Bo's Cafe

AWESOME!!!

Very inspiring...

Captures your spiritual heart

This book is not easy to start. However, keep going and it will hold you captive until the end,leaving you wanting more.

We all deal with the difficult in life and this book will offer you an interesting way to walk on the road toward a solution.

It is best to read and share this with a close friend so give them a copy,pour the coffee and settle in for a great discussion

More than I even imagined

I had seen the video and read true Faced and it changed my life. When I saw on line that the guys had written a new book called Bo's Cafe I was extremely excited. I told my wife that if I get nothing else for Christmas this is what I wanted. By New Years day I had read it from cover to cover. I enjoyed it completely. I cofacilitate a men's only group at our church and shared the book with my cofacilitator. I told him I thought the book was great but questioned whether it would be right to use it in a class. After reading he came to pretty much the same conclusion. We continued to pass the book along to others we thought would enjoy it. About a month ago while in class we were all trying to decide the next book to use in again a men's only class. A couple of the guys that had already read it suggested we use it. We finally all agreed. What a blessing and wonderful tool. I know I am getting so much out of this book the second time through. I am seeing so much of Steven in myself it's almost scary. The issues Steven has are ones that speak to just about everyone in the class and is stimulating tremendous open and honest conversations. What a blessing. Those of us that have shared this book with our wives are receiving great feed back from them as well. Not just a mens book. Thanks so much for this heart searching follow up to True Faced and I pray that there is more to come.

We all need a little help now and then when important relationships look like they are headed in the wrong direction.

Bo's Cafe is a great book for those who have struggled in finding solutions for their anger. This book helps you see how real friends are nearer than you think and will not judge but encourage and help you through difficult times.These friends dont just claim to be Christians but their life and actions bring Gods love to life in their unconditional love for you.

intriguingly different Christian fiction

I really enjoyed Paul Young's The Shack so when I realized Windblown Media had finally brought out another book I was very keen to read it. Bo's Café is certainly an interesting book; very different from the Shack, but with a similar grace-filled message. While the Shack starts with solid real-world tragedy then slides into mystery, Bo's Café opens with a mysteriously meaningful encounter, only to slide its way into everyday pain.

The main character, Steven, is a person that many men might easily relate to, and a spouse that many women might recognize. He means well. He tries. But he knows his job is to provide and somehow he forgets there's another provider, and that he's also supposed to be present and part of his family.

As Steven repeatedly reasons himself out of guilt, I find myself feeling sorry for him, then sorry for his wife, then guilty for my own mistakes-yes, wives make mistakes too. Meanwhile the angel in the truck-stop turns out to be a very real man with his own history and faults, as are all the other people Steven meets at Bo's Café.

I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. I valued the small insights into how their lives went downhill before they changed; they were changing still. But the story itself felt more preachy than The Shack-more determined to give me answers than to inspire me to seek for myself. The Shack had a lighter touch it seemed, filled with a sense of the wonder and otherness of God. But Bo's Café is the other side of the same coin, heavier and more firmly grounded, with a God who is passionate about right relationships and attitudes.

If Men are from Mars and Woman from Venus, then Bo's Café might make a good sourcebook for translation. Mars and Venus strike sparks and fly apart, till they finally learn a way to live in balance with self and others. The book gives a fascinating insight into the male mind, and into God's love. I enjoyed this it; just not so overwhelmingly as I enjoyed The Shack.

Everyone needs "Bo's Cafe"

Bo's Cafe is the story of a man's journey through the most challenging part of anyone's life - overcoming demons from the past that threaten the future. Steven, the main character, has unresolved issues which are creating problems for him in his home and in his office. A stranger enters his life, leading him to a place where he can learn to be himself as he's meant to be.

Bo's Cafe is like Cheers - it's a place where problems can be aired and resolved in the company of friends. The patrons come together regularly for loving support. We all need this kind of support. There is a tremendous freedom in talking about anything and everything (work, spouse, kids, etc.) and in receiving honest responses and loving encouragement. This is God's grace.

Although Bo's Cafe is fiction, the story is all too common. So many of us fall into the trap of trying to rely on our own inner strength, which results in things falling apart all around us. Steven's tale involves the sharing of good Christian counseling. It's possible to find a Bo's Cafe or to create one; everyone benefits from this type of network.

I strongly recommend this book - read it and share it with others. Visit www(dot)boscafe(dot)com for more information and to gain more insight into the Cafe experience.

Bo's Cafe

The reviews on this book have intrigued me, and the book definitely lived up to my expectations. "All of these people have others around who could help them see ... if only they asked for help. But fear keeps them from asking. So everybody does an elaborate dance around each other. A guarded, well-intended conspiracy of silence surrounds almost every conversation. What isn't said is louder than what's spoken. Friends dance around friends for years, holding back truths that would set the other free. The memories of failed attempts, hurt feelings, and estranged relationships block light from entering the room." My personal review of this book is short and sweet. It is time to get real. Get real with all of our relationships, with everyone we come in contact with. And most importantly, we need to get real with God. No more hiding from the truth, no more dancing around the issues that hold us back, hold us down, and hinder us from enjoying the really important things in life. And the most important things in life? They are not things, but people. This book is so much more than a story of fictional characters that meet at a little seafood joint down on the docks called Bo's Cafe. It is a reference manual that can speak to each one of us ... and help us in our own search to find answers. The wisdom in this book, especially from Andy, speaks volumes straight to the heart of the reader. I highly recommend this book for everyone, it is an incredible message of grace and life change. To find out more, visit Bo's Cafe blog at www.boscafe.com

This is an interesting character driven inspirational family drama

On the surface executive Steven Kerner, his wife Lindsey and their child Jennifer live the perfect Southern California lifestyle. However, he has anger issues, which explodes when Lindsay yells at him for failing to pick up Jenifer from school so they could spend quality time together. Her nagging and some earlier alcohol lead to his raging. The two women in his life leave.-------------

Lindsay and Jennifer move back into the house while Steven resides in an expensive Santa Monica hotel not far from where he works. He assumes this fight will blow over, but Lindsay has given up on his violent temper and files for a divorce.-----------

At a bar whose ownership and name changes seemingly monthly, elderly Hawaiian shirted Andy Monroe offers advice and friendship to Steven who rejects the kindness. He pleads with Lindsay who obstinately refuses to take him back unless he gets professional anger management help; he angrily leaves instead as he knows he needs no help as he can control his temper if she would stop igniting it. Andy gets Steven to meet with a group of peers who tell their updated story at Bo's Café.-----------

This is an interesting character driven inspirational family drama that focuses on getting help when one's personal problems feel overwhelming and released by hammering at others including loved ones. That help may come from God, peer groups, or counselors; but the key to remember no one walks alone. With a strong cast led by Steven whose temper is so explosive it puts fear in the eyes of his two women whom he loves and shame inside his heart, readers will relish his efforts to change driven by his Electra coach.

Harriet Klausner

If you want to see how Jesus would deal with people today - don't miss this one.

Ace Hardware might be the place of the "helpful hardware man" but grace is the place of the life-giving soulcare Man. I've often wondered what it would have been like to follow Jesus around when he was here on earth. To listen to his words of care and forgiveness, of acceptance and love. To watch Him touch the eyes that were blind but now see, to give a father back his daughter a widow her son. What must have it been like to watch him that day in the town square writing in the sand beside a half clothed broken and distraught woman then speaking restorative truth to her in love as her accusers leave to find another to accuse.

If you want to know, visit Bo's Cafe, take a ride in that Buick Electra, sit with Andy and listen to his words of grace and truth spoken in love. If you like your life the way it is now, don't dare pick up this book for you will never be satisfied again with anything but the safe place called "grace".

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com

Steven Kerner and his wife live the good life, but things sometimes get edgy, and one night his anger explodes. His wife, Lindsey, kicks him out, and he retreats to a hotel. Then Andy Monroe extends a hand of friendship, but Steven is not trusting of that friendship, and carries a massive chip on his shoulder.

Lindsey does not accept Steven's apology. She just doesn't feel that he will be able to change on a deep enough level without outside help. Help that Steven is reluctant to seek.

Andy introduces Steven to a group that meets at Bo's Cafe who try to steer Steven to an acceptance of God's grace, and to allow himself to trust. They each have a story to tell in their conversations with each other, much like an Alcoholic's Anonymous group.

Steven does eventually begin to unravel his pent-up feelings, and learn to cope with life without temper blow-ups.

Windblown Media published THE SHACK, which turned into a publishing phenomenon, and this is their follow-up inspirational book, designed to encourage and challenge readers who struggle with problems in their personal life.

It is a message that we can all profit from. It teaches you to give, receive, and to trust, opening yourself up to self-realization, and helping you to experience God's grace.

Relationships and Community a Winning Combination

After reading the last page of this book I'm speechless, pondering all that I had read. Where do I begin to tell you the hope this book released in my heart, mind and emotions. The thing I LOVE about Christian Fiction is the fact that it can take you places you'd never go on your own. It can help you explain things that are just unexplainable, and put you in situations where you can see GRACE and LOVE in a very real way.

The opening scene read like the movie Mr. Destiny, where a distraught man heads to a run-down restaurant, meets a man that knows everything about him, then the distraught man makes a wish and lives his dream. No magic here -- only a book filled with hope in the future and a way to live life to the fullest. What does a real loving community of believers look like? You'll meet Andy, Hank, Carlos and Cynthia, just to name a few of the fun loving, real characters; who tell it like it is. It's refreshing and at times painful to read because I found them talking right to my heart!

Here's a clip from the book-Steven and Andy first meet-he asks Andy a question.
" It starts young doesn't it? They get hurt."

Andy says, "All those people down there, walking and driving around, confused-angry, hurt, wounded, afraid, resentful-they all have something in common."

"What's that?" Steven says.

".they've learned to protect themselves. Now they're adults and they're discovering this cruel secret: they can't protect themselves. In fact, the last person who can protect them is them." Wow!!

Bo's Café helps me identify some of the lies that I believed about myself, some of the old tapes I had playing in my head until Jesus set me free. Andy takes it a little deeper in a very simple but profound way. It think this is a must read for everyone. I know that I'm going to be reading this book again and again, giving it out to my family and friends. I'm so thankful to the publisher for giving me a review copy of this book.

Nora St.Laurent
Finding Hope Through Fiction
www.psalm516.blogspot.com

Thoughtful and provoking

This story is very different to read. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started reading. Steven isn't exactly a likable character. He has a lot of faults, some he will readily admit, others he doesn't seem to notice that he has. In situations with his family, I especially felt for his wife and daughter and understand their reactions to him. As for Andy, to me it felt like he was a guardian angel who appeared out of nowhere, who always had the right things to say. His character is never really fully developed in my opinion so I didn't feel as if I really got to know him. Steven seems to grow throughout the book as he learns from Andy's teachings and his own spiritual walk, but then he stumbles. It's refreshing though because it shows an imperfect character.

Multi author books have always been a curiosity with me especially when there are more than two authors. I'm always not really sure why three or more authors are needed to write a simple book. It can be good and sometimes it can lead to disastrous results. I would have to say for the most part it worked well for this book. I say for the most part because while the story was able to flow fluidly for most of the book, there were times where you could tell it was written by a different author. This would mainly happen when a character would go off in a long speech. It would start to sound a bit preachy and almost as if I was listening to a sermon which I have never been fond of in a book. During these scenes, I felt like skimming over because I don't like being preached at while I was reading. The story scenes were fine, I just felt that these long monologues could have been handled differently. Overall, it's an interesting story. It's one to think about long after you've finished reading. I wouldn't classify this as the next Shack, but it does good at making one ponder about their life.

A book to ponder...

Three friends get together and write a book that they hope will have spiritual impact on people's lives. What are the spiritual truths that they hope to convey? Grace. Yes, they go into the deep addictions and weaknesses we carry in our lives and even more importantly, how to overcome them. I love that they do not deal with anything superficially. There are no bandaids that will fall off and end up on the bottom of someone's shoe. It is about relationships, which lead to vulnerability which in turn can lead to honesty and then healing which is found in God. This is a huge part of the story and so well done. But the root of it all boils down to grace and how unwilling we are to accept it for ourselves. It's not about saying I'm sorry, but about forgiveness and repentance.

Steven Kerner is an amazing lead character, not because he's a great guy, he's amazing because of his flaws - the man has some major anger issues and he does not spare those around him, especially his wife. We get to watch him explode and lose his temper in all his stupidity (more than once) and yet you can't help pulling for him ("Come on Steven, calm down before you blow it. Don't say it, don't say it... NO! He said it!"). You feel for his longsuffering wife, Lindsay and his poor daughter Jennifer who is stuck in the middle of it all just praying that her parents don't get divorced.

Andy Monroe enters the picture and things start to change... or do they? Andy tries to befriend and mentor Steven but somedays he just doesn't want to be helped. Andy takes Steven to Bo's Cafe and introduces him to a cast of characters - Cynthia, Bo, Hank and Carlos. Steven can't believe that Andy thinks any of them are going to be able to help. It's not about help, it's about having a safe place. That is what Bo's Cafe is.

Walk with Steven as he tries to deal, mess up, deal, mess up, apologize and finally get real. Can his marriage survive? Can his new friendships survive? And what about his relationship with his daughter? Good storyline, but this book is definitely a thinker book, not cerebral like you think so hard you can't even enjoy it, but like the kind of book you can't possibly read and not ponder and ponder and ponder. If you are fortunate, this is the kind of book that will change who you are.

Loved this book

This has become another one of my favorite reads. From the moment I started reading, I loved it. I could see my story all across the pages. It stirred emotions inside me as well as a desire for my own "Bo's Cafe."

This is now added to my all-time favorite books list. I can't stop recommending it.

If you loved The Shack, you'll love this book. They go hand in hand...

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