You know what they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. And I think I did a bit here. I also thought that the book description saying “comic” meant it would be funny, but it wasn’t. Ultimately, not one of the worst books I’ve ever read, but certainly not what I was expecting.
Beth (who I think also goes by Eliza and Liz and Elizabeth) is married to Rick and has 2 songs Jed and Eli. Rick is the men’s pastor at their church. When Rick is asked by an old friend to come to his church to be the main pastor, Rick isn’t sure what he should do. He has the month of October off and decides rather than go to a beach house in Florida one of Beth’s friends has given her the key to, he will lock himself in the shed. Beth doesn’t know what is going on but even before this she felt that her relationship with Rick was falling apart.
Meanwhile, a bunch of other ridiculous stuff goes on. Like – Beth’s brother shows up and they rescue a drug addict from who knows where. And Beth and Jed go to a peace protest in DC that ends in a brawl. And everyone is really judgy of everyone else… And eventually one of Beth’s friends convinces her to go to the beach house. In Florida. In October. And they have no idea what it means when they get there and the stores in town have absolutely NO bottled water in stock. (Hello? October? Florida? HURRICANE SEASON)
There were several times I was going to put this book down and never think about it again, but I did end up going through to the end. It’s not your typical Christian Fiction. Fortunately it did have a real ending, which has been something I’ve been finding doesn’t seem to exist all that much anymore, so it definitely gets points for wrapping everything up nicely.
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About the Book
Being married to a saint isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.
Beth’s husband won’t be joining the family on vacation at the beach this year. He’s not even joining them in the house. Instead, Rick has holed up alone in the backyard shed. Nobody knows exactly what he’s up to. Maybe he’s immersing himself in prayer. Maybe he’s lost his mind. Maybe he’s even the modern-day prophet or the saint the neighborhood artist imagines him to be. But while “St. Rick” waits for an epiphany, Beth will have to figure out what to do with herself and their teenage sons, possibly for the rest of her life.
What happens next is both uproarious and bittersweet: a peace march turns violent, her son is caught with drugs, and she embarks on an ambitious road trip that turns into something nearly surreal. Will Beth rediscover the idealistic woman she used to be, once upon a time? Can her marriage survive Rick’s backyard vigil? Will anything ever be the same? And should it be?
Truthful, comic, heartbreaking, and magical in the very best sense of the word, The Sky Beneath My Feet gently tears the veil off our egos and expectations to reveal the throbbing, redemptive, and achingly beautiful life beyond and within us.