Reviewed by me for Reader’s Favorite.

My Path of Faith – A Life’s Journey Learning How to See, Live and Love Through Jesus’ Eyes by Barbie Carlisle is her life journey that has been full of struggle, pain, and lack of love. From an early age, she endured her mother’s neglect and emotional abuse. In her mother’s eyes, Barbie could not do anything right. The only love she remembers receiving was from her father. Even he never stopped her mother from demeaning Barbie. Their extent of neglect toward Barbie knew no bounds.

When Barbie revealed that she was raped by her date, her mother asked her to move out of the house, and her father did not find the courage to stop this injustice. With nothing to compare to, she fell into many abusive relationships with men who claimed to have loved her. Amidst all such chaos, she surrendered herself to God’s will. Whenever she did something good for others or stood up against wrong, she always gave credit to God by saying, “It wasn’t me. It’s God in me.” Enduring so much grief and yet keeping an unwavering faith in God is no small accomplishment.

The author is remarkably talented. She has included her poetry, her interpretation of the scripture, and how the scripture applies to her life throughout the book. This is a very bright approach to guide readers to actually look at their own lives from the eyes of faith. Although she constantly felt lonely, she realized that she was never really alone. God was always with her. The moment she embraced Him in her life and heart, she understood that she would never be alone.

Having faith does not mean that she doesn’t regret some of the decisions that she had made; it only means that she would believe God in healing her heart and showing her the right way. As a reader, I wanted to know why her kids (except for Michael) moved away from her and refused to see her. This curiosity remained with me, but of course, it may have been too difficult for the author to write about it. Although the readers may come to their own conclusion for her kids’ decision to stay away from her, I do not remember it is clearly mentioned.

My Path of Faith – A Life’s Journey Learning How to See, Live and Love Through Jesus’ Eyes by Barbie Carlisle has a lot of pictures of the author. One thing is for sure her mother did not know what she was talking about when she called Barbie ugly. She is as beautiful as an angel and her actions support this comparison. Parents’ neglect can break a person and that is evident in this memoir. Nevertheless, faith can definitely save even the most broken soul. I would recommend this book to the readers who are looking for faith, hope, and love in their lives.

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