Review: Just Like a Man
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 15, 2014
The idea for this book is stellar -- A missionary couple suffers the unthinkable when the husband is kidnapped and held hostage for six years.  I think the portrayal of Quinn's emotions and responses is actually very realistic. Men rarely "get in touch with their feelings" as the saying goes, in spite of the popular hype, so Quinn doesn't know what to do with the emotions that overwhelm him. One of the common techniques of breaking a prisoner's will and spirit is to force him to spend time alone with himself with nothing to do but think. Meanwhile, safety, comfort, and security in what he "knows" (the love of God and that of His wife) become distant and finally so far away he loses sight of them in his selfishness. Yes, a person who lives with relentless fear and deprivation does become self-centered, having nothing else to dwell on. The execution of the story is not exactly what I had hoped for. There is a lot of repetition of what the couple thinks and feels. I wish there had been more perspective from the other hostages. But what a wonderful surprise this story holds about the power of God if the reader will take this book to heart and keep reading.