This book has all the characters and situations that in different hands would have been a great farce. The author instead took these elements and made a story that while sporadically amusing was more a moving story that felt like it was populated with real people. Even if you have been burned by bad Christian fiction before, try this one. ( )

Lisa Samson has long been one of my favorite authors. The Church Ladies and Songbird rank up there with some of my favorite books. But it has been awhile since I have ready anything by her. So I chose The Sky Beneath My Feet for my listening pleasure while walking. In the beginning I had mixed feelings. The book seemed to be going nowhere. I did like the ironic tone of main character, Beth. The story is told in first person and Beth’s insights were often laugh out loud funny. But just where was the story going?

The action takes place in the month of October. Beth’s husband, Rick, is on a mandatory sabbatical from their church, The Community. Faced with an uncertain future in his present ministry and a job offer from another church, Rick retreats to the shed to find God’s voice. This leaves Beth and their two sons feeling abandoned. Beth is at a crisis of her own. Her long held belief in her purpose is under scrutiny, and she is not sure just what direction her own life will take.

Filled with truly crazy characters, real life dilemmas and problems and a scathing look at the Christian life, The Sky Beneath My Feet, really takes off towards the end. Beth’s experiences and Rick’s exile begin to make sense. At the end the reader is left with a few questions about his/her own life — choices, purpose, and direction.

The narrator of this audiobook did a good job of depicting the emotions and personalities of the characters. And while it did take me a while to really get into this story, I am glad I stuck with it. The Sky Beneath My Feet is another winner by Lisa Samson.

Recommended.

Great for book clubs. ( )

First I have to say that I love the cover of this book! That is what first caught my attention. It may sound weird but when I am reading a book I often look back at the cover. If the book has a bad cover I sometimes don't even look inside. I know I may be missing a lot of good books that way. Ok, on to my review. This is the first book I have read by Lisa Samson.

Beth is the mother of 2 teenage sons Eli and Jed, and the wife of a pastor, Rick. Beth feels her life is moving along and she has lost herself somewhere along the way. Things start to fall apart when her husband is offered a new pastoral position in a different city. Instead of making plans to head off to the beach to spend time together as a family as they had planned. Rick locks himself up in the shed out in the backyard to wait for God to speak to him, and let him know what he should do about the new job offer. Beth feels as if her husband has abandoned her and the boys.

There is a Jesus Fish sticker that is talked about throughout the book. Beth hurt a woman's feelings at church, and before you know it she has a sticker of a Jesus Fish on the bumper of her VW Van. Which leads Beth into new situations that she may have not experienced if it wasn't for that fish on the bumper.

I like the voice of Beth, she was very easy to relate to. I don't like books that come off as a preachy or have the 'once upon a time feel'. This book didn't do that way. The story and characters were very believable. There are many different characters in the book that make it interesting. When I first started reading 'The Sky Beneath My Feet' I wasn't sure that I was going to like it. A little less than half way through the book I became really interested in the story. It makes you see that sometimes you have to get away from it all, step back (whether it be for a week or an hour) and that's usually when that 'ah ha!' moment hits you. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my honest review. ( )