Book Review: Making Sense When Life Doesn't by Cecil Murphey

About the book:

Beloved author Cecil Murphey empowers readers to discover the good in every situation and to make life better because of adversities.

Sometimes life gets messy. It’s cluttered with too many demands. Companies downsize. Love relationships end. Trauma hits. When chaos erupts, every person has a choice to make—to decide whether it’s the worst time of life, to find comfort in the way things used to be, to move on because change is forced, and then resent everything that happens, or to say, “This can be the best time of my life. I can try the things I wanted to do but never did.”

In Making Sense When Life Doesn’t, Cecil Murphey’s compelling stories, hope-filled insights, and gentle encouragement move readers with messy lives to the stunning realization that life won’t ever be perfect, but it can be good…even exciting!

Meet Cecil Murphey:

Cecil Murphey has written or co-written more than 125 books, including the bestsellers 90 Minutes in Heaven (with Don Piper) and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (with Dr. Ben Carson). His books have sold in the millions and have brought hope and encouragement to countless people around the world.

Murphey stays busy as a professional writer and travels extensively to speak on topics such as writing, spiritual growth, caregiving, significant living, sexual abuse, and recovery.

Prior to launching his career as a full-time writer and speaker, he served as pastor of Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Metro Atlanta, as a volunteer hospital chaplain for ten years, and was a missionary in Kenya for six. For more information, visit www.cecilmurphey.com

MY REVIEW:
This book reminds me a lot of The Noticer by Andy Andrews. “After all, every one of us is always in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or headed for a crisis. Crisis? That's just part of being on this planet.” (The Noticer, page 83)

It seems that life gets messy, sooner or later :). You may even be experiencing its messiness right now. Don't lose hope. In Making Sense When Life Doesn't: The Secrets of Thriving in Tough Times, Cecil Murphey offers wisdom, practical insights, and encouragement to help readers get excited about living their lives, not in spite of crises, but because of crises. We can use our trials as lessons from which we learn and grow stronger.

There are 58 chapters in the book. Each chapter is short and concise. When I was reading, I felt like I was being given a pep talk by a coach on the game of life. Each chapter ends with a sentence or two that captures the heart of that chapter (a take-away point). I'm a bit curious why the author who used to be a pastor, scarcely quotes Scriptures in his book. Maybe he doesn't want to appear too preachy? Mr. Murphey uses real-life stories (of his own and others) as examples to demonstrate his points. He repeats several times that he is a serious Christian and for the most part, he seems to have Biblical worldview on life in general. This book covers many topics such as failure, change, rejection, pain, mistakes, waiting, exercise, forgiveness, secrets, jealousy, anger, enemies, power, success, principles, and more. It's an easy read and it's motivational. I appreciate the author's transparency and his sensible advice.

"My hurting friends don't need my advice; they need my compassion." (page 71)

"If I expect certain behavior that I don't get, I can become angry. Or, I can change my expectations." (page 116)

"I need my opponents. They often speak the truths that my friends won't." (page 134)


~I received a complimentary of this book from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest review. The opinions are my own. You can find more reviews on this book here.