Parting the Waters

By now I guess you realize that I don’t do “book reviews,” but I do tell you when I find one worth reading. And this one is definitely worth your time. (And believe me, once you dive into it, you won’t be able to put it down!) 

Parting the Waters: Finding Beauty in Brokenness by Jeanne Damoff is the beautiful account of her family’s journey through the drowning, then recovery of her son Jacob. It is a universal story, really, in that we all, as parents, know that tragedy can strike our children when we least expect it. Jeanne doesn’t hide the hard and the dark of the situation, but every word of the telling spotlights God’s faithfulness, His love shining through every piece of the story in ways that make your heart ache. And that is her point. Even in brokenness there is unfathomable beauty orchestrated by the sovereign hand of God. 

Jeanne’s story encouraged me to cling tight to the knowledge that ultimately God is good, no matter what the future holds, especially as regards my children. At one point she is asked why God didn’t protect her son. Her insight (you’ll have to read it to know what this is!) has broadened my understanding of how God “protects” our children when we ask him to.

I met Jeanne Damoff five years ago on our way to a writer’s conference in California. She had just finished this book and was beginning the journey toward publication. In the years I’ve known Jeanne, I’ve come to call her friend. I heard bits and pieces of her family’s story with Jacob, even met her delightful son. But while I have had great love and respect for her as a person, as a wife, and as a mother, to be honest, I had never actually read anything she’d written—except her Christmas newsletters, which are wonderful! But the lyrical words with which she tells her story confirms her as a writer I admire as well. 

I guarantee this book will encourage your heart, strengthen your faith and help you look for something beautiful in even the most trying of circumstances.