Official Review: The Road to the Cross by Susan Mouw

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Road to the Cross" by Susan Mouw.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Road to the Cross by Susan Mouw is a collection of forty-eight free-verse poems. The author opines that she wrote the book with the hope that readers will realize that God is their heavenly father and that He loves them no matter how far from Him they feel. She writes about her relationship with God. The poems are mainly free-verse, and therefore, most of them have no rhyming and sometimes no meter. A few of the poems, such as ‘The Journey Continues’ and ‘The Chest’ are more like prose. Susan's style of writing is simple and easy to understand with a paucity of literary devices.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading and reflecting on these poems, and it was difficult to choose a favorite poem. One of my favorite poems was ‘My Comfort’ in which the author details a realistic conversation with God about her worries and anxieties. She describes her life before her relationship with Christ as characterized by blindness, ignorance, defeat, and the absence of joy and peace.

I liked the poem 'Do you hear me?' It was like a conversation between a father and child. These lines in the poem resonated with me: “Don’t try to work your way into heaven. It can’t be done that way. It is your heart I treasure above all things and your willingness to obey.”

‘The Waiting Game,’ in my opinion, echoes the thoughts of people struggling with trusting God for answered prayers. I think people going through trying times, will enjoy reading the poem ‘Take my hand.’ I found it particularly comforting.

The verses quoted below are from the poem ‘My Fire Still Burns.’ They spoke to me because they talk about the resilience and grit with which a Christian should face challenges in their lives.
“If Satan thinks he can turn me away by turning my friends against me.
Then he doesn’t know my heart, my commitment, my resolve he doesn’t see.”

These poems are simple and powerful. They appear to have been written from the heart and from the author’s deep conviction about the themes she writes about. They are thought-provoking and inspiring. I would have liked some rhyming and meter, but then, the author’s style of writing is her signature and voice, so I can't be too insistent on my preference. I think this book was professionally edited because I found only one grammatical error. I recommend this book to Christians desirous of a more profound and closer walk with God. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because it was an enjoyable and inspiring read.

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The Road to the Cross
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[Kristy Khem]

Sounds like a good poetry book for Christians. Thanks for reviewing it and discussing your favorites.

[Princepetr10]

Susan Mouw Books are really nice , I have not seen this but I will definitely do .