Reviewed by: Jori Hanna, a Professional Writing major at Taylor University in Upland, IN.

Introduction

Book Title: Can’t Make This Stuff Up!

Author: Susannah B. Lewis

Publisher: Nelson Books

Publication Date: April 9, 2019

Format: Print book

Length: 224 pages

OVERVIEW

Susannah B. Lewis is a skilled comedy writer. In Can’t Make This Stuff Up, she explores the hardships of grief while offering raw vulnerability through her own story, drawing from her experiences for examples of how God moves and works in the twenty-first century. She blends comedy with biblical truth to create an entertaining and authentic collection of life lessons. Her stories stem from her life as a child, growing up with a father who drank too much and a mother who had to raise her on her own. As the book unfolds, Lewis takes you on the journey of her formative years, from childhood to adulthood, navigating middle school, high school, college, marriage, raising children, and looking at what it means to lose both parents before she turned forty.

This book is entertaining and candid, bringing the reality of life into the message of the gospel, all with a hint of Southern charm. Lewis shares the stories of her life that are so crazy she couldn’t have made them up, in the end relating it all back to Jesus and the lessons God taught her as she learned what it meant to be an adult, a mother, a daughter, and a wife.

ASSESSMENT

Rating: 4 stars

Suggested Audience:

Christian women aged twenty to thirty who are dealing with loss and grief but looking for a comedic approach to the heavy topic.

 Christian Impact:

Lewis deals with the raw, honest reality of the hardships of life and approaches it all from a Christian perspective, shining a light on how God’s hand is in all parts of life—the good, the painful, and the humorous.

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