Desperate Hope: When Faith in God Overcame My Despair

A Phenomenal Book

"Desperate Hope: When Faith in God Overcame My Despair" is one of the most phenomenal books I have ever read. I've written book reviews before and I've used words like "great," "excellent," etc. but I've never used "phenomenal" until now. Desperate Hope was written by Candi Pearson-Shelton and it chronicles her family's journey through a time of great sorrow. It sounds like this is a book about grief. It is not. Yes, the story of Candi's precious brother, Rick, his illness and his ultimate triumphal embrace with his heavenly Father at the young age of 23, is woven throughout this book.

Included in this book are some of his journal entries. When he became too sick to write, Candi or other family members took over. There are comments in response to those journal entries from friends, relatives and people who never met Rick in person. Hundreds, thousands of people were greatly affected by his life and witness, especially through those journal entries posted on a website to have people praying for him 24/7 and to share his testimony.

Rick's motto was "Either way, I win." He meant, of course, that if God chose to heal him here on earth, he would joyfully remain here with his family and continue his work for God. If God chose to heal Rick by bringing him home to Him, that was definitely a win! Yes, you will need a few Kleenex. But still, it is not a book about grief. It is a book about hope.

There is no doubt in my mind that God used Candi Pearson-Shelton as His vessel to bring the message of His hope to this world. His anointing is all over this book from the moment you pick it up and begin reading until you turn the last page. It is a book that will change your life. If you are grieving the loss of a loved one, this book will give you hope. If you are depressed or ill, this book will infuse you with hope. If you have lost your hope-your faith, God will graciously restore your hope and faith through the words He wrote by Candi's hand. And if you simply want your faith to grow more, this is the book that will cause your faith to grow.

I feel like I have not done Desperate Hope justice in this review. It is my earnest heart's desire for you to understand that Desperate Hope is an encouraging, restorative book that offers hope to everyone. Without going into detail, I will say that God used this book to restore my hope and my faith in Him.

My prayer for you as you read this book is for God to instill in you faith the size of a "mustard seed" and that your attitude will always be "I win!"