Book Review: THE SEARCH: A Memoir of an Adopted Woman

I don't think I've ever read an entire book in one day, but that's what happened with this memoir. Titia Ellis tells the story of her years-long search for her biological parents, which didn't even begin until she was in the midst of a mid-life crisis. As you can imagine, her search took many ups, downs, turns, and detours--all while threatening to damage her relationship with her adoptive parents, though that was certainly never her intent.

Titia Ellis draws her audience in by effectively describing her inner turmoil and struggle with wanting to please her adoptive parents yet needing to know the truth about her biological family and herself. She is honest about her feelings of abandonment, confusion, anger, and sadness, though she confesses numerous times how well-loved and cared for she was by her adoptive parents and how very thankful she was for them. It's a hard balance but one that is quite understandable.

What I loved the most about this book is that Mrs. Ellis didn't feel the need to embellish the truth for the sake of drama. She simply told her story, and it captivated me. I felt as if I went through her roller-coaster days with her, joining her in her moments of both elation and despair. I very much wanted her to find the answers to all of her questions, and I imagined myself being in a similar state of mind, had I ever been in her situation.

I highly recommend reading The Search. Especially since I'm not going to tell you how it ends!


*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Smith Publicity, Inc. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: OBAMA PRAYER

I confess that I am not always one to remember to pray for our country's leaders. I'm not proud of this. A lot of the time, it's because I have no idea how to pray for them.

What began as an evening of prayer among Charles Garriott a few of his close friends resulted in his book, Obama Prayer. Garriott, who is a minister in Washington, D.C., offers a guide for praying for the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book and was somewhat afraid that it would be more of a book on politics than prayer. But I was wrong.

Garriott beckons his readers to pray for specific aspects of our President's life and work: direction, wisdom, words, favor, family, truth, protection, justice, mercy, and friends.

"The call to pray for President Barack Obama and his administration," says Garriott, "is first of all a call to dependency on God. It is a call to respond to the work of grace within our lives. It is a reminder that in the political realm neither we nor the President are ultimately in charge. We pray, 'Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.'"

Through reading this book, I was humbled by the fact that I so often neglect to pray for our leaders. It's much easier to simply criticize them, right? But while we are not told to blindly agree with or never challenge those in authority over us, we are to respect them and pray for them.

Obama Prayer is a wonderful guide both for individuals and groups who are in prayer for the President. And though the title makes the content sound very specific, I believe that this is a useful tool in praying for any of our leaders, since the same principles apply to all of them. And I truly appreciate Charles Garriott for taking the time to write it.

I also appreciate his reminder to us: "Our hope is never in government, but in God."


*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Peter Garriott. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”