A Peek At My Bookshelf: Small Talk by Amy Julia Becker

About the Book:

Almost every day, one of Amy Julia’s children says something or asks something that prompts her to think more carefully: “What ‘lasting’ mean?” William wonders when he hears a song about God being an everlasting God. "If the children who died went to heaven, then why are we sad?” Penny asks, when she passes by a funeral for a victim of the Sandy Hook shootings. "I don't wanna' get 'tized!" says Marilee about baptism.

These conversations deepen her relationships with her children, but they also deepen and refine her own understanding of what she believes, why she believes it, and what she hopes to pass along to the next generation.

Small Talk is a narrative based upon these conversations. It is not a parenting guide. It does not offer prescriptive lessons about how to talk with children. Rather, it tells stories based upon the questions and statements Amy Julia’s children have made about the things that make life good (such as love, kindness, beauty, laughter, and friendship), the things that make life hard (such as death, failure, and tragedy), and what we believe (such as prayer, God, and miracles).

Amy Julia moves in rough chronological order through the basic questions her kids asked when they were very young to the more intellectual and spiritual questions of later childhood. Small Talk invites other parents into these same conversations, with their children, with God, and with themselves.

Moving from humorous exchanges to profound questions to heart-wrenching moments, Amy Julia encourages parents to ask themselves—and to talk with their children about—what matters most.

My Thoughts:

It's no secret: I love books and I adore authors. One of my favorite things in life is to share my love of books...especially when I stumble upon a gem.

This book, "Small Talk", is a priceless gem. Please, don't miss out on this book. I'm so grateful to my friends at Zondervan for the opportunity to have the chance to read this one.

Amy shares openly about the good, the not so good, and the oh-I-wish-I-hadn't-done-that in her life and in her family. The stories she tells involving her three children are both humorous and precious, and packed with truth and wisdom that only the very young can possess.

What makes this book so wonderful and gives it such value is this: Amy is a wordsmith. She carefully selects the words she uses to express her ideas, to craft her stories and to drive us to think more deeply, to be more sensitive to our loved ones and our Father in Heaven, and her insight is just...well, it's just divine.

I loved every page of this unexpected treat, and this is one of those books that make me wish I was independently wealthy and had the ability to purchase copies for every mom, every grandma, every auntie...every woman.

We need this book. We need more books that are as deeply thought through and so exquisitely expressed. YOU need some "Small Talk" in your life...

Again, my thanks to my friends at Zondervan Publishing for my complimentary copy of "Small Talk". You'll be able to purchase your copy on October 28th...or you can pre-order a copy now!

Happy Reading!

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