Shelly's Book Journal

Summary: Joe Kissack tells two stories. The first is his rise to the top in the television industry. He moves from smalltown guy to Hollywood Big Cheese. But success has it's price and Joe finds that alcohol soothes his own self doubts. As he pushes himself harder he eventually graduates to prescription drug abuse. Though he has every material want, his life is slowly slipping away. It's only an encounter with God that offers him any hope...Story two is a well known miracle of 3 Mexican fisherman who spent 9 months stranded at sea in a small fishing boat. Using their skills and the few tools they have with them and motivated by the Word of God. They survive this trying ordeal.These two stories are on a collision course and God is the fuel for their journeys.My thought: I really enjoyed the book, although I had a hard time getting started with it. The two story lines seemed so unrelated, I couldn't understand how it would all come together. I found Joe's fall from the top stereotypical almost, but yet I think a lot of people could see a little bit our their own fears of failure in parts of Joe's story. Joe really submitted to God in his life, and the worldly outcomes were not always "successful". Losing money and jobs seems like it's a bad thing, but recovery of what is truly important is the best thing.I loved the fisherman. Their resourcefulness and faith was truly astounding. Each of them seemed to fill a different roll on the boat and together they were a dream team for this type of situation. Through it all, it changed them, and yet it seemed to strengthen who they were and who God called them to be.Recommend: Highly to those who feel like they are stuck in a rut in their lives and need to start believing in God to see those places where changes become miracles.