I knew nothing of Yancey before I read this book. I find these types of memoirs so interesting as my background is very different. Yancey's life story of his mother and brother is very engaging.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of WHERE THE LIGHT FELL by Philip Yancey. I've never read a book by Yancey before, but I'm really interested in doing so now. I didn't grow up in a fundamentalist Christian family in the south during the 1960s, but I did grow up in a pretty conservative Mormon family and go to a conservative religious college, so I related to *some* of what Yancey shared in this memoir about this early life. I was amazed at how he was able to come back to his Christian faith in the end, after all that he went through with such a verbally and emotionally abusive mother. The way his brother turned out felt more realistic. It gave me an epiphany about how hard it is for anyone to believe in a loving God if they never really received love all their life, and what really brought Yancey there was meeting his wife. It was beautiful to see that growth in him after so much pain. I related to the questions and doubts he experienced and the way he found his way back to faith, if in a different way than he had been taught as a child. I found the whole book shocking but also relatable, beautifully written and really powerful.

Philip Yancey is an engaging author who writes accessible, thought-provoking prose. I have read earlier books he has written, for which he says this book, Where the Light Fell, is a sort of prequel. Those earlier books mark Yancey as a singular author and thinker, one that raises the awareness and thought of his readers. This memoir confirms the author's clear perspective and honest voice.

I did not expect this memoir to engage me as it did. I found myself eager to return to reading it whenever I had to break off from reading. (Do memoirs normally grab readers like that? I did not think so.) I particularly enjoyed the detail of Yancey's early life so challenged by circumstances. His successful career as an author did not prepare me for the story of how he came to be the thoughtful, honest narrator of the Christian life. In particular, Yancey has a voice that finds the truth of the Christian walk, alert for legalism and integrity in the spreading of the Gospel. After reading this memoir, I better understand and now highly value his perspective. I'm returning to read those earlier books once again.

If you are curious about spirituality that is authentic; if you have questioned the line between observing Biblical obedience and the freedom that the Gospel is purported to bring; if you value free will within the Providence of an all-powerful God, you will want to read this book. So much more than a simple memoir, it is a slice of honest perspective into the reality of life, both now and to come.

From Convergent Books, with a publication date of 05 Oct 2021.
Thanks to the author, publisher and to NetGalley for the chance to read this unique, valuable story that moves this believer closer on the Christian journey.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I'm not usually one for memoirs, but this one really kept my attention. Philip's life was hard, but God used it for blessings he never saw coming. Beautifully written and will be real eye opener.

This is a surprisingly raw book filled with lots of memories of Philip's life. There are many fun memories of his childhood, but mostly we learn of the disruptive moments. These moments come more often and Philip and his brother Marshall grow to adulthood with many unhappy memories. Philip writes in detail about his mother and Marshall's mental and spiritual problems. I was surprised at the truthfulness he presents. All total, an unexpected rawness!

When Philip Yancey's memoir "Where the Light Fell" (Convergent, 2021) is available in October, I highly recommend you buy it. Regardless of your view of the Christian faith now, if you grew up in any kind of faith environment, Yancey's presentation of his personal journey is compelling, heart-breaking, and challenging.
While he has written numerous superb books such as "Soul Survivor," "What's so Amazing about Grace" (among others), many people have only read small tidbits of the stories he fully explains in this book. From his father's death, his mother's spiritual work amidst personal pain and dysfunction leading to a turbulent childhood for he and his brother, and their ultra-conservative church and college, Yancy honestly reflects on the confusing messages he receives in so various settings. There are so many parallels between Yancey's upbringing and JD Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" (Harper Collins, 2016), its actually eerie.

A significant turning point occurs when he meets Janet, who becomes his wife of 50 years. As Yancey encounters a healthy home and spiritual faith, he begins to makes sense of the dysfunction around him and becomes a bridge for reconciling broken relationships - his own and others. The final chapter describing his journey of restorations, acknowledging his sins to individuals from years gone by is touching and compelling, as is the epilogue.

Yancey's novel, "the one he was born to write," he says, is a bittersweet memoir of his growing up inside an extraordinarily strict, religious family. This saga will be familiar to many of his generation, surely, only perhaps to a lesser degree: the "fire and brimstone" wrath of God carried out by parents, the parroting, the partial belief, but always the questioning. This novel offers hope, as Yancey miraculously grows into a rational adult, a successful Christian writer, and solid family man. Above all, he is "real" to his readers regarding his life events, his family, and himself. This memoir is proof that miracles do occur--as a tale of compassion and grace-- and it gives its audience hope.

Philip Yancey does not disappoint. All of his books weave truth and grace throughout the pages and this one continues with those themes. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book for my opinion.

I will be honest. This would not typically be a book I'd pick up at the bookstore, but in a way, I'm happy I read it. Growing up in a completely different generation from Yancey, I can appreciate his writing and his honesty about his dysfunctional family dynamic.

This memoir really made me feel for Yancey and his brother Marshall, and also in a way, their mother.

First, their mother had big plans for her life. She married a man she thought she'd grow old with and they made plans to be the good in the world. Then suddenly, her love is taken from her and she's left with a life she'd never imagined herself living. She believed by offering her children to God, she'd be able to fulfill the plans she and her husband made.

But having to live up to her expectations put a strain on the family dynamics. Their mother was seen as a force of good in the community, bringing hope to everyone she met. But at home, she was a completely different woman. It almost seemed to me that once she offered her children to God, they were no longer hers, but yet she still had to be around them all the time. As Marshall grew to be more "rebellious," their mother was more concerned about how his actions would reflect upon her, which resulted in her mistreating him.

This memoir really is about Yancey's relationship with his brother. There is a special bond between siblings that parents don't understand. Their mother couldn't understand why Yancey was still in contact with his brother after everything that had happened in the past. But Yancey also knew of he wasn't there for Marshall, then who would be?

As far as memoirs go, it wasn't bad. I did enjoy reading about their struggles with money and their relationship with their mother. It started off well. Everything seemed to flow and as I read, I could understand what all was going on, not only in the Yancey's lives, but also in our country. Then towards the end, after Yancey finished college and got married, I felt like it was just rushed. There were two decades where Yancey  just briefly listed off topics he has written about, but other than Marshall's ups and downs with his relationships, I have no idea what happened in those years. (I understand since it's a memoir, things need to be skipped otherwise it would be extremely long, but that's two decades skipped!)

I feel that the last chapter, his "apology tour" in a way, could have been integrated into the corresponding chapters. For example, he spoke about the classmate he ran against with his Students Rights party. His classmate wrote him and in the end they formed a friendship. I feel like that could have been included at the end of that chapter of his life rather than creating an "Aftermath" chapter. This entire chapter was Yancey's attempt at showing how some things in his life were resolved.

Overall, I give it four stars. I can appreciate Yancey's honesty about everything, including the fact that he realized he wasn't what most people considered christian to admitting he was a racist when he was younger.

SEARCHING FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILING THE PAST
I could not put this book down; it held my attention from the very beginning. This gripping memoir needed to be told. I have read most of Yancy's books, and this memoir sheds light on his childhood background and explains why he writes what he does. His lifelong quest to find the truth and uncover the lies he was fed as a child in a fundamentalist home and church environment. His mother was widowed while the boys were still babies. Her dreams of going to the mission field were shattered, and she tried to live vicariously through the boys to see her dreams come true. Mildred Yancy was a Bible teacher holding fundamentalist religious beliefs. She applied Scripture literally and made vows to God on behalf of her children. Even though poverty plagued this single mother, she drove them to pursue what she believed to be their calling.
Once the boys became teenagers, the inconsistencies of real-life played out against their home belief system. Set in the sixties, there was much political and social turmoil making the boys question the God of their mother. The brothers, each in their own way, rebel while trying to please their mother, causing psychological problems. The intense descriptions of how the boys were treated by their mother, church, and school systems made me very emotional. I could relate, as I grew up in a similar fundamentalist environment. Some readers may find this distressing and triggering if they are still suffering from PSTD from religious abuse.
Yancy portrays his brother Marshall with genuine compassion against the background of this dysfunctional family. The family back story gives insight into why his mother was so harsh, but he tries to be gentle in his hindsight of the memories. He shows the grace, which was extended to him when he found the real Jesus.
I really enjoyed this book immensely, even though it made me cry because it confirmed the harm that fundamentalist interpretation and application of Scripture causes when brainwashing young minds.
I would recommend this book to every pastor graduating from Seminary to give them a clear picture of their influence over the vulnerable. I heartily recommend this book to those who are still looking to find what is fake and what is real. It has been Yancy's lifelong quest, reconciling his past beliefs to come to a place of peace and acceptance, which in its turn has helped me.

WHERE THE LIGHT FELL - Philip Yancey

I received this Kindle edition from Net Galley. I realize he is an accomplished writer and philosopher but I had quite the time getting into the story. Too many details that had to be waded through but I did learn things about him that I did not know.

Philip grew up with many of the right things; a mother that loved him and Dad who died quite early in life. So, Philip's life was quite the challenge all his growing up years. He managed to overcome enough challenges in his youth years that would today be considered awful and yet Mom managed to keep it together.

I believe Philip allowed God to work in his life out of desperation and hurt, but, hey, we have all been there. For the young person that needs a good wakeup call to not be totally selfish, great book.

I will say sadly our young adults are not reading much that is painful but I would also recommend it to parents of children-young adults. Many of Philip's dilemmas could have been avoided had Mom been able to show grace and love.

Be challenged.......see what it may take for you to reach someone you know who needs an encouraging word.

#Where the Light Fell #Net Galley #Goodreads

It's always comforting to see again and again how grace finds you in the midst of confusion and suffering of any kind.

It's been a while since I last read a memoir. The plan was to read this one in the morning, a bit at a time, knowing non-fiction books are not prefered genre. To my surprise, I read this one in two days. It's a wonderfully done memoir, it's honest and open, without focusing on unnecessary details. It's the first book signed by Yancey I've ever read, and although he writes Christian life books, which is not something I gravitate towards, now I want to read more from him.

The book is structured in five parts and covers his early childhood, his boyhood, the teenage years, and up to his young adult years, with a short part at the end focusing on his adult years. It's the story of his fundamentalist upbringing, he and his brother, Marshall, being raised by a young widowed mother, in the South of United States. Every child raised in the American Bible belt or raised in a conservative church environment will recognise parts of Yancey's story. However, his is an extreme, yet, as he mentioned a few times throughout the book, not as bad as others had it.

The tone he uses is not full of regret, resentment, pain, or anger. It's the story of a man who, through grace, learned to accept his background. The first part of the books reads fast, as if you're reading a gripping novel. In the second part, he talks about his questions and struggles to understand and make sense of God. I'm glad to see a man who found God through personal inquiry, personal wrestling with Him, and personal faith. He mentions that the main themes of his book are suffering and grace. It's the same two themes he deals with in this book, too. It's not a theological book by any means, which was a relief, because who wants to read theology in a memoir, anyway? It was fun to see all the books he read in order to discover more of what other though, so that he could reach the point of thinking for himself.

Because it's a memoir, the ending is not a beautifully tied happy end. The severed ties between his family members are still there, the past isn't erased, and the scarrs are still visible. However, it's God's grace that made him the man and author he is today. I'm glad he wrote this book, and I'm glad this is how I discovered his writing. I highly recommend this memoir to anyone who's interested in reading the stories of people coming from a fundamentalist background, or are fans of well-written memoirs.

It’s been a while since I’ve read any of Philip Yancey’s books and I have forgotten how enjoyable and informative his writing style is. You can be sure however that I plan on catching up on some of the books that I missed. “Where the Light Fell” caught me by surprise and was not at all the book that I thought it would be. In apparent honesty and humility, Yancey talks about his childhood, what he came through, and the things that made him into the man that he is today. He doesn’t appear to pull any punches and parts of his story are hard to read. As a Christian, his view on God is often a bit off the beaten path of modern Christianity, yet strongly adhering to God and Jesus of the Scriptures. I’m glad I read this book and would recommend it highly. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

I’m having a hard time putting my experience with this book into words. While I haven’t read any of Yancey’s other books, I remember hearing his name referenced by different preachers during Sunday morning sermons throughout my life. While I haven’t encountered the same tragedies that Yancey has, I still feel quite a connection with him and his brother. The repeating question “What is real, and what is fake?” has been on my mind many times throughout my life. I could write a whole other thing on my struggles with my faith but no one is here for that.

I appreciate the way he wrestles with the things he has learned in the church growing up as he begins to reconcile that with what he believes now as an adult after examining the Bible for himself and interacting with the world on his own accord. I feel like I have been on a similar journey for the last 6 or 7 years and I don’t know that I’ll ever reach the end of that road, but I don’t suppose that I necessarily need to.

While it's hard to say I “enjoyed” reading this book because it is full of so much hardship, I definitely think my life has been enriched and I’m thankful I read it.

“My father isn’t even a memory, only a scar” writes Philip Yancy in this memoir. That sentence. It compels and intrigues. I have not heard of nor read anything else by the author. And I typically don’t read Christian memoirs, but something attracted me to this one. Uncovering Yancy’s childhood in a strict fundamentalist home with an unforgiving and mentally ill single mother who had devoted her children to God, was eye opening. Some of it was difficult to read. Ultimately, the Yancy comes to find grace and forgiveness, while his brother, Marshall, moves in a completely different direction and comes to a different conclusion about life. It is a book about extremes, finding peace and grace amidst questions and experiences that negate a lot of the positive in life. And yet, I’m still mixed on how I feel about it. I didn’t enjoy it but it obviously is not written for enjoyment. What did I learn from it? I’m honestly not sure. All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

I do not mind books that have religion, faith, Christianity, etc but this is not what I expected. It was a mix of religion/faith, a family with mental illness and a biography; a lot of moving parts for one book that have nothing to do with suspense or mystery. The author had a complicated childhood and teen years because of his family and that is when he turns to Christianity and faith as an outlet. SNOOZE FEST! No the kind of Christianity/faith based books I like.

Let me also add...

I do not and cannot tolerate any acts of abuse on animals, that was a total turn-off. Plus, his views on racism and race are questionable. Disgusting. How do you live with yourself after harming living, breathing creatures that have voices but no words? How were you not jailed for that? SMH! No remorse for what you did.

I honestly skimmed read most of this and only actually read a few actual chapters. Unfortunately, the chapters I read fully were the ones with animal abuse and racism. Not good.

Having only heard about this author in religious writing and not read any prior books, I would not read from him again or recommend this book. Sorry, not sorry. Wish I could give this a miniature dot for a review, I disliked it so much. A no for me.

Thanks to Netgalley, Phillip Yancey and Convergent Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 10/5/21

Philip Yancey's ability to recollect early memories from his childhood is striking, and his reflection on those memories is honest and vulnerable. This is the first book I've read from the perspective of a white, Southern fundamentalist wrestling with the model of racism and exclusivity experienced and promoted in the church; Yancey's voice on this subject needs to be heard.

The mixed signals he and his brother received from their Bible-teaching, model-Christian mother produced two very different responses, which shows how personal choice and temperament affect faith-formation and mental health. Yancey welcomes the reader into the complex relationship he holds with both family members and allows them to feel his hurt, disillusionment, worry, and despair...all while remaining steadfastly loyal and generous to these multifaceted people whom he loves.

I came to the end of the book feeling more hopeful about the messy and complicated nature of family relationships and with a deeper respect for the Grace of God that is difficult to explain or understand, yet incredibly beautiful to witness.

I also felt that Yancey's ability to demonstrate a Christian taking responsibility for their own racist beliefs, acknowledging the presence of horrific false teaching in the church, and following through with proactive repentance could serve as a roadmap for all of us.

I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley so thank you to them for that privilege.
This book was a page turner though incredibly sad and tragic for the majority of the memoir.
I did not think I knew of Philip Yancey though I recognized the referenced name of Dr Paul Brand and discovered on my Goodreads account that I read and enjoyed: Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God's Image by Philip and Paul. I only remembered Paul's name!

I highlighted an incredible amount in this book as it was beautifully written. I'd give this book a slightly lower rating but the author did something I really enjoy in a memoir which is to explain why he wrote the story. Primarily, as in his other books he explores the topic of suffering and grace and he showed us both and was especially complimentary of his wife's contributions in the area of grace and love. Following are some great quotes (none are spoilers!)
- Growing up, my father's absence feels more like a presence.
- Our home looks like a Christian gift shop.
- He disciplines himself to overcome desire and achieve the "ecstasy of indifference." I adopt that phrase, and long for what it expresses.
- I see that deconstructing a person is easier than constructing one.
- Perhaps the grace is here, and you don't have the receptors to receive it. *** one of my favorites!
- C.S. Lewis once said that God sometimes shows grace by drawing us to himself while we kick and scream and pummel him with our fists.
- Lacerations of the soul can wound as deeply as those of the body.

Perhaps that last quote best embodies the soul of this memoir for me. There was so much pain in both Philip and his brother Marshall's life (as well as in their Mother's life). The memoir digs deeply into the lives of Philip and Marshall while exposing the life of their Mother. Each brother dealt with their pain and their God given gifts differently. For me personally, I believe our talents are gifts from God. Both brothers squandered their gifts for some time and thankfully Philip found the way to claw himself to God and to God's gifts, to wrap himself in these gifts and to write this lovely and touching memoir, to supplement his already 15MM books in English and forty languages, as one of the best-selling contemporary Christian authors!

This is also published on Goodreads but I don't know how to include the link.

I read [book:What's So Amazing About Grace?|53817]] decades ago and it impacted me greatly. After reading Yancey’s memoir Where The Light Fell, I now understand why the impact was so great: he writes from profound personal experience with GRACE.

I am thwarted from sharing profound highlights as per publisher request, reviews and quotes from the book are not to be published until after publishing date. Mr. Yancey ‘s memoir can appeal to a broad range of people and I highly recommend it to people of faith, people who have lost faith, or people who never had a faith experience. Where The Light Fell is emotionally deep (and sometimes dark), but through the painful experiences Mr. Yancey shares, it is also spiritually moving and offers important insights and redemptive truths. It addresses important thematic messages for the Christian community. I am gleaning truths about my life and my experiences as I reflect on this powerful and thought provoking memoir. Needless to say, I will be revisiting books by :Phillip Yancey. Ive always enjoyed his books but now I want to reread them with the perspective I have gained from reading his memoir.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this thought provoking memoir..

I found this to be an interesting deep dive into children who are raised in conservative churches. It's amazing the damage church can impart on children and their misguided parents. Thankfully, the church did not destroy his walk with God.