Review for "Sent" by Hilary Alan

The subtitle, "How One Ordinary Family Traded the American Dream for God's Greater Purpose" sums up this book. Hilary Alan describes the journey she and her family took in following God's leading to uproot and relocate in Southeast Asia to do missionary and relief work following the tsunami. Alan speaks with honesty about the struggles she had in reaching this decision, implementing the decision, and living in a foreign country. First, what I liked about this book was the challenge of a personal story from an ordinary American family. If God could use them, then He can use me! Many times I found myself asking, "Would I be willing to do that?" and hungering for the sense of purpose that the Alan family found. The story is told with honest detail from a relational perspective. I could identify with Hilary as a mom and a wife. Some things that I thought could have been improved on in the book were the organization and the style. There were too many chapters and they were too short for me. Each one dealt with one specific aspect of the decision/journey, and I would have like to see them combined into more broad themes. Also, the style was a little casual and the sentences short. This makes the book an easy read... I however would have enjoyed a little more literary meat. All in all, it is a great story worth telling, and also worth reading. 3 out of 5 stars. I received a complimentary copy of the book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers for purposes of review, and am not required to give a positive review.