A story of faith and grace
Journey with author Kenneth F. Worth as he faces hard times and great blessings. His has been a road made rough by many adversities, including the tragic death of his parents at age eleven, a year in Vietnam and an array of serious physical challenges. Yet Worth insists that he is a blessed man who sees life as a challenge to be met head-on and as an opportunity to make a difference. Here Worth lays out his tragedy and triumph for everyone to see. His story will renew your faith and your optimism. You will feel new hope and courage to live your life to the full. You will be aware of God's blessings. Come and share the experience!
The essence of faith is continuing to choose to do what is right without the certainty of an earthly reward. It requires a firmness of conviction against the unknown. Kenneth Worth exhibits this quality. In "Hard Times and Great Blessings: The Story of My Life," the reader is transported to Worth's post-World War II era childhood where in a stunning flashback he relates his tragic past with two words: BANG! BANG! These two inexplicable shots fired by his mother silenced his parents forever. Worth employs writing as a means to examine his life. The reader gains access to moments of lasting impact. It is interesting to note the events he chooses to highlight. The memories that Worth has carried with him across a lifetime. The ones he selected to record for posterity.
Worth also recalls the mundane yet special moments that fill every life such as getting married, having children and earning a job promotion. It takes an individual with an acute sensitivity to realize the bigger picture behind the backdrop of this collage of everyday life. Every life has its fingerprint, no two are the same. There is something to be learned from every one. Through writing, Worth illustrates an active faith. He does not doubt, but engages the reader into questioning the fundamental purpose of a life. Beneath the surface, questions are there but the ultimate answers remain illusive.
Later in life, illness strikes Worth. His golden years of retirement are filled with coping with a body assaulted by Parkinson's Disease. It is not the situation he imagined for himself. Yet as his physical abilities decline, his mental and spiritual capacities sharpen. He has known all along that life is not fair. Yet he has come to the realization that it can be examined and shared with others. Does a life come full circle? Does the constant cycle of change lead to a final culminating point? Worth is still examining these primal issues. He has taken the first introspective step with this book. However, his spiritual journey continues.
A complimentary review copy was provided by Kenneth F. Worth.
Mr. Worth has written a memoir that lists the blessing from God throughout his life. This book is about his life and career in the military, and as a civilian working for the military in various capacities. <BR/><BR/>From adversity as a young boy, through his life, and finding his soul mate. Read a well-written memoir about how life can change, and progress with the help of God in our lives, when you have faith. You may not begin with the faith you need, but life has a way of leading you to it when you least expect it.<BR/><BR/>This is a book about a life lived to its fullest, and belief that things will work out. Mr. Worth is a good storyteller. He has a book that everyone should read, old, or young, you will find something in this memoir for you. I recommend this book for all to read, not just those that believe.<BR/><BR/>Anyone will find this a book well worth the read.
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Posted August 29, 2008
How many people have fascinating life stories, are even encouraged to share their experiences through the written word, but never follow through with the task of compiling a memoir? Author Kenneth Worth is one man who listened when others told him that he had a story worth sharing, and the result is the captivating memoir titled Hard Times and Great Blessings. In this short, but detail-rich, book, Mr. Worth relates a life filled with some moments to which almost any reader will be able to relate and other events that most can only begin to imagine. Kenneth Worth was made an orphan two days after his eleventh birthday, when his mother killed his father and then took her own life. Worth and his brother were both asleep in the house when this tragic crime occurred and, even though they somehow slept through the sounds of the shots being fired, they were the ones who found their father lying in bed with, as Worth describes it, practically no head remaining. Obviously a tragic scene for two boys to witness, Worth does not spend much time reflecting on this day. The reader is left to wonder why Worth¿s mother felt compelled to commit such a violent act. Was there mental illness? Untold abuse? Through the noticeable absence of such details, Worth lets the reader know that he did not allow his life to be consumed by the questions surrounding that day. Like Worth himself did, the reader must move on. What Mr. Worth does focus on is the importance of relationships in his life. He writes with genuine emotion when sharing the love story that developed between him and his wife, Ruth. As he describes it, the two are joined at the hip and have been since their courtship started when the two were both teenagers. Now married for forty-eight years, the commitment between Kenneth and Ruth that remained through multiple job changes, personal illnesses, and family deaths is a testament to true love and partnership. Beyond his marriage, Worth also expresses his delayed appreciation for the grandparents who raised him following his parents¿ death (he admits to a lack of gratefulness at the time), pride at the accomplishments of his two adult daughters, and respect for the in-laws who became surrogate parents and led him to his faith. Although Mr. Worth lost his mother and father at a young age, and in some ways that relationship can never be replaced, he certainly understands that he has a life richly filled with people who love and care for him. Among the details that Mr. Worth shares about his life, I greatly enjoyed the memories that he associates with the cars he has owned over his life. (He shows a particular affection for models developed by Ford.) He fondly remembers the car he was driving when taking his pregnant wife to the hospital, the one that got him to a new city as he searched for a home for his growing family, and several others. I found that the inclusion of these cars, down to the make, model and color, added another way in which readers could relate to Worth¿s story. I know that always smile when I see a Ford Escort that reminds me of my high school boyfriend, remember the crayons that melted in the back of my dad¿s 1978 Honda Civic, and cringe when I think about the car I was driving when rear-ended by a drunk driver. Don¿t many of us associate cars with events in our life¿a uniquely American mindset? Through his military service in Vietnam with a young bride left at home, administrative civilian positions that took him to many areas of the country, the recent diagnosis of Parkinson¿s Disease, and his wife¿s own health problems, Kenneth Worth acknowledges the constant strength that his Christian faith has provided. He takes time throughout the book to remind the reader that God is always working in his life, even when the circumstances seemed bleak. Worth focuses on the blessings he has received and encourages his readers to do the same. A man who lost his parents to violent deaths when he was
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Overview
A story of faith and grace
Journey with author Kenneth F. Worth as he faces hard times and great blessings. His has been a road made rough by many adversities, including the tragic death of his parents at age eleven, a year in Vietnam and an array of serious physical challenges. Yet Worth insists that he is a blessed man who sees life as a challenge to be met head-on and as an opportunity to make a difference. Here Worth lays out his tragedy and triumph for everyone to see. His ...