I was intrigued by the idea of this book: to take a nonfiction book about relationships and model the key principles in a work of fiction. A Place Called Blessing: Where Hurting Ends and Love Begins tells the story of a young man with a troubled past. Josh has never been loved and as a result, he has never developed trust. The child of uncaring parents, he ended up in the foster care system. After a terrible tragedy and repeated rejection, he finds himself on his own at 18. He meets a couple of people who change the trajectory of his life profoundly.
Interwoven throughout the story are the key concepts of Trent's principle of biblical blessing. I have not read the nonfiction book, The Blessing, so I was not sure exactly what I was looking for in the novel. At the end of the book, Trent outlines the 5 key concepts of blessing and as I thought back through the story, I could clearly see them throughout the book. The book also includes a great list of questions that one could work through independently or as a part of a book club or small group.
I enjoyed this book. I like memoirs or novels that read like memoirs, and stories of people overcoming personal obstacles are some of my favorites. It was a quick and easy read, yet gave me something to think about. In some ways, I found it to be a bit too simplistic or maybe not quite believable. However, the core principles are based on truth and this book does a nice job of laying them out in an enjoyable, readable fashion.
