Review by Bookreviwer2020 -- Prayer is Good: A Path from...

[Bookreviwer2020]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Prayer is Good: A Path from Grief to Peace" by Brette Petway.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Have you suffered a loss? Are you dealing with trauma or grief? If you are then perhaps Brette Petway's book Pray Is Good: A Path From Grief To Peace may benefit you. It is a short, non-fiction book of only 128 pages. It is split into twelve chapters, each relating to an attribute that relates to spirituality and prayer. These chapter headings are prayer, courage, comfort, hope, light, truth, peace, faith, grace, love and gratitude. Brette writes from her heart and her own experience of grief when she had to deal with after the loss of her younger sister to cancer when she was in her twenties and how she struggled to deal with that diagnosis as a teenager. She confides in the reader about that difficulty she went through and how she felt alone and unloved while her parents tried to deal with diagnosis as they could. She took the road of addiction and partying, in the beginning, to deal with her feelings, before finding herself turn to God and prayer after her sister's death to deal with her grief. She has her own personalised and creative method of understanding and practising prayer, which is not merely asking and chanting but being reflective, creative and spiritual. Her methods of prayer involve colouring important words and phrases, burning incense and drinking certain types of herbal teas. She reflects on verses of the Bible while in prayer.

What I liked about the book was first that it was well written and without a single spelling or grammatical error. It was also positive and upbeat, while at the same time the writer shares her story of grief after losing her sister. There was a feeling of spirituality and acceptance throughout the book, despite the sad subject, and this is reinforced with chapters that talk about hope, love and so forth. While the chapters are short, they contain an example of the word coloured in, and the end of each chapter has some suggestions for suitable incense, herbal teas, stones and colours. It is clear that Brette has taken a lot of time and trouble to develop this method and takes it seriously. She has even developed a website and a Facebook group. What was also unique about the book was the whole concept of prayer seemed to be more than what we often understand prayer to be. Brette describes prayer as a connection with God. Most people try and make this connection through chanting or saying things. Brette, however, says that

"I experience prayer through my connection with God, my journal, my coloured pencils, my head, my heart and my hands."

She says how she uses her own body, and how she began painting and sketching a body while journaling around it. She would share her emotions through sketching and eventually felt this was a way of connection to God and a message. She has been able to help others by teaching this creative method of prayer. I thought it was a nice, creative and perhaps even a new way of looking at prayer since I had not come across it before.

While I did not find many negative issues to mention about the book, there were a few small issues. One was that she often leaves blank pages between chapters. I thought it would make that book more condense to fill them in. Other than that, I just felt at times that she mentioned issues about her family that might perhaps be seen as negative and which they may not like to see mentioned. I thought these issues might have been better left out.

Other than these minor issues that were negative more in my perspective, I decided to rate the book 4 out of 4 stars, since it is well written and edited, and I agree with her that one of the problems we have nowadays is that many people are not connected to God or even each other. Perhaps this book can help people to deal with grief and trauma.

It would suit people interested in self-help books, non-fiction, and spirituality. People who have experienced grief or trauma may find examples and advice relevant to them. Anyone looking to be more spiritual and have a more creative method of prayer may like to read the book. Although the author is Christian, writes from a Christian perspective and includes quotes from the Bible, it would be very easy for any other religion to adapt it to suit them.

It may not suit people who have some aversions to spirituality or religion, or don't believe in prayer or are looking for less practical ways to deal with grief and trauma.

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Prayer is Good: A Path from Grief to Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Gift5]

Prayer is a very important tool to reach God and work towards getting out of grief. Thanks for the review.

[Bookreviwer2020]

Yes, so true, prayer is an easy way to ask and reach what we need and at the same time we feel calmer and less stressed through prayer.

Thanks for your comment and reading my review