Twist of Faith by Anne Beiler (with Shawn Smucker)

One of the down sides of being a book reviewer is the vast number of books out there. I'm a voracious reader, and I still can't keep up with everything I want to read. Sometimes books get shoved to the back of the shelf and without meaning to, I ignore them.

Recently, a trip to our local mall resulted in a delightful discovery: we have an Auntie Anne's Pretzel store now! That reminded me of a purchase I made a long time ago...Anne Beiler's biography.

"Twist of Faith" chronicles so much more than Anne's journey of pretzel making and franchising. This courageous woman of God bares her soul in such a transparent way that you end up aching for her as you read the story.

From the tragic loss of her daughter at such a young age through the abuse suffered at the hands of someone she should have been able to trust, Anne shares every detail. Her battles with depression, working round the clock to escape her own emotional pain, and the results that appeared in her other daughters and her family--all of it shared in this memoir.

In the midst of it all we read of the astonishing success of her pretzels and how they are rapidly growing famous, world wide. I've been to Auntie Anne's four times since my discovery three weeks ago...and I can guarantee you they are every bit as good as described in this book!

Yet success does not come without costs, and Anne is very candid about her journey as a small business owner to a multi-million dollar corporate CEO...and the toll it took on her along the way. Some might say she has little to complain about--successful and set financially for life, right?

But all is not as it seems on the outside. Ever see a sister or brother in Christ and envy the life they appear to be living? Don't do that--we carry private hurts and pain that we are experts as masquerading. Trust me--I've been told by many that I lived a charmed life---

---maybe on the outside. Only God and I see on the inside. No one gets out without scars...not even Jesus.

I encourage you to hunt down this amazingly candid biography. The past/present shifts in perspective are a bit choppy, and you will have to really hang in there at some points in the story, but overall it is a good and insightful read.

I'm giving "Twist of Faith" four out of five bookmarks, with a pretzel as a charm. You can't eat this one...but hunt down an Auntie Anne's store and get one...I highly recommend the cinnamon sugar pretzel sticks...oh, great....now I'm HUNGRY!

Happy Reading!