Trish Ryan's book, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, is billed as a memoir of finding faith, hope and happily ever after, which left me a little worried about how well I'd like it. I approach most overly Christian books with some degree of incredulousness, however I found Ryan's perspective to be a bit refreshing. The parts about God or Jesus talking to her were a bit weird, which even she admits, saying "It seems hokey, it was hokey" at one point. But all the same her faith in Jesus Christ made her happier than she had ever been before in her life, and I commend her for taking that leap of faith. The book made me think a lot about my own faith and I decided I just wasn't willing to give up all my sinful ways - at least not yet.The book begins with Ryan's first engagement, which ends badly. She goes through a series of other relationships, along with other faiths. She's into all of the new age type spirituality, from tarot cards to spirit crystals. After a horrible marriage and scary runaway episode, then another bad relationship, Ryan gets a message from God telling her to take Jesus seriously if she wants to find a man that will treat her right. The second half of the book is about her discovering the Christian religion and giving up her other forms of spirituality so she can find a good man.
Overall the book is a good read and was a fun love story. Ryan includes a lot of funny episodes from her first days visiting Christian churches, referring to it as an anthropological study on Christianity. She, like many of us, had been put off the Christian religions by overzealous Christians, but what she found was a wonderful community and a faith she could get down with. I loved reading her struggles to understand the faith.
The weirdest part for me was that I was reading this book while visiting my sister in Utah for her wedding. It was interesting because I felt like I was getting a real-life dose of what Ryan was talking about. I even though a few times about my decision to leave my religion, but in the end I remain a "recovering Christian."
One thing that bothered me about this book was Ryan's obsession with finding a husband. I think that's my own issues coming into play though. Anyone who's hung around me a bit knows about my feminist rants, and I think this book would have made for a good one had it not been for Ryan's ability to look at both sides of the coin, whether she was talking about her husband obsession or Jesus.
There were also some great quotes in the book, but I don't have it with me so I can't put them down here. I'll try to add them later on today.
Also, if anyone's interested in reading Ryan's book, I'm going to hold my very first giveaway! Leave a comment below by MAY 11 if you'd like to have my copy of this book.
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