Ascent From Darkness by Michael Leehan

"Ascent From Darkness" by Michael Leehan is the disturbing, but true, story of a man's encounter with the dark side and satanism.  Michael spent twenty years of his life in the service of Satan experiencing the dangerous power of the devil resulting in the loss of his family, jobs, friends, and almost his life until he encountered the love of Jesus and the salvation the Lord died to give him. 

Over all, the book was a good read and two parts in particular really affected me.  The first was as a result of his satanic dealings when he was told to kill a cat as a sacrifice by smothering her.  Then he disposed of the cat by putting her in a bag and tossing it in a trash can. As a cat lover, I found that section very difficult to read and it had me in tears.  The other part, fortunately on a much better note, was after Michael accepted Christ as his Savior he stopped to see his mother who he hadn't seen for quite awhile and who was in a nursing home.  He told her of his salvation experience and prayed for her that she, too, would experience the love and salvation of Christ. Michael learned later that she died just a few weeks after his visit.

The book has several dark and depressing moments but ends in a very positive way showing what Christ can do even with someone as far gone as Michael was.  He now ministers to others and encourages them to know that they, too, can experience a good life when they let Christ take the place of the Enemy.  I recommend this book to everyone who is searching for the answers to life's cruelties.  They, too, can know that Jesus Christ is the answer.

I received a free copy of "Ascent From Darkness" from the publishers in return for my written review. All that was asked was that give an honest assessment of the book.  The words are my own.

One Call Away by Brenda Warner

"One Call Away" by Brenda Warner is a wonderful and inspiring true story about a young single mother's struggles to raise her two children, one of whom is a special needs child.  Brenda is proof of what a person can do when they have faith in God.  Upon graduation from high school she realized her dream of serving in the military like her dad.  She bacame a Marine and, in the book, she shares her tough experience in boot-camp. She also tells shres her troublesome relationship she had with her first husband who was abusive. Just prior to leaving him, he was watching their first child while she worked until she was called home because of an accident involving the baby. According to her husband, he accidentally dropped him in the bathtub while giving him a bath.  In the hospital, the baby was in critical condition and the medical team, suspecting abuse called the authorities which involved several interviews and court hearings. The baby when released from the hospital was blind and suffered some mental retardation.  The marriage suffered and she finally left with her, then, two children and moved back home with her parents.  While she worked, her parents took care of the children.  Life was difficult and Brenda had to make do on welfare and food stamps for awhile.

Later, she met Kurt Warner, a well-known football player.  Not long after, tough times struck again when Brenda's parents were killed when a tornado struck their town and what was their newly built home where they were living out their retirement years.  Brenda was impressed with how Kurt stuck by her and helped her through the tragedy. Her love and admiration for him grew as his did for her and they were married in the same church that her parents were going to be baptized in, had they lived. After marrying Kurt, Brenda shares the ups and downs of being a football players wife and what being in the limelight is like including the lack of privacy, etc.

Today, Kurt and Brenda are doing well. Kurt has retired from football but with seven children and an organization they founded to help those less fortunate, their lives are full. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and found it difficult to put down.  It was written like a novel and the words just flowed beautifully.  I highly recommend it.

I received this book free from the Thomas Nelson's Book Sneeze review program and all I was asked to do was give an honest appraisal, positive or negative.  The words are my own.