I've always said that if I ever write a book it will be a memoir. There's something about sharing the inner parts of your story that really allow others to connect with you. To be able to open up your life journey to people and invite them in is an intimate thing to do. There are times in my story that I feel like people would not only relate to, but they would also be encouraged through.

Memoirs are by far my favorite genre of books to read. As I'm diving into the book and really hearing the author's voice it actually turns into an experience. By the end of the book you not only feel as though you have journeyed with them, but you have actually had empathy towards them, or cried tears of joy when they disclose some of the best parts of their journey. As you read someone's memoir you will also find that you will close the book at the end, sit for a second, and be sad that the story is over.

I recently talked to one of my favorite memoir authors and she said that one of the best parts of memoirs are the redemption at the end. The voyage through their world in the valley's and the mountains move you to want more from them. After each page you desire more words and more stories from their journey.

I recently read a book entitled, The Tank Man's Son, by Mark Bouman, and although the title wouldn't have normally sold me on the book, the back of the book says this: In the tradition of The Glass Castle and Angela's Ashes comes the  most unforgettable memoir you'll read this year. Can I just tell you that The Glass Castle is one of my favorite memoirs I've ever read, and so when I read that I was sold.

In The Tank Man's Son, Mark recounts the most extraordinary events from his childhood. His father was a tyrant of a man, who literally ruled his house with his harmful words and strong hands. Mark and his siblings didn't have the normal childhood that every child deserves, and yet Mark overcame all odds to grow into a man that not only loved his wife, his family, but also served as a missionary for more than twenty years.

As I got to the end of this book and read this line, “A father to the fatherless, prepared to care for these children by the apathy and evil of my own childhood. I was my dad, but changed – turned inside out by grace and granted a chance to redeem the past” I was reminded of how important our stories are even when they are littered with pain and sorrow. My past mistakes are not anything I'm proud of, but I see the way they have molded me to the woman that I am today. My insecurities that have been handed over to God are not things I want to run back to, but I do want to remind readers of where God has brought me. My shame for past sins isn't fun to talk about, but we get to share the grace that we have been given, and how by that grace our past is redeemed.

That is why I love memoirs. You get to see the good in the past. You get to see where God was at work when you thought you meant nothing to him. You get to step back and look at the past with fresh eyes and ears. Eyes and ears that have see where you ended up, and although the past wasn't your best days, you see God moving.

That's the kind of memoir that I want to write, and that's the kind of memoir that Mark Bouman wrote in The Tank Man's Son.

This is a sponsored post, but I only write about what I love, so you can trust me. If you want to read the first chapter of the book you can HERE. 

As of the time I wrote this, the book is on sale on Amazon.