"Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far"

The name Palin is one that used to (and still does) stir up a lot of people. People either hate or love the Palin family. Now, I am not writing this in order to discuss politics or to start arguments with anyone. I like the Palin family. I like and approve of what Sarah Palin stands for, values and believes as a woman, a mom, a wife, a politician and a Christian. I think that if she and McCain had won the 2008 Presidential campaign things would be very different than they are now. But that's just my personal opinion and not the main point of me writing for the second time today. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol is the reason for me writing again.

Bristol wrote a book called Not Afraid of Life: My Journey so Far. I started it at about 12:30 this afternoon and finished it about an hour ago. It was a fairly easy read. But it was a very good read. I was so impressed with her simple, down to earth, real style of writing. It was almost as if I was sitting across from her in a coffee shop talking with her. That's how real it was in my mind. And I was also really impressed by honest she was. She didn't try to make things look good in her favor. She didn't try to spin her story in such a way that everyone would just love her at the end of it. She wrote to tell her story. To help people understand her in some small way. To help young women realize that people make mistakes, but life can go on. To write about how even though her son is the best thing in her life, the choices that she made with his father shouldn't have happened and that she knows that being a young, unwed, mother is not how GOD intended anyone's life to be.

Bristol's story walked through her life as a native Alaskan, daughter of a politician, student, athlete, sister and young woman of faith. She walked through events that shaped her life and shared how she knows she messed up, but yet has made things turn around. She shared funny stories, hard stories, real stories. It was a great picture into how life is normal for them. Even though they got thrown into the spot light with the Presidential campaign. She showed how her family is a tight-knit family that has proven that they can (and will) overcome any obstacle that comes their way. And she showed that they are a family of strong faith.

I honestly could go on and on about this book. I can't say enough how impressed I was with how she wrote. The fact that she is just a couple of years younger than I am and has faced far more in life than I ever will, yet still has come out strong and close to GOD is so incredibly amazing. The fact that she could write so simply, so clearly, so honestly about the hardships and triumphs that have made up her life was refreshing.

Again, I don't want to debate about politics or hear arguments for or against the Palin family. I just want to share about an awesome book that I enjoyed today and will probably read more than once. Just saying. :)