The Wide Open Spaces of God, by Beth Booram

The Wide Open Spaces of God is an excellent book.  The author uses the metaphor of landscapes to describe the various stages and scenarios of life.  But it's not the analogies that make this such a wonderful book, it's the prescriptive advice the author provides which help make this a fantastic read and an even better, lasting reference.

For example, one of the landscapes is called "The Valley of Darkness."  It's just what you'd expect, namely, a period of deep turmoil or unexpected/unexplained difficulty.  Beth talks about our knee-jerk tendencies where we want to "light our own torches" and move away from the darkness; without giving away too much of the story here, the author advises against moving away from the darkness and her argument is quite compelling.

I read this book on a recent cross-country flight and found myself stopping and thinking about the various stages of my own life, how I reacted then and how the author's insights challenged me to react and respond differently going forward.  I learned a lot about myself along the way and I'll bet you will too.  Highly recommended.