Awful Beautiful Life by Becky Powell and Katherine Reay

On May 16, 2013, Becky Powell received a phone call that would change her life. Her husband, Mark, called her and told her he had done something terrible. That day she learned he took his own life and that he also had borrowed millions of dollars over a period of several years and was deeply in debt. In her book, Awful Beautiful Life, Becky Powell tells her story with the help of writer Katherine Reay.

Awful Beautiful Life: When God Shows Up in the Midst of Tragedy is Becky's story of how she handled life and promised to pay back every penny her husband took from those he borrowed money from while he was alive. Even more amazing to me than that, is that in our modern world where many turn away from God, Becky turned to God every day to help her through the challenges and stress of this difficult situation. Becky and Mark also had three children: Madison, Boone,  and John Luke. As a mom, she wanted to be sure she guided her kids to keep looking to God and not become victims in the midst of their difficulties. Becky has five pillars that guide her life: Faith, Family, Friends, Fun, and Forgive and Forget. Through Awful Beautiful Life, she shares how these pillars helped her through everything and helped her to guide her children through it all.

I read Awful Beautiful Life within 2 days. I could have read it faster but I had to work and take care of my own family. I was impressed with how well this book read as the Powell family story unfolded. But more importantly, I was impressed with Becky's integrity. While she is honest about how she messed up a few times through the process, overall she worked to honor God and her family. Her story is one to look up to and emulate in a world where we don't always hear about the good things people do as much as the bad stuff on the news. I think there are things we can all learn from the Powell family and their friends. Most importantly, we need to be there for each other and we need to honor God through it all. Awful Beautiful Life was a great book for my first read of 2020--I can only hope that I can live a life with such faith and integrity. I encourage you to read it and seek to live a life for God and family as well no matter what life throws your way.

I received this book from Faithwords. All opinions in this review are my own. #sponsoredbyfaithwords