closer Than Your Skin: Unwrapping the Mystery of Intimacy with God, by Susan D. Hill

How I came to read this book:

It’s a new release from WaterBrook Press that I was given the opportunity to review. The cover art was really good. The full title “Closer Than Your Skin: Unwrapping the Mystery of Intimacy with God” is what really grabbed me – enough to sign up for the review.

Score Summary

• Content: 10
• Writing Style: 7
• Re-readability: 9
• Busy Mommy Scale: 5

Content

This book is a personal testimony. The title and cover led me to believe that it would be more of a self-help/devotional type book, and that had me confused for the first couple of chapters. By the third chapter or so, I had reset my expectations and was often surprised by how much personal impact Ms. Hill’s story had on me.

That being said, her story really demonstrated to me that God really does reach out in impactful ways if we just slow down and listen – and keep listening.  It helped me to see that some of the things that I had just rejected as coincidences very likely were God’s way of letting me know He’s here and with me.   It has really changed my perspective.  The pursuit of God is the only thing that matters.

Writing Style

Memoir style writing. I think I would have been less frustrated with the writing if I had realized this at the time I started the book. There was at least one or two stories that she shared that I kept expecting to have an object lesson or some later significant meaning, but were just events that she felt were impactful in her life. Once I got into the rhythm of her writing, it improved. This also ties in with the lower Busy Mommy Scale – it required a longer attention span than I currently am allowed to have.

Re-readability

I intend to re-read this book at least one more time. Not now. It’s one of those that I have the feeling will find a place and time of importance in my life when I have forgotten how much God wants to talk to me.

Busy Mommy Scale

I have to say that this book isn’t written in “snippets” format. Not that every book should be, of course. On several occasions I tried reading a few paragraphs here and there and all it did was left me frustrated. This book required more concentration than I could give it a lot of the time. I found that I really only could read it during my set morning (with a cup of coffee) devotional time, or right before bed when I could postpone sleep in order to finish a chapter.

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Author Bio:

Susan Hill is an award-winning feature writer, whose work has appeared in The War Cry and Light & Life. A long-time leader of interdenominational women’s groups, she also serves on the board of the Uganda Orphans Fund, a non-profit Christian relief organization. Susan and her husband, Duncan, have three children and live in Montana.

You can read more about this book here: http://closerthanyourskin.com