Where the Waves Turn Back: A Forty-Day Pilgrimage Along the California Coast by Tyson Motsenbocker Book Review

 

In Where the Waves Turn Back, Tyson Motsenbocker recalled his journey and what led to his great walk. He is a singer/songwriter who has released a few albums. He returned home from selling our venues when his fifty-seven-year-old mother was dying. He shared a personal story about his mother canceled her gym membership and the guy made a comment about why did she need to cancel it and basically asked her why she couldn’t work out anymore even though she was dying. He explained how she was in the in-between and how sometimes she wouldn’t be with them like she was struggling and slowly losing her memory. She stated how she knew her son struggled with feeling sad and he wanted him to do something irresponsible. She compared dying to the ocean and how ocean looks when it is raining and line between the two is gone and you feel like you’re standing on the edge of the world. Later on, he shared how he discovered hidden gifts and letter she hid around the house for him and his sister to open when they got married, had babies, and some were riddles. This greatly helped him. 

 

 

 

He decided on the difficult tasks walking from San Diego to San Francisco. In the book, he was very real about stating how he felt God had failed him and his family. He at first had hope that she would always get better and part of this walking journey healed him to heal. He was touched by learning about Father Junipero Serra, who lived in the 18th century and he was a monk and saint. He did his missionary work by traveling up the coast of California. He explained some of his suffering and how he lived out his faith. This is where the idea for doing something crazy by traveling up to coast of California to live out his mother’s last wish. Throughout the book, he shared in detail of traveling and meeting all kinds of people on his final destination. He wrestled with his faith throughout the journey and how their can be hope in Christ and also pain in this life. 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome and heartbreaking story about him losing his mother and forever being changed. I loved how he went into detail about his whole journey in traveling and walking through the pain. He was very descriptive in his story and I felt like I was walking along and meeting people along the way and healing from my own pain with past grief. I just recently lost my grandmother almost a year ago from cancer. This book helped to think about the same questions and doubts that I have faced. I was also shocked the read about how his mother’s father died. He was accidently killed when he turned a blind corner in his farm truck trying to avoid the drunk driver who had flipped his car. He pinned himself against the hillside and auto steel and they couldn’t get him out. He only discovered the truth when he found the obituary in a box. I don’t think he knew how this affected his mother in losing her own father at a young age. It was interesting to witness how he dealt with his lack of faith and wrestled with questioning God and how this aided him to his path to healing. He desperately wanted to find beauty that the world could still be bright after losing his mother. 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Waves-Turn-Back-Pilgrimage/dp/1546003444