Saturday, December 3, 2011

The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn

The chapters in The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn are short and easy to read a chapter here and a chapter there without it eating up a large portion of time, and that was my initial plan for reading this book. However, I ended up reading this book in one sitting. The story itself is only 140 pages, and once you get into it, you want to see what happens. The chapters follow a format with one chapter about the main character and the next chapter about his estranged mother that the main character is trying to reconnect with. The story line will pull you in and make you emotionally involved as the story unfolds.

The description in this story make you feel like you are there, and if you have not visited Alaska before, you will want to after reading this book. The journey to discover more about one’s past is something many can relate to. The main themes of forgiveness and reconciliation are also very relatable.

I enjoyed the afterword by the author about how he developed the story idea and the words he wrote about forgiveness and acceptance sound like words of wisdom a counselor would give. The group study questions in the back are worth responding to, and I could see this book being an interesting read for a small group study. I would also recommend this book for someone that has reconciliation and forgiveness that needs to happen in his or her life. This book can be the first step in someone figuring out what he or she needs to do to reach a place of peace.