Even If: Trusting God Through the Fire by Bart Millard - Review

Book Synopsis:

The inspiration behind the major motion picture I Can Only Imagine 2, this true story of heartache and hope from MercyMe’s lead singer, Bart Millard, and his wife, Shannon, shows us how even our deepest wounds can become doorways to God’s grace. MercyMe was just a small worship band from Texas until January 2002, when Bart Millard’s song “I Can Only Imagine” swept the airwaves. Suddenly Bart, his bandmates, and their families were riding a wave of success beyond their wildest dreams. Then everything changed again. Bart and Shannon lost Shannon’s brother to a tragic accident. Their second child was born prematurely. Their oldest child was diagnosed with diabetes. Their marriage struggled as Bart spent more and more time on the road, feeling the weight of the band’s success on his shoulders. They wrestled with their faith. Is God still good, they wondered, even when our world is falling apart?Drawing on Bart’s powerful song of the same name, Even If is a beautifully raw exploration of what it means to follow Jesus when life doesn’t turn out the way we expected. With hard-won hope, Bart and Shannon invite us into their story—a story not of perfect outcomes because of what we do but a story of redemption because of who God is.

My Review:

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars. I read Bart Millard's first memoir when it came out years ago and loved it. I didn't like this one quite as much, but it was still a great, powerful story about trusting God even when it's hard. I loved reading about his family's story and everything they went through, even though a lot of it was sad. There were a lot of weird formatting issues throughout the book, but I chalk that up to it being a Word doc of an ARC that messed up on my Kindle. Despite that, the book was very readable and easy to get through.

Bart's family went through so dang much in the span of just a year, and then it got worse as the years went on. That was crazy to read about. I've never experienced something as hard as the combination of everything that happened to them, so I couldn't relate to it, but I could feel for them.

There were a couple examples of ableist language in the book. Nothing was intentional, and it was subtle, but I noticed it and took issue with it. The first one was when he talked about his wife's brother having dyslexia, and how that made him "suffer" and his life so much harder. Dyslexia has challenges, just like any disability, but that doesn't mean the person's life is so miserable all the time. There was also a part where he was talking about his wife's dad needing surgery, and how he might go blind or mute as a result. Bart described this as "coming out worse than before" as if having a disability is "worse" than not.

The overall message of this book, and the song it acts as the backstory for, is that it's easy to trust God when life is going your way, but it's really hard to trust when faced with trials. In the end, through all the ups and downs, Bart reminded himself that God is still faithful despite everything. As Christians, we aren't promised an easy life. In fact, we're promised trouble. Bart's life definitely showed that. However, we can take heart, because Jesus has overcome the world.