Reviews of In the Cleft Joy Comes in the Mourning

Amazon, Goodreads and editorial Reviews of In the Cleft Joy Comes in the Mourning

http://www.amazon.com/In-Cleft-Joy-Comes-Mourning/dp/1498408745/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414770668&sr=8-1&keywords=dana+goodman

Written by Margaret Kazmierczak

This book deserves more than 5 stars as it is deeply embedded in the mystery of God's love. The author needs to be congratulated on her courage to write this painful book as her journey in revealing her heart and pain has been relived in every letter that she has typed.

It would have been human to have given up after all Dana Goodman has been through, but her strength is clearly grounded in the God of Love. Her struggles just seemed to bombard her, her heart being ripped apart through loss. But her amazing gift to keep going is echoed in this statement:

"In the broken moments of our lives, seeds are planted in the very rich soil of God's kindness and when those seeds are showered with his love they bear much fruit and multiply. Just when I thought nothing could grow in the barren waste of broken dreams, seeds began to grow into beautiful plants of love and hope."

However, this hope did not just come to the author, she had to endure many years of excruciating pain and suffering. She truly understands the agony of Calvary but above all has witnessed the Resurrection that comes after death. Her faith is proof of this. A lot people would trash God and leave Him, bitter and tormented by the challenges given to them. But Dana Goodman held on with her fingernails to hope. The support of her family and Christian friends too gave her the glimpse that not all was lost. Greatness and healing could come out of the ashes.

This book is truly inspirational and a must read for those that have suffered loss, especially the loss of a child. I confess I cried often, but tears are the ointment of God's healing balm.

I highly recommend this amazing account of an exceptional woman's journey to hell and back. Dana Goodman stayed focused on God, at times tentatively, understandably so, but none the less, still communicating with Love even though He seemed at times silent and distant.

Be warned this book will change you.

 By M. Lefebvre

Written in a conversational, endearing manner, this book is like sitting down with a friend over tea as she shares some of the most vulnerable parts of her life. You will laugh, cry, be enlightened on several levels, and be inspired to develop a closer walk with God. "In The Cleft" will help you see how you can find hope in the hard times and light at the end of the tunnel.

By Ruth Robinson

A beautiful read. Sad, funny, informative, The talented author writes intelligently and simply, making 'In the Cleft' such a wonderful read. The book helps readers' to work through and understand the sad and hard times that we all face at some time during our lives. Dana Goodman's courage in writing this wonderful story will be an inspiration to anyone who reads it. A beautiful writer!

By Erika Annala

I read this within 24 hours and could not put it down. I cried most of the way through it, as expected; but also laughed out loud and smiled as Dana recounts the story of what she and her family went through during the illness and death of her first husband, son, mother-in-law and illness of her current husband. This is a story of survival and faith. The struggles and questions a mother must ask and worry about as well as the long answer to everyone's question of "how are you?" The memories I have of Dana's adventurous family and their individual mannerisms are clear as day in her writing. The story of her life is amazing and flows like a wave you know will thrill you (this family is full of daredevils!) but also take you along, almost to the point of no return. I sincerely appreciate how open Dana is sharing her feelings on making supremely hard decisions as a wife and mom. And how she carries on. This book is extremely important in helping people understand how Dana's faith in God was tested and how she's come to understand the path she walks with Him. It is important to understand how families can go on when tragic things happen. Dana is a wonderful wordsmith and this book is a treasure to read.

By T. Dahl

In the Cleft: Joy Comes in the Mourning is breathtaking. Dana's writing is honest and an authentic witness to the messiness of grief and loss. Her voice draws the reader into deep places of personal pain and journey's to places of unexpected joy.

By Robin-Rae Russo

I love this book. I couldn't put it down. Such amazing strength during a horrific time. Dana inspires me with her faith and ability to persevere through a mother's worst nightmare.

 Rhonda Wright

Poignant, overwhelming and heart wrenching at the same time as showing hope and grace. The author's bravery in exposing her inner most being and feelings will touch the lives of many. Readers will be comforted in knowing that they are not alone in their suffering and sorrow.

Tracey Siegler

A beautiful and eloquently told story of hope after tragedy. Dana describes to her readers in her own way how she copes with her challenges and difficult losses she is faced with. Her heartbreaking story will have you crying, will make you laugh aswell as inspire. Her strength and courage is something to be admired for. A beautiful family - a truely amazing women.

Saige Michel

This is such a fantastic book and written beautifully! You will not be able to put it down after you read the first few pages. It will have you laughing out loud during some parts and crying at others. Overall "In the Cleft: Joy Comes In the Mourning" is absolutely impeccable and I would recommend it to everyone!

Mary Kenyon

Author Dana Goodman writes with blunt, and sometimes gut-wrenching, honesty as she relates her crisis of faith when she lost a husband, a son, and a mother-in-law to cancer. And yet her beautiful words in finding her way back to God in the midst of sorrow can give us all hope. Reading her story, I was wrenched back to 2013, the year I lost my grandson, and I got an intimate peek into what my daughter must have experienced as well as the mother of a dying child

Hetty Laidlaw

I loved the book and couldn't put it down.I too cried throughout the book. It is a book about love, faith, honesty and pain, but never giving up hope. Thank you Dana for sharing so honest about your journey and may this book help those who have a similar journey to walk, but also be a guideline for those who are a bystander. The reason why I only gave it 4 stars is the size of the book. I love to read in bed and it was a little bit to big, for me, to hold.

By Goldie  

I just finished this amazing book this afternoon. I'm not sure how an author can write a book and book that is so heart-wrenching and uplifting at the same time but Dana has accomplished this. This was a book that once started was nearly impossible to put down. I read it with tears in my eyes and peace in my heart. This book will be an amazing resource not only for those who have lost a loved one but also for those who are supporting them.

Ron Dart, Professor of Philosophy and Politics at the University of the Fraser Valley

I received your book a day ago----read the missive in a single sitting--was charmed and entranced, enthralled and captured by the poignant and evocative insights--- it's a burnished gold of a book---a real beauty---tragedy and hope, in an honest and raw way, jostling wisely and judiciously in your vulnerable soul--take heart---your well told and painful journey will bring healing and restore life to many---thanks for the sacrament and chalice of eternity so generously shared.

 

Xulon Press

"The author is a talented writer, who creates beautiful, sweeping images that carry the reader smoothly through what is, in truth, a bumpy journey.  The author describes her fear, sadness and anger with pinpoint accuracy, but stops to thrill readers with pictures, conversations and scenes that rejoice in the beauty of everyday life."

 

Pastor Andrew Piklyk of Bible Truth Church

 Readers will be blessed with Dana's vulnerability.  For those in the valley, In the Cleft:  Joy Comes in the Mourning, will bring restored hope.  Her writing will inspire you to dream again.  This book is an awakening to Christ's incredible grace and a credit to the author's faith.  Once you pick up this book, you will find it very difficult to put down.