This is the first nonfiction I've reviewed here on Seek Truth. Read Fiction. This book is mainly excerpts from Anita Estes' prayer journal during the hardest years of her son's addiction to alcohol and drugs. The story runs from September 2006 to January 2009.
I liked the set up of the book. Journal entries are in a personal, candid style. Direct prayers. Scriptures. Anita's poems. Neat things that showed various ways to seek God.
Then for the reader she added sections called "Lessons Learned" and "Suggestions" where she would speak from the place she was in when she wrote the book, looking back to that place in the story where she was. All right. That didn't make make sense. Basically, a chapter would cover a time period of say two months, and include elements of journaling and prayer. Then Anita would step into the present and say, "I didn't know then, but …" and precede to share what God has since taught her about that time in her life.
Then she had suggestions to parents of prodigal children, things to watch for, what you might do differently than she did, etc.
I particularly liked how open Anita was about her mistakes and struggles. That made her learning journey even more powerful. She had a simple way of turning the praise and honor back to God, not just for her son's transformation, but for her husband's and herself.
I recommend this book to all my friends with adult children who currently embrace the world more often than the Lord. It is a story of hope. But even more so, it is a story of surrender and allowing God to change you through His Word and grace.
So maybe you don't have to have a child who has wandered away from his/her Christian foundation to enjoy this book and gain from its insights. I don't have a prodigal … but Anita Estes' Letters to God remind me that thankfully God is in the restoration business.
