Author: Antoinette Tuff
Published: 2014
Genre: Non-Fiction; Memoir
Rating:
3/5- Good. Read it, have a good time and move on. Or not.
Book Source: I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley, free of cost, in exchange for an honest review.
Recommended if you like: Memoirs, Stories about religion and God, Stories about beating adversity
What Its About:
Antoinette Tuff has had a rough life, with a difficult mother and an absent
father. She fell in love young and quickly became pregnant. She and the baby's father married, despite his asking another girl to marry him at the same time they were engaged...with her engagement ring! They had two children together, a daughter and a son, and discovered that their son was battling a disease that would eventually leave him disabled and blind.
But Antoinette also has a deep and abiding believe in God. She met every challenge passing her way with a strength that is born only of a deep, solid faith. Whether pushing her son to become an intelligent, independent man or supporting her daughter through college and law school, Tuff always gave more than her best and kept on praying. Though her strength was tested when her husband cheated on her and then opted for divorce, she battled through and came out stronger...always believing there was a purpose, a reason for her life.
This reason became blatantly obvious the day an armed gunman walked into the main office of the school in which Tuff worked and informed her that today, they were going to die. Tuff had to call on her years of suffering and pain to understand the gunman and to find in herself the ability to remain calm, to offer kindness and understanding, and to maintain her belief that God was with her and guiding her toward disarming the situation and ensuring that the hundreds of children in the building were safe.
But Antoinette also has a deep and abiding believe in God. She met every challenge passing her way with a strength that is born only of a deep, solid faith. Whether pushing her son to become an intelligent, independent man or supporting her daughter through college and law school, Tuff always gave more than her best and kept on praying. Though her strength was tested when her husband cheated on her and then opted for divorce, she battled through and came out stronger...always believing there was a purpose, a reason for her life.
This reason became blatantly obvious the day an armed gunman walked into the main office of the school in which Tuff worked and informed her that today, they were going to die. Tuff had to call on her years of suffering and pain to understand the gunman and to find in herself the ability to remain calm, to offer kindness and understanding, and to maintain her belief that God was with her and guiding her toward disarming the situation and ensuring that the hundreds of children in the building were safe.
Bottom Line:
Tuff offers an honest, no-frills accounting of her life, interspersed with chapters of the events of that horrific day. She talks honestly of her fear (and desperate need for a bathroom), while maintaining an unbending belief that God was guiding her and speaking for her to ensure tragedy was averted. This book is very heavy on scripture and religion, but if you appreciate that or can accept it as the author's true voice, you will enjoy this story quite a bit.
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