High-powered California executive Steven is living out his dream---until he rages at his wife one too many times and gets kicked out of his house. His world unravels even more when eccentric mystery man Andy befriends him. Will a series of frustrating yet revealing encounters---and a genuine friendship---lead Steven to discover God's love? 224 pages, softcover from Windblown.
High-powered executive Steven Kerner is living the dream in southern California. But when his bottled pain ignites in anger one night, his wife kicks him out. Then an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe befriends Steven and begins unravelling his tightly wound world. Andy leads Steven through a series of frustrating and revealing encounters to repair his life through genuine friendship and the grace and love of a God who has been waiting for him to accept it. A story to challenge and encourage, BO'S CAFE is a model for all who struggle with unresolved problems and a performance-based life. Those who desire a fuller, more authentic way of living will find this journey of healing a restorative exploration of God's unbridled grace.
Bill Thrall - As vice chair and coauthor for Leadership Catalyst/TrueFaced, Bill’s desire to see relational health in those he works with. His eloquence and integrity have given him opportunities to teach these principles internationally. His wisdom has been penned throughout the entire series of The Ascent of a Leader, Beyond Your Best, and TrueFaced Experience books.
Bruce McNicol - As cofounder and president of Leadership Catalyst/TrueFaced, Bruce’s passion is to see tens of thousands of safe places like Bo’s Café established around the world, whether they be families, businesses, schools, hospitals, churches, organizations, sports teams, military or governments. Bruce’s degrees in finance law, theology, leadership, and organizational development helped hone his gift to speak into the lives of others, which continues to draw international audiences.
John Lynch - As a great communicator and a talented writer, John Lynch is a vital member of the Leadership Catalyst/TrueFaced community. John has coauthored a number of books and resources with Bill and Bruce, including the bestseller TrueFaced and the popular TrueFaced audio-video message.
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
6 of 6 Reviews Showing:
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Mike Tesdahl (Parker, CO), November 17, 2009
I devoured this book! It should be required reading for all leaders, all mentors, and the spouses who love them.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Shirley Rempel (Canada), November 03, 2009
When I first read what Bo's Cafe is about, immediately I thought, oh is this book going to be "The Shack" part 2? But as I began to read, I realized that no, this book is not! Bo's Cafe takes on the subject of grace in a fresh, new way!
This book, though fiction, showed the realness of people. We can't move forward until we let go of the past. We have to let go of our control (or in the case of the characters in Bo's Cafe, what we think we can control), our anger and our bitterness. Only than can we move forward.
Although an easy to read, well-written book, it is deep and I am still processing through what I have read in Bo's Cafe. There are not many books that impact me like this.
Bo's Cafe is a great way to introduce the concept of acceptance, grace and forgiveness in a non-threatening way. I would definitely recommend it to non-Christians, new Christians and searching Christians.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Deborah (Reston, VA), October 01, 2009
This story is very different to read. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started reading. Steven isn't exactly a likable character. He has a lot of faults, some he will readily admit, others he doesn't seem to notice that he has. In situations with his family, I especially felt for his wife and daughter and understand their reactions to him. As for Andy, to me it felt like he was a guardian angel who appeared out of nowhere, who always had the right things to say. His character is never really fully developed in my opinion so I didn't feel as if I really got to know him. Steven seems to grow throughout the book as he learns from Andy's teachings and his own spiritual walk, but then he stumbles. It's refreshing though because it shows an imperfect character.
Multi author books have always been a curiosity with me especially when there are more than two authors. I'm always not really sure why three or more authors are needed to write a simple book. It can be good and sometimes it can lead to disastrous results. I would have to say for the most part it worked well for this book. I say for the most part because while the story was able to flow fluidly for most of the book, there were times where you could tell it was written by a different author. This would mainly happen when a character would go off in a long speech. It would start to sound a bit preachy and almost as if I was listening to a sermon which I have never been fond of in a book. During these scenes, I felt like skimming over because I don't like being preached at while I was reading. The story scenes were fine, I just felt that these long monologues could have been handled differently. Overall, it's an interesting story. It's one to think about long after you've finished reading. I wouldn't classify this as the next Shack, but it does good at making one ponder about their life.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Janna Ryan (North Platte, NE), September 30, 2009
Three friends get together and write a book that they hope will have spiritual impact on people's lives. What are the spiritual truths that they hope to convey? Grace. Yes, they go into the deep addictions and weaknesses we carry in our lives and even more importantly, how to overcome them. I love that they do not deal with anything superficially. There are no band aids that will fall off and end up on the bottom of someone's shoe. It is about relationships, which lead to vulnerability which in turn can lead to honesty and then healing which is found in God. This is a huge part of the story and so well done. But the root of it all boils down to grace and how unwilling we are to accept it for ourselves. It's not about saying I'm sorry, but about forgiveness and repentance.
Steven Kerner is an amazing lead character, not because he's a great guy, he's amazing because of his flaws - the man has some major anger issues and he does not spare those around him, especially his wife.
Andy Monroe enters the picture and things start to change... or do they? Andy tries to befriend and mentor Steven but somedays he just doesn't want to be helped. Andy takes Steven to Bo's Cafe and introduces him to a cast of characters - Cynthia, Bo, Hank and Carlos. Steven can't believe that Andy thinks any of them are going to be able to help. It's not about help, it's about having a safe place. That is what Bo's Cafe is.
Walk with Steven as he tries to deal, mess up, deal, mess up, apologize and finally get real. Can his marriage survive? Can his new friendships survive? And what about his relationship with his daughter? Good storyline, but this book is definitely a thinker book, not cerebral like you think so hard you can't even enjoy it, but like the kind of book you can't possibly read and not ponder and ponder and ponder. If you are fortunate, this is the kind of book that will change who you are.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Paul Wilkinson (Ontario, Canada), September 14, 2009
If you've ever been in a discussion with your spouse which, out of nowhere, escalated into a major war, this book will resonate with you. Steven Kerner, the lead character, is given to what can only be described as serial rage. A stranger at a bar named Andy slowly earns the right to speak into his life, and it turns out that Andy himself is being mentored in this by someone at another establishment, Bo's Cafe. Like the book The Shack -- also published by Windblown -- this one uses a fictional story and the inclusion of much dialog as a form of teaching. The encounters with a stranger are reminiscent of books by David Gregory, Andy Andrews and Jake Colsen; but more than anything else the book evokes concepts and themes that are familiar to readers of Fireproof. Personally, I see this and Fireproof as forming a set! The book will also connect with non-Christian readers, and unlike most Christian fiction, it is a book that men can relate to. It might even inspire you to reach out to someone you know who needs encouragement and direction.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Keiki Hendrix (Greenville, SC), September 04, 2009
A safe place isn't a soft place.
Have some unresolved conflict in your life messing up all your relationships? Feeling exasperated because you give it your best to fix the stuff you carry around but it never really gets resolved?
You might identify with Steven Kerner, the main character in Bruce McNicol, Bill Thrall, and John Lynch's new novel Bo's Cafe.
Steven Kerner's living the dream with his executive level job, beautiful wife and daughter, and even finds time to serve on Boards for charitable organizations. To look at his life, you'd think the guys got it all.
But wait, if this kind of life is what we all aspire to have then why is Steven Kerner calling the Marriott home and his wife contemplating divorce?
Enter Andy Monroe.
At first glance Steven sizes Andy up as an old Jimmy Buffet groupie with his Dodgers ball cap, ragged blue jeans and loud Hawaiin shirt. Looks can be and often are deceiving.
Steven is compelled to allow a friendship to develop mainly because Andy is a friend of his fathers. What follows is novel about true friendship which delves deep down to the heart of all our issues.
Andy, along with several of his friend's, provide Steven with conversations that begin to shape his view of himself and of all others around him. The big question is whether he will accept the Truth and begin to live freely for the first time in his life.
I won't give the main storyline away, suffice it to say that you will identify with the issues, your mind may be opened to many of our human defense mechanism, and perhaps you may find the answer you've been looking for all your life.
Bo's Cafe is a place where you can get out the worst thing about you
and they don't run you off, talk you down, or head for the hills.
Safe is where you are loved more for revealing your problems, not less.
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