Official Review: The Events Of My Life Are My Proof Of Go...

BriennaiJ · Post by **BriennaiJ** » 28 Apr 2019, 18:05

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Events Of My Life Are My Proof Of God's Existence" by Brenda Elizabeth Henry.]

3 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

The Events of My Life Are My Proof of God’s Existence is a novel by Brenda Elizabeth Henry. Throughout the novel, Brenda tells the story of her life and discusses how she saw God in the midst of those events.

Brenda has truly gone through a lot in her life. From the time she was in kindergarten, she knew that she was different or worth less than other students. Her African-American teacher named Miss Davidson made this clear by gushing over her “precious babies” who were “fair to light skinned with pretty, curly or straight hair” and constantly reprimanding the other students with darker skin and “nappy” hair. This entire portion of the story saddened me, especially when I learned that she had the same teacher from kindergarten through third grade. These are years where you are learning how to do basic math and how to read, learning things that you will need for the rest of your life. Brenda and her classmates had to stay on the good side of the teacher just so they would not receive abuse from her, what kind of education were they actually receiving? This teacher should have been ashamed of herself, she perpetuated racism and colorism within the black community by separating these children by the color of their skin from the time that they started their lives.

Things seem to go downhill for the author from here, as her mother is diagnosed with a brain tumor, her father leaves them, and she becomes a teenage mother. Then, she hits rock bottom by working as a drug dealer and occasionally using drugs. You would think that someone in her situation would never be able to become successful, but she refused to let her circumstances keep her down. She used her faith to pray her way out of difficult or dangerous situations and trusted God to protect her small family when she struggled to make ends meet.

What I loved the most about this book was how the author told every character’s stories. In another book, the uncle who is addicted to drugs may never be given a name. In this novel, his name was Uncle George, and he took care of Brenda by helping her make money for her baby even though he was a heroin user. Everyone had a part to play, no person was unimportant. By including everyone, it forces the reader to see each person as a human like themselves rather than just a label such as "drug addict."

Another part of this story that truly hit me hard was when Brenda spoke about working minimum wage jobs, such as a truck servicer at pit stops. Her struggle to keep up and work hard at these back-breaking jobs affected me, the way she described it made me feel as if I was there. She had to deal with abuse from her boss, her fellow coworkers, and eventually from within herself as she mentally dealt with the situation. It’s crazy to think that people are still working in these sorts of jobs day to day, stressing out so much that they become depressed, for something that truckers or other people probably don’t even notice or appreciate.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The stories were amazingly inspirational, but there were a few grammar errors and some very wordy passages that were difficult to get through. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an inspirational autobiographical novel to read. Even though this book is very religious and has a lot of Bible verses, I would still recommend this book to non-Christians so that they can experience these moving stories.

******
The Events Of My Life Are My Proof Of God's Existence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like BriennaiJ's review? Post a comment saying so!

Brendan Donaghy · Post by **Brendan Donaghy** » 02 May 2019, 07:18

Sounds like an interesting book, but would it be more autobiography than a work of fiction, in your opinion?

Post by **Kibet Hillary** » 03 May 2019, 06:50

I love the fact that the stories were inspirational and that all the characters' stories were told. Thanks for the enthralling review.

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 04 May 2019, 08:14

This sounds like a very poignant and inspiring story with good character development. Thank you for a wonderful review!

allbooked+ · Post by **allbooked+** » 05 May 2019, 13:42

I love stories about people who pull through difficult times - and even more so when they recognize God in the midst. Very nice review!

maggi3 · Post by **maggi3** » 09 May 2019, 23:11

I’m not very religious, but this seems like an incredible story about overcoming adversity. It’s great that her faith was able to help her through those hard times. Thanks for the review!

Jlbaird85 · Post by **Jlbaird85** » 09 May 2019, 23:40

This sounds like an amazing story of faith and overcoming! Thank you for the wonderful review. It sounds like the people in her story are real and authentic. I'm looking forward to reading this!

BriennaiJ · Post by **BriennaiJ** » 17 May 2019, 22:38

Brendan Donaghy wrote: ↑02 May 2019, 07:18 Sounds like an interesting book, but would it be more autobiography than a work of fiction, in your opinion?

Hello, sorry for the late reply! It is definitely more of an autobiography. Thanks for commenting!

BriennaiJ · Post by **BriennaiJ** » 17 May 2019, 22:38

Kibetious wrote: ↑03 May 2019, 06:50 I love the fact that the stories were inspirational and that all the characters' stories were told. Thanks for the enthralling review.

Thank you for commenting, it was definitely a great read.

BriennaiJ · Post by **BriennaiJ** » 17 May 2019, 22:39

Prisallen wrote: ↑04 May 2019, 08:14 This sounds like a very poignant and inspiring story with good character development. Thank you for a wonderful review!

Thank you for commenting, I hope you get the chance to read this one for yourself!

BriennaiJ · Post by **BriennaiJ** » 17 May 2019, 22:40

allbooked+ wrote: ↑05 May 2019, 13:42 I love stories about people who pull through difficult times - and even more so when they recognize God in the midst. Very nice review!

Thank you for commenting, you would definitely enjoy this book! I hope you get the chance to read it.

BriennaiJ · Post by **BriennaiJ** » 17 May 2019, 22:40

maggi3 wrote: ↑09 May 2019, 23:11 I’m not very religious, but this seems like an incredible story about overcoming adversity. It’s great that her faith was able to help her through those hard times. Thanks for the review!

For me, I even focused more on the overcoming adversity part unconsciously. I hope that you read this book if you get the chance, thanks for commenting!

BriennaiJ · Post by **BriennaiJ** » 17 May 2019, 22:41

Jlbaird85 wrote: ↑09 May 2019, 23:40 This sounds like an amazing story of faith and overcoming! Thank you for the wonderful review. It sounds like the people in her story are real and authentic. I'm looking forward to reading this!

Thank you for commenting, I hope you like this novel as much as I did!