Book Review: This Side of Heaven, Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingsbury

This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I had never read Karen Kingsbury before attending Liberty University. Watching her lectures and having her share her process, has been a blessing. So when my inspirational writing class assigned a book of hers this semester, I was excited to study her prose. And she far exceeded any expectation I had. Wow! Listen to me; you have to read this book. I am about to read everything she has ever written.

Sure, I may be generous with my five star ratings from time-to-time, but Kingsbury’s book here, truly deserves six, seven, or twenty stars. When I finished it, I squealed hallelujah.

I am a thirty-one year old grown man. I cried so much reading this book, I had to wipe my tears just to see the screen. I am being honest. Chapter twenty-five (no spoilers), I had to take a pause from reading; my heart required a break. I have read hundreds upon hundreds of books, and never had the experience I had with This Side of Heaven. Not only did her writing help muster deep within myself a spirit of revival, reading it I feel has changed me forever. This is life changing fiction.

Every once in awhile I come across a book, I will never forget my experience reading. Like almost having a heart attack on my couch, because of this gem.

Anything else I say, will be perceived hyperbole. I highly recommend this book. May God bless and sustain her art. Just wow!



View all my reviews

I am thinking of adding a couple book reviews to my regular blog. I am wondering if that is something, you, my readers would enjoy? Please let me know in the comments below or send me an email.

More Posts:

Beat the Boy; Destroy the Man 

W. Alexander Dunford  I will never forget the television’s blue light that night fifteen years ago. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Blood Diamond played. Outside, beneath black skies, rain pelted our windows and the house’s bones braced against high winds. Thunder shook the walls.  It was Father’s idea to watch the movie. He loved violence, and I loved…

The Day God Died: Chapters 1 &2

“…in that moment my fear retreated. I discovered I hated him and his kind. I hated his affluence, his expensive clothes, his chiseled looks, and the arrogance he was born to. But most of all, I hated the power he held over me, his assumption of authority, and the truth of his superiority.”

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: