It was a simple enough assignment. Read a newly released book and write a review on my blog.  I’m a guy, and the book is “Women’s fiction.” No problem. Although there may be some men who aren’t secure enough in their manhood to swim in the estrogen pool, I can handle it. After all, I’m writing a romance novel, and the primary target for that genre is women.

There’s just one thing I didn’t consider. I never expected “Mom Lit” like Renovating Becky Miller to actually “speak to me.” I didn’t anticipate the possibility that God could use Women’s Fiction to minister to man–but He most certainly did.

You see, I know Becky Miller. I understand her. If I were a woman, I could be Becky Miller. She’s a “fixer.” If you met her in a supermarket checkout line and told her that you were an alien from another galaxy looking for parts to fix your spaceship, Becky Miller would feel obligated to find the needed parts, fix your spaceship, and send you on your way with a couple of sandwiches for the road. Becky Miller is a dreamer. She’s convinced that once she gets past her crisis of the moment everything in her life will be storybook perfect. Becky also doesn’t know how to say “no” without feeling guilty. She raises living in overload to an art form–and I know “living in overload.” She’s also highly skilled in the art of denial, an important life skill for someone who wants to take an already overcrowded, over committed life and add on doing major renovations to an old, run-down farm house.  

In other words, If I lived in Minnesota, Becky Miller and I could be in the same twelve-step group.

One of the greatest challenges for a novelist is creating characters that are not just believable, but are so believable that they come alive and stay with the reader after the book has been closed. Sharon Hinck has done a masterful job of creating living, breathing characters in the pages of Renovating Becky Miller. I found myself wanting to fix Becky and all of her equally (but differently) flawed friends and family.  I heard God speaking to me about my overcommitted life at the same time that he spoke to Becky about hers. God even pointed out to me ever-so-gently that He really doesn’t need me (or Becky Miller) to accomplish His work, and the earth will not fall out of its orbit if I slow down once in a while and say “no” when I need to say it. I even set a few tears free during the last chapter–but then again, I also have been known to weep during Hallmark commercials.

Whether you are male or female, Renovating Becky Miller is a great read, and if you’re a compulsive “fixer” who can’t say no, Renovating Becky Miller  is an absolute must read book. I highly recommend that you click here and pick up a copy today.

D.