When I first heard of Roy Hallums' rescue in 2005, I remembered being happy that an American hostage was rescued. It was only after I saw him appear on FoxNews to promote his book Buried Alive about his 14 month ordeal, that I KNEW I had to honor him by reading his book. I had no idea the brutal conditions he survived.
This is not a type of book I normally read, so after seeing him on the news, I was going to go out and buy the book. I did not need to, for as if it were a sign, Thomas Nelson offered it as a review book. I am glad they did.
This book draws you in from the very first chapter and doesn't let go until the very end. The way Mr. Hallums tells his story, with such detail, he puts you right in to that heart breaking God-forsaken hellhole were he was held bound, blindfolded, barely fed and beaten almost daily. Throughout the book, I just wanted to rescue, hug him, feed him and beat his captors and treat them the way he and the other hostages were treated.
Roy was able to keep his sanity by focusing on staying alive and seeing his family again. He took mental road trips that kept him sane, probably had some healing effect and let him escape, if only in his mind, the nightmare he was living.
As he tells his story now, he shows his sense of humor, which I know he probably didn't have during his ordeal. Nevertheless, he is still able to make his reader chuckle here and there through an otherwise heart-wrenching story.
There are few fiction writers out there that can tell a story as intriguing as this one from their imagination, like the real-life agony Roy has suffered. I was so enthralled and absorbed, that when I got to the part about him being rescued by US Special Forces, I cried and smiled through my tears as I know he must have done when he was finally released from that living hell.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It has taught me a lot of things I did not know, about Iraq, the US, and the enduring power of the human spirit.
Thank you to all military, past, present and future for doing EVERYTHING you do for this great nation of ours and taking care of your own.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Fearless
Fearless by Max Lucado
Max Lucado writes an amazing book showing how living without fear is a wonderful life to live. This is a fabulous book on the power of positive thinking; something I try to use everyday to live a happier life. Throughout the book, he uses scripture, stories from the Bible, stories from present life, things that have happened in the past; stories of his or those of others, to illustrate how fear controls our actions. Within those same stories, he also shows how to overcome our fears, through prayer and positive thinking. He also shows how the love of others can overcome this monster within so that we can live happy, productive lives and keep others happy by example. He uses his humor and wit to help relay these messages.
He illustrates the snowballing effect of fear and the "what if's." For example, one might be afraid of losing their job. "What if I lose my job? My spouse will be upset, my kids will lose respect, no one will want to hire me if I try to apply somewhere else". So they become reserved and withdrawn in the workplace. They are afraid to speak to anyone for fear of saying the wrong thing, or doing the wrong thing, so they say or do nothing at all. This leads to sadness, depression, loss of interest and eventually, quite possibly, to losing the job because of lack of performance. All because of one simple factor... fear. He shows you haw to make a list and keep track of all of your fears and then look back later to see if any of those fears ever saw the light of day. You would be astonished to know, that most fears never come to light.
As I was reading one part of the book, he told the story of a slave family who was woken up everyday to the sound of the rooster. He told of the passing of Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. The morning after it passed, that family was once again awoken by the rooster. This time though, they took an axe and killed that rooster and had it for breakfast. It was a symbol of their past life. They would deal with it no more. At the same time I was reading that, Alice in Chains' "Rooster" came on the radio. Part of the lyrics are "Here they come to snuff the rooster" Coincidence? I think not. It made me examine my "rooster" and think of ways to get rid of it.
This book really reaffirmed everything I knew and made me remember all I had forgotten about living of life of happiness and positivity. If you are looking for something to raise your spirits, this would be the book to do it. Stop living in fear.
Max Lucado writes an amazing book showing how living without fear is a wonderful life to live. This is a fabulous book on the power of positive thinking; something I try to use everyday to live a happier life. Throughout the book, he uses scripture, stories from the Bible, stories from present life, things that have happened in the past; stories of his or those of others, to illustrate how fear controls our actions. Within those same stories, he also shows how to overcome our fears, through prayer and positive thinking. He also shows how the love of others can overcome this monster within so that we can live happy, productive lives and keep others happy by example. He uses his humor and wit to help relay these messages.
He illustrates the snowballing effect of fear and the "what if's." For example, one might be afraid of losing their job. "What if I lose my job? My spouse will be upset, my kids will lose respect, no one will want to hire me if I try to apply somewhere else". So they become reserved and withdrawn in the workplace. They are afraid to speak to anyone for fear of saying the wrong thing, or doing the wrong thing, so they say or do nothing at all. This leads to sadness, depression, loss of interest and eventually, quite possibly, to losing the job because of lack of performance. All because of one simple factor... fear. He shows you haw to make a list and keep track of all of your fears and then look back later to see if any of those fears ever saw the light of day. You would be astonished to know, that most fears never come to light.
As I was reading one part of the book, he told the story of a slave family who was woken up everyday to the sound of the rooster. He told of the passing of Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. The morning after it passed, that family was once again awoken by the rooster. This time though, they took an axe and killed that rooster and had it for breakfast. It was a symbol of their past life. They would deal with it no more. At the same time I was reading that, Alice in Chains' "Rooster" came on the radio. Part of the lyrics are "Here they come to snuff the rooster" Coincidence? I think not. It made me examine my "rooster" and think of ways to get rid of it.
This book really reaffirmed everything I knew and made me remember all I had forgotten about living of life of happiness and positivity. If you are looking for something to raise your spirits, this would be the book to do it. Stop living in fear.
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