Review of In God We Trust

[Effie Cherotich]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "In God We Trust" by Linda Swann.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Linda Swann’s life took a terrible turn when her son was diagnosed with cancer. He was only 14. Just as she was getting adjusted to this new change in her son’s life, her husband deserted her. Despite his son’s disease, Jack, his father, showed little empathy. Linda ends up struggling to be supportive to her ailing son while still taking care of her older daughter, Anita. At the same time, she faces the devastation of a failed marriage in the midst of it all.

In God We Trust by Linda Swann is simply a diary of the author during the period of her son’s illness until his death. Throughout the book, what stands out the most is the author’s faith in God. Biblical passages and references are the language of this book. The story showcases her vulnerability during one of the most difficult phases of her life. I loved that about this book. She also displayed raw and real emotions of confusion, struggle of praying, guilt of not being available for her daughter and her desire to love and be loved. This made the book very relatable.

It is worth mentioning that I loved the fact that the author added photos of her son at the end of the book. While this may be a common practice in most memoirs, I felt meeting Jeff, her son, in pictures, made the story more real and more emotional. It made me appreciate this story more.

Despite the author’s pure intention of sharing a very sensitive period of her life, she forgot to make the book appealing to its audience. I felt that there was no art or skill that was used to put up this story. It was a plain book. I honestly felt as though this was her actual diary. It felt synonymous to simply pouring your thoughts straight from your mind. As a reader, it became boring and tiresome to go on reading.

I also disliked the author’s habit of mentioning people without letting the reader know their relationship. She also could state an event that had occurred without giving proper details. For instance, she could mention that her ex-husband had called without explaining what the call was about. This resulted in some gaps in the flow of the story.

The book has a lot of errors. The story is very touching but it has many shortcomings. It is for this reason that I would rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. As previously mentioned, there are a lot Christian quotations in this story. This may put off non-believers. I would recommend this book to lovers of memoirs.

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In God We Trust
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[Edit_or]

It’s ok to face challenges but a lot coming at the same time can be excruciating. Nice review.

[Effie Cherotich]

It’s ok to face challenges but a lot coming at the same time can be excruciating. Nice review.

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