Book Review: “Where There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward and Never Giving Up”

I love to read.

As a little girl, I loved to curl up with a good book and disappear into a storyline. That still holds true today. In fact, I typically read two to three books a week. I will admit that I read a lot more fiction than non fiction. A non fiction book needs to be really well written and interesting to keep my attention.

When I picked up this book written by Elizabeth Smart, I was suprised to find that I looked forward to picking it back up throughout the day.

In the book, Elizabeth interviews a wide variety of people that have been through very challenging circumstances. She asks each of them a variety of questions about finding hope, moving on after tragedy and forgiveness. She weaves her own thoughts and experiences throughout so that it almost feels like you are having a conversation with her about these interviews.

I found it compelling, practical and uplifting. I took three pages of notes because there were a lot of concepts that I wanted to ponder more. The content is appropriate for teens and adults and would be interesting to many people. But particularly helpful to those striving to find hope in difficult times.

Some little tidbits from my notes:

“Hope is a belief that there is going to be a better way. A process to rebuild my life and my strength.”

“It doesn’t matter what our current struggle is so much as it matters what we do about it.”

“Be fully engaged in a project that makes a difference.”

“The fact that a trauma victim is standing before you validates how much they did to survive.”

“When you are struggling, only allow people in your life that make you feel comfortable.”

“Forgiveness is giving up hope for a better past.”

“How will I integrate what has happened into who I choose to become?”,