The first line of the book is ‘Growing up, I lost count of the number of times my mother sat me down and explained the need to toughen up’, oh how I understood that. I too had been taught to toughen up from an early age. When you hear this often enough your reaction is to cover the softness with a shadow and pretend that world has not had an effect on your heart. Charaia uses biblical wisdom to show that you cannot arrive at regaining that tenderness by avoiding honesty. Her words are inter-woven with humour, hope and hard-won wisdom. As someone who has had enough hardships to render herself occasionally cynical, I was impressed that as she shares her story, she does not sugar coat the disappointment and bitterness of life but points us to the tenderness of Christ. I love how empathetic and powerful her words were as she pointed to the faithfulness and goodness of God without denying the realities of how hard life can be.
This book is a fantastic read for anyone seeking to cultivate hope and a fresh perspective in their life. The author’s willingness to go beyond the surface and expose her own vulnerability highlights the resilience of the human spirit when you allow God’s word to permeate your every day life.
