Death By Living by N. D. Wilson

Book: Wilson, N. D. Death by Living Life Is Meant to Be Spent. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2013. 

Point: Life, like the food in your pantry, will spoil if you try to hoard it away instead of using it.

Path: This is not a “3 Steps to Your Best Life Now” or “Everyday A Friday” piece of trash. Wilson, through poetic eyes and hard words opens the eyes of the reader. He weaves ancestors’ stories with family adventures and ancient wisdom as he connects his small story with the Great story swinging through unfathomable space.

The chapters were written, not as a list of things to make your life better, but as small glimpses into a narrative which both you and I are part of, being told by an Infinite God. They are meant to (and actually accomplish!) make you weep, and struggle, and laugh, and fight as you see the bigger picture in the grace of God.

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Sources: Stories, Scripture, honesty, and a godly heritage.

Agreement: I have found that reading Wilson’s books (both fiction, and non-fiction) help to open my eyes to wonder which I have never seen before. Often times I come to tears, or feel the weight of a truth, or have to simply stop and ponder. After reading, I don’t have a list of things I need to accomplish, I have a burden inside to truly live.

As a new father, I would recommend this to anyone with a little person even remotely connected to them. Help them to see and live!

Disagreement:

Personal App: Am I spending my life, or attempting to hoard it away?

Favorite Quote: There were so many. I literally highlighted whole paragraphs and sections. Here is one:

“There is a school of American thought that suggests we are supposed to live furiously and foolishly when young, slave away pointlessly when adults, and then coast into low-impact activity as soon as financially possible. Isn’t that just a kiss on the lips (from a dog). The truth is that a life well lived is always lived on a rising scale of difficulty.”

Stars: 5 out of 5

It would be well worth another read and I would recommend it. Read it.

If this review was helpful, let me know here.

This is a top shelf book.

I received this book through Booksneeze.com and did not have to give a positive review.