BEAUTIFULLY INTERRUPTED

When God Holds the Pen that Writes Your Story

Teresa Swanstrom Anderson, Worthy Publishing (MAY) Softcover $16.99 (288pp), 978-1-68397-260-0

In her inspiring and vulnerable memoir Beautifully Interrupted, popular Christian speaker and blogger Teresa Swanstrom Anderson notes that while she has always had a relationship with God, it wasn’t until she gave up the path she thought she should be on that she truly saw what her life was meant to be.

Raised in a deeply religious family, Anderson developed a relationship with God at an early age. Anderson knew that life was about helping others and living for a larger purpose, but she didn’t quite know what that meant for her. When her family took a trip to Europe in her teens, she began to see that her ideas of career, family, and the future were not in her hands; she turned to prayer to find out what was expected of her. Covering her marriage, motherhood, and international adoption, Beautifully Interrupted is emotionally raw and powerful. Anderson argues that a life lived for God’s glory is not always an easy or even a happy one, but that the fulfillment it provides is unequaled. Bible verses and biblical stories abound, relating both to Anderson’s personal journey and to the way she sees humanity as a whole.

This is an unflinchingly Christian book; it leaves no room for interpreting God as anything other than the God described in the Christian Bible. At some points, the book is vague, especially regarding “callings” to make life changes.

Chapters move in a mostly chronological fashion and illuminate lessons learned regarding releasing expectations; becoming better, not bitter; and dealing with fear. Throughout the book, Anderson’s humility and spirituality shine through. Many will undoubtedly find her story, and the lessons drawn from it, to be highly valuable.