"I Will Not Fear" Book Review

It's been a while since I've read an autobiography. Am I ever glad I started up again with this one! What a powerful book!

On the back of the book it says:

In 1957, Melba Beals was one of the nine African American students chosen to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. But her story of overcoming didn't start - or end - there. 

Ms. Beals' story is mind boggling. Maybe it's because I live in Canada, a very multicultural country, or maybe it's because it's 2018, but I just can't wrap my head around people thinking so lowly of other races. It makes me very grateful for the strong men and women who have stepped up for change. 

I don't want to give away the incredible details of this book. Sufficed to say, every couple of pages, my husband would hear me call out, "You aren't going to believe what they put this woman through!"The bible wasn't lying when it says "The heart is deceitful above all things and DESPERATELY WICKED..."

Before starting into "I Will Not Fear", I mistakenly thought it was solely about her time at Central High however this is not the case. It spans from her birth until the present. All of which is quite fascinating. And quite the roller coaster.

As a white person, there have been times when I've been made to feel as though I should be ashamed of my color. That somehow I'm responsible for the oppression in the world. What I deeply appreciated about this book was that Ms. Beals tells of how God brought her through her understandably deep seated fear of white people.  I also loved how Ms. Beals kept the emphasis on the true source of her strength - God and rightly using His word.

(Slight Spoiler alert)

The only part of the book that holds me back from proclaiming, "This ought to be mandatory reading!" is the section about her divorce.  Even if it wasn't Ms. Beals' intention to portray the idea that God sort of blessed her divorce, that He wanted more for her than being stuck in her marriage, that's how it came across. God is not okay with divorce. True love is sacrifice. Both Ms. Beals and her husband put their own desires before each other. It might seem like I'm being extremely harsh,  but she wasn't being abused nor was her husband being unfaithful.  I honestly have nothing but compassion for divorced people, but it concerned me that the wrong message might be implied. Yes, God heals after divorce. Yes, God uses us after divorce. Yes, God blesses after divorce. But He is not in favor of it.

Other than the potential for that wrong message, and please hear me, it's a very small part of her powerful story, this book will have you mesmerized and asking yourself some hard questions. Good questions that need to be asked.


Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.