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Undaunted: One Man's Real-Life Journey from Unspeakable Memories to Unbelievable Grace By Josh McDowell Book Review

 

Undaunted is a personal memoir demonstrating the life of Josh McDowell. The book is also based on the movie Undaunted. He grew up on a farm in Union City, Michigan. At a young age, he began to realize that life isn’t always right and you aren’t always treated fairly. His father was an abusive alcoholic and would regularly beat his wife. He witnessed many quarrel and fights between his parents during his childhood. Many different times, he would stand up to his father and try to stop him from hurting his mother. He would sometimes be so drunk Josh would tie his father up in the family barn and threaten to kill him.  He secretly wanted him to die where his mother wouldn’t have to endure anymore pain. He had much resentment and bitterness over how his father behaved and treated his mother.

 

At the age of six, his family hired a farm aid named Wayne. His mother stated and warned Wayne that Josh was a trouble maker and that he liked to get into stuff. One day his mother and father had to take a trip out of town to visit some relatives. Wayne ended up having to watch Josh because he couldn’t miss school. Before his mother left she told Josh, “Do everything Wayne, tells you to do. If I hear that you disobeyed, I’ll give you a good thrashing when I get back” (Page29). This event led to Wayne molesting Josh at the young age of six. He was molested for the next seven years. He told his mother twice about the abuse and his own mother wouldn’t believe him. She denied and claimed that her son was lying and he never told anyone else.  

 

I would recommend this memoir to anyone who is looking for an inspirational story about overcoming the odds and the struggles of life. I especially connected to the realness that Josh displayed and shared the bad things he had to go through.  I can’t even begin to imagine the heartache and the pain of being sexual abuse. This book has made me think about making sure I don’t ever say to my children to do whatever someone tells them to do. I’m not saying that they don’t need to listen to authority, but if someone tries to touch them, I want them to speak up and I want to know about it. This book will awaken your eyes and you must always watch out for others and listen when your child speaks.

 

Josh had to encounter sexual abuse, an alcoholic abusive father, and he had great difficulty understanding a relationship with a God was possible and that he truly loved him. Like many fatherless and abusive fathers, he had to learn how to receive that the Creator knew him and loved him. This book will take readers through the whole ordeal and adventures of Josh’s searching for God’s answers and the truth. Josh was seeking to try and disprove that the Gospel wasn’t true and that it was all made up. Eventually we know he has radically changed because now he is a popular evangelist and a bestselling Christian author. This book revealed the details of his transformation journey to him following Christ. His story will inspire, encourage, and give readers hope to overcome whatever trials they had to face in their own childhood.

 

 

Tyndale House Publishers/ Tyndale Momentum has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of Undaunted check it out on Amazon.com:

 


 

Read Chapter One:

 


 

About Josh McDowell:

 

 

 

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