CHOOSING TO SEE, by Mary Beth Chapman with Ellen Vaughn

Subtitled, "A Journey of Struggle and Hope," Choosing to SEE is Mary Beth Chapman's story of her life. When I first received the book, I expected it to be about the Chapman family's tragic loss of their daughter Maria in 2008.

Choosing to SEE is that, but it's so much more. Mary Beth begins her story with her growing-up years. She tells of her life in candid fashion, which makes her a real person rather than merely the wife of a Christian music artist. Her personal struggles will strike a chord with many readers.

The driving force behind Choosing to SEE is her honesty. As she says more than once, her life is nothing like what she had planned. She introduces the reader to her husband, Steven Curtis Chapman, as a young man struggling with career choices, and her own struggles learning to be a wife. The book details the births of their children, then goes on to share what first interested them in adopting children from China.

The book turns from narrative to short personal reflections in the second half. Mary Beth strives to make sense of what has happened in her family, sharing thoughts and feelings with which many who have lost a loved one will identify. As she grows in her understanding of God's ways, her words bring hope to her readers. Choosing to SEE is a profound story of one woman's search for God in the midst of darkness. You will finish the book feeling you've had a glimpse into her soul.