Powerful And Heartbreaking

The Husband by Aaron Daniel Behr is a powerful and heartbreaking contemporary Christian story. I found it beautiful in its simplicity. The words lodged in my heart and soul. Tissues were needed as my heart broke.

The suffering inflicted on the innocent ‘spoke’ to me of the suffering of another Innocent – One who was bruised for our iniquities, pierced for our transgressions. A great love nailed Him to the cross and kept Him there. A great love caused pain and suffering for the innocent in the story.

Jesus is at the centre. The question is – how much do we trust Him? And His plans? We need to listen to His voice. “A small, still voice told him not to do it. He ignored it.” When God whispers, we would be wise not to ignore Him but to obey and seek His peace.

Whose voice are you listening to? “He was sure of one thing, he was a loser.” The enemy wants to rob, steal and destroy. Jesus says we are loved. Jesus comes to give life in all its fullness.

The novel is about forgiveness. Forgiving others is far easier than forgiving ourselves. “You’ve got to forgive yourself, show some grace.” Without forgiveness, our lives are weighed down with burdens we were never meant to carry.

No one is ever too far from God. “Can God create a rock so heavy He can’t lift or move it?” We are given a choice – choose God or reject Him. God is a gentleman. He will not force Himself on us. If we choose money and power over Him, He will respect our choice. We will have made the biggest mistake of our lives.

There are difficult themes of mental illness and thoughts of suicide. The reader can ‘feel’ the desperation and my heart just broke for the broken character portrayed.

A very selfish character emerged. Abuse comes in many forms. Mental abuse can effect anyone no matter their age, sex or size.

The Husband was cleverly written. It was a personal story that can be a universal story. No one has a personal name which enables the reader to slot themselves into the story. This could be anyone’s story anywhere.

The most powerful moment, for me, occurred when a Christian name was used – suddenly the character had a face. A macrocosm tale suddenly became a microcosm tale as we zoomed in. It became personal and my heart broke at what followed.

The Husband is a book to be read – and then read again. I believe that even more insight will be gained on a second reading.

Aaron Daniel Behr you broke this reader’s heart with your powerful debut novel. Please write much more.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON