The Edge of the Divine by Sandi Patty

This is a book that should not be dismissed as an episodic adventure on dieting and surgical intervention. It is the story of a person's pilgrimage fighting the demons which have gained controlled in whatever form they choose to appear in one's psyche. The author takes her definition of "edge" as the "point of which something is likely to begin." She spins her chapters with real-life situations, who she is, what she has done wrong, and where the trip of her life has taken her.

I was surprised in the book by her frankness about her own sense of failure, her dedication to the needs of the individual members of her blended family and to her down-to-earth grounding which allows her to deal with all of this. She does not dwell on her accolades and when she does drop a name or give an achievement, she quickly acknowledges the statement of her friend, Chonda Pierce ,"Not bragging. Just sharin' my testimony." Her writing makes the reader feel that the two of you could sit down and share a coffee and that she would do as much listening as talking.

The author gives her insights into Scriptural characters and authors she is reading. Her words about Oswald Chambers and what he has called, "the unexpected sacredness of circumstances",

caused me to ponder my own circumstances and opportunities to bring and find ministry. Patty made no allusion to the fact that her music ministry has done this, and continues to do this, for many thousands of people in her years as an artist. I concluded from her words that this was only a part of what she considered to be her ministry; rather that every aspect of her life was a major part of her ministry including what she and others might consider to be her failures.