Book Review: Bo's Cafe by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and John Lynch/5 Stars

About the book:

High-power tech executive, Steven Kerner, is living the American dream in Southern California. But he isn’t enjoying it. After another fight with his wife, he finds himself at a seedy bar far from home where an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe reveals that he knows more about Steven than he might suspect. When Steven drives home, his bottled pain ignites in anger, and his wife kicks him out to work out his anger and controlling issues on his own.

Reluctantly, Steven begins driving around with Andy in his 1970 Chevy Electra convertible, unravelling his tightly-wound world, and leading to a series of frustrating and painful encounters intended to help Steven let go of his tight grip on fear, shame, relationships, and control. Through the genuine friendship that develops, and the grace and love of a God who’s been patiently directing him to it, Steven finally accepts the very thing he’s needed all along.

A fictionalized version of a true story of healing, the profound but simple steps move from awakening to one’s emotions, to exchanging safety for messy vulnerability, and finally to transforming from self-focus to the destiny God intended. An unusually powerful story of challenging one’s fears and encouraging deep trust, Bo’s Café is a model journey for all who struggle with unresolved anger, trust issues, and a performance-based life. There is a fuller, more authentic way of living, and this semi-fictional journey of healing shows the way to find it through God’s unbridled grace.

My thoughts:

Fans of The Shack will love this new offering from Windblown Media--Bo's Cafe. It's crammed with just as much depth as The Shack, but just with a much better story, in my opinion.

You'd be hard-pressed not to find yourself doing a lot of self-examining after reading this. This book will step on your toes, get under your skin, and cause you to realize that not everything in life can be fixed by just putting a Band-aid on it. Some things simply take longer to understand and resolve, and after reading Bo's Cafe, you realize that that's okay.

The characters are fabulous, too. Each one is so real, and any one of them could easily be part of your own circle of friends. Also, the description of the cafe itself is very real. You can practically smell the aroma of fish and shrimp, and it makes you want to drive your nearest favorite seafood restaurant for a great meal.

Bo's Cafe will leave you saying "Wow" after you finish the final page. It's a book that should be passed around and talked about just as much as The Shack has been. No doubt about it....this is a book that everyone needs to read. It's just that good.

5 Stars

Southern?  No
Sass?  No

**Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.