Dad of Divas' Reviews: Book Review & Giveaway - Between a Church and a Hard Place

Monday, March 22, 2010

Book Review & Giveaway - Between a Church and a Hard Place

About the Book
When his three-year-old son first said the word “God,” panic erupted over Andrew Park’s face. Teaching his children about ethics, good manners, penmanship and the perfect free throw were no problem for Park. But when his son started asking about religion, he was stumped. Raised without a religious tradition in a family where teenage rebellion meant being born again as an Evangelical Christian, Park always believed he’d be a nonbeliever. But when his children confronted him with questions, what is a father to do?

In BETWEEN A CHURCH AND A HARD PLACE: One Faith-Free Father’s Struggle to Understand What it Means to be Religious (or Not), (Avery, on sale 3/4), Park takes readers along on his tour through religion in America on his quest to find a comfortable middle ground for himself and his family.  Colorful and thought-provoking, Park chronicles his explorations through the varied and often contradictory influences of religion in his life so far his great-grandfather’s pioneering role in the Pentecostal movement of the early 20th century, his liberal intellectual parents’ rejection of the Protestant faiths in which they were raised, his childhood in the Bible Belt, and witnessing his older brother’s rebellious immersion in a Charismatic church.

Along the way, Park grapples with the divide between our irreligious and religious societies and whether peaceful coexistence between both can ever truly be achieved.  BETWEEN A CHURCH AND A HARD PLACE is a thought-provoking and illuminating journey through religion in America and is sure to spark conversation between its readers.

My Take on the Book
This book was an interesting read. It opened my eyes to how an unbelieving fathers' eyes could be opened by his own children. I was amazed at how Park's story was played out within this book. A father who was raised without any religious convictions and who continued this into married life was challenged in his own disbeliefs when his son began asking questions that he could not answer. As his son began asking Park had to ask himself questions about how much religion he would allow into his childrens' lives.

The journey that this started was an interesting one as I also have been on one such as this in the past as I studied my own genealogy and the religious beginning of the family I am in. I, like Parks found that I have a history of religious individuals in my history, with my Great Great Grandfather being a minister, similar to Parks' own great-grandfather who also was a Pentecostal preacher.

I like the fact that Parks was challenged and eventually came to believe that he (as a father) had to allow his children the opportunity to think independently. Also, I enjoy the interactions that Parks had with Christians and non-Christians alike, as his writing style portrays vivid imagery that draws the reader in and allows them to live the experience with the characters within the story.

The book is an easy and quick read, and you continue to want to read to discover what Parks will do in the end. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with their own religious beliefs and how to portray them to your children, it will open your eyes.

If this book sounds like a book that you would like to have as a part of your own library, you can find it on Amazon!

Giveaway
How would you like to win a copy of this book for yourself? I will be giving away 2 of these books to a lucky reader! All you need to do is let me know why you would have an interest in this book to be considered. The contest will run for one week and will end on March 29, 2010.

Bonus Entries:




  • Blog about my Giveaway by linking back to this post (1 entries per blog post. Please leave each entry in separate comments with your URL link in order for it to count)



  • Grab my badge to your sidebar




    <a href="http://dadofdivas.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk235/lewisca3/DadofDivasButton1.jpg" /></a>
    • Subscribe to this blog either by RSS or email for one entry (top right hand corner, if you already do leave in a separate comment)
    • Stumble this post. (leave username in comment per day)
    • Digg this post (Leave username in comment)
    • Follow me on Twitter (@dadofdivas) (leave username in comment)
    • Follow me on Google Connect
    • Share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or any forum, including the name of the prize and a link to this post. Here I'll make it easier on you, copy and paste this:" @dadofdivas is giving away 2 copies of Between a Church and a Hard Place - http://dadofdivas.blogspot.com/" (Then leave the link to your post. One entry per place per day)
    • Bookmark this post in Delicious, Digg, StumbleUpon, or whatever social bookmarking site is your favorite. (Leave comment with the info. One entry per site per day)
    • Add me to your Technorati Favs list (one entry, leave username in comment)
    • Become a fan of Dad of Divas on Facebook (Leave username in comment)
    Make sure you comment separately for each task after the required entry task so you will get credit for each one ~ and leave your e-mail where you can be contacted.

    This contest will run until March 29, 2010 at approximately 11:59 pm Eastern.

    Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

    Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

    Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.



  • All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    New to the Divadom?
    Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
    Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

    15 comments:

    SAHD PDX said...

    Hello I have followed you on Google, Facebook, Twitter, and retweeted this as well. A bit of an overachiever. I would love to read this book as a father that has grown up in faith and then had some recent reexamining of that faith I would be interested in looking at this from another point of view.

    traveler said...

    I am an e-mail subscriber. sauble(at)gmail(dot)com

    traveler said...

    This fascinating book sounds intriguing and unique. Thanks for this giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

    Stephanie said...

    I google follow.

    Stephanie said...

    I think this book sounds interesting, kids sometimes teach us very great lessons.

    Bebemiqui said...

    I'm always interested to read how non-believers percieve believers in various denominations, so this sounds like a great read!
    bebemiqui82(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Renee said...

    email subscriber

    Renee said...

    Sounds interesting and thought provoking. It's amazing how our children can change and enrich our lives just by asking some not-so-simple questions.

    Nancy said...

    I think it is interesting to read about people's journeys of faith.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

    Nancy said...

    I follow via Google Friend.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

    Nancy said...

    I am an e-mail subscriber.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

    tina reynolds said...

    i subscribe by email

    tina reynolds said...

    i follow via google friend

    tina reynolds said...

    I would like to win this for my grandfather he would really enjoy it thanks for the chance eaglesforjack@gmail.com

    Dad of Divas said...

    Congratulations to SAHD PDX & Nancy who are our winners!!! Please contact me in the next 48 hours with your address and I will get your prize out to you!

    Thank you all for being a part of this contest and a part of the Dad of Divas community. I hope that you will all stay connected with my site in the future!