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Book Review

The Heart Mender, by Andy Andrews

A Story of Second Chances

 
This is a true story, written by a best-selling author, who normally writes fiction material.

To obtain this book you may need to go online and have it delivered - I was able to purchase it from Book Depository.

The story starts with the author reluctantly doing some gardening in his own backyard.  The author lived at the waters edge of the Gulf of Mexico.  A large wax myrtle tree had died and needed to be removed for safety reasons.  The author has chopped the tree down and was digging around the roots, when his spade hit something that was not roots.  The spade had hit a large tin can that had obviously been buried many years before.  The author's curiosity was aroused as he dug up the tin can and pried it open.  Inside the tin can was buttons, a medal, some ribbons, and some photos.  What did these all relate to, who had put the tin there and why, these where the questions that started to run through the authors mind.  Google was able to come to the rescue as he commenced his searches.  He was able to find out that the buttons and the medal were linked to the German World War II period.  He was also able to find that this area was frequented by U-boats, that were part of the German war machine, and that the buttons were linked to the U-boats.  The more he found out the more inquisitive he became.  Talking with some people in the area, someone suggested that he talk with the old people in the area, to see if any of them could shed further light on his findings.  The author finally was able to unravel a story, a true story, that is stranger than fiction.  A story that has the backdrop of war, the hurt and pain that war brings, a story of forgiveness and a story of love and new beginnings.

The author mentions in the book, that he attends church, and I therefore surmise that he is a Christian.  The book however is not written as a Christian book, but the story highlights the importance of forgiveness.  The book highlights the impact of an unforgiving heart, and the impact it has on a person.  The book talks about forgiveness being a decision, rather than letting our feelings control our mind.  One of the characters in the book speaks of forgiveness in this way -    

Forgiveness means relinquishment…….It means giving something up.  To relinquish something means to give up what ever power it holds over us.

If you forgive somebody for something he did to you, that means that you choose to never again allow that event to determine how you feel or how you act or even how you treat that person.

You may remember the wrong, but by choosing to forgive, you have disarmed it.  Then it can no longer determine what you think, what you say or what you do.

The book also says to give these hurts to God.

For most of us, we have not lived or experienced the terrible impacts that war brings, we have not lost our closest loved ones to the impact of war.  We can only imagine what goes through the minds of those who have experienced this.  What is it like to know that your country is in mortal combat with another country?

At the end of the book, the author is talking to the main characters (names have been changed) and one of the characters asks the question, do you want to tell our story, and do you think our story could help others?  The author answered in the affirmative.  He said he believes that people everyday struggle with the power of forgiveness.  He went on to say, Who benefits when we come to understand and harness the power of forgiveness?  Children, marriages, careers, nations … the list goes on and on.

At the end of the book, we are told where the main characters in the story are now.

I have deliberately not told the story; I want you to purchase this very easy to read book and come to it with no preconceived thoughts.

The rights of the book have been sold to a movie company, and maybe this is one movie that will come to the cinemas, hopefully the producers do not destroy its message of forgiveness, hope, a story of second chances.

 
Picture Credit
https://www.amazon.com.au/Heart-Mender-Story-Second-Chances-ebook/dp/B003G83TPQ

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