Carol Kent has lived every parent's nightmare. After her only son was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Carol's life took a permanent detour. She and her husband, Gene, have been adjusting ever since, moving to Florida to be near the prison, starting a new ministry for prison inmates and their families, and sharing the faithfulness of God with anyone who will listen.
A New Kind of Normal begins with the story of that horrible night when Carol and Gene learned their son had been arrested, but it doesn't end there. In fact, Carol knows what it means to live with an unthinkable circumstance that will never change---and to still make hope-filled choices. Through the eight chapters in this book, Carol will use their own story, the story of Mary mother of Jesus, and stories of women who have experienced their own "new normal" to share how God has led them to choose life, gratitude, vulnerability, involvement, forgiveness, trust, and action.
Carol Kent has lived every parent’s nightmare. After her only son was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Carol’s life took a permanent detour. She and her husband, Gene, have been adjusting ever since, moving to Florida to be near the prison, starting a new ministry for prison inmates and their families, and sharing the faithfulness of God with anyone who will listen.
A New Kind of Normal begins with the story of that horrible night when Carol and Gene learned their son had been arrested, but it doesn’t end there. In fact, Carol knows what it means to live with an unthinkable circumstance that will never change-and to still make hope-filled choices. Through the eight chapters in this book, Carol will use their own story, the story of Mary mother of Jesus, and stories of women who have experienced their own "new normal" to share how God has led them to choose life, gratitude, vulnerability, involvement, forgiveness, trust, and action.
Normal isn't a word that makes sense to Kent, a bestselling author and speaker whose only son murdered his wife's ex-husband in 1999 to protect his stepdaughters from suspected abuse. Kent's previous book, When I Lay My Isaac Down, powerfully recounted her family's dramatic and wrenching story of placing their son's life sentence and their shattered future dreams on God's altar as the biblical Abraham did with his son Isaac. Kent's latest writing continues this harrowing story of rebuilding life where no "normal" exists; where holidays and Sundays are spent in prison visitation lines, and where pleas for leniency go unheard. Kent and her spouse employ dynamic journal entries and soulful personal stories to recount the ongoing, sometimes debilitating, journey to hold fast to God's hope despite dismal circumstances. Kent's inner ache is transparent and her pain raw, yet she delves into trusting God when despair is overwhelming, relief is beyond reach, privacy is no option, and loss overpowers all other emotions. In the midst of the pain--more in spite of it--the Kents choose hope, every day, every hour. This is their message of triumph to all Christians who suffer yet continue to hold fast to God's promised provision. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5 out of 5 stars)
8 of 8 Reviews Showing:
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Marsha Inman (Fort Worth, TX), August 26, 2009
I thought this was a fantastic book. Like her previous book (When I Lay My Issac Down), it's an emotional read...and it stirs up issues of your own that may have attracted you to the book in the first place. Carol does a magnificent job of expressing the emotions you feels when your "normal" life is taken away, and how to redemptively move forward into what God wants to do in your "new normal" life.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Lenora Lederer (San Diego, CA), July 11, 2009
Purchased copy for myself and also for friends going through tough times. Wonderfully encouraging and precious reminder that we Believers are in this together!
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Kathy Brown (Grapevine, TX), July 01, 2008
I purchased this book for a friend, where her life was turned upside down with a similar situation. I wanted to read the book myself before giving it to her. The more I read the more I could relate to myself with situations of my past. Even though my life path was different, I to experienced the world upside down. I truly could relate, so much so I purchased three more books for when ever I come in contact with a friend or stranger- I will give them this book in hopes that it will strengthen their faith.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Becky Hurston (Hattiesburg, MS), January 08, 2008
This book was emotionally hard to read. However, I am glad I read the book and I hope that I will be more compassionate to others, especially those who are going through difficult times which have altered their lifestyles. This book makes me grateful for my life today. It also helps me see how God works through all the situations in life. He is to be trusted and He gives us hope for all of our tomorrows.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by virelle kidder (Sebastian, Florida), October 02, 2007
A work of outstanding honesty, faith, and grace!, October 2, 2007
I'm so moved by Carol Kent's honesty, her grace and unrelenting faith in the midst of enormous heartbreak. This is her best book ever, one she certainly never dreamed of writing. For anyone who has experienced deep disappoint and pain of any kind, this book will give you fresh hope.
Virelle Kidder, author and conference speaker
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Lisa Biggs Crum (Powell, OH), September 12, 2007
Carol Kent, in A New Kind of Normal, does not attempt to give cold answers to that tough question. Instead she invites the reader to see how she eventually was able and continues to choose to trust God with all the emotions that emerge in an unexpected, undesirable life-changing event.
But it’s not all about her. She includes personal stories written by seven other women in various circumstances. Each one is vulnerable and authentic. Kent’s husband also contributes from his personal journal which allows us to see that men are not immune to the emotional strains of life change.
In this book you will find hope more than answers. And perhaps the greatest encouragement will come in finding that you are not alone. You may not have what you once had but you may discover, as Kent has over time, that some parts of your new normal are better than your old normal.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Jeanne Zornes (Wenatchee, WA), August 22, 2007
“This book is about choices,” Carol Kent writes in her prologue about the shattered dreams (her son’s conviction of murder and sentence to life in prison) that birthed this book. The choices she refers to are not those on goal charts “but the choices we all need to make when our carefully developed life plan takes a U-turn or comes to a sudden halt.” Besides her and her husband Gene’s own story about their son’s crime (first told in When I Lay My Isaac Down), Carol includes stories of others who’ve crashed into the consequences of living in a fallen world. Their sorrows included congenital and terminal diseases, family rifts, addictions, crime, business failures, and even military deployment. She included their stories because they determined to make biblical, hope-filled choices to go beyond life’s brokenness and sorrows. The eight hope-filled choices developed in this book are: to survive, persevere, be vulnerable, forgive, trust, love with open hands, be thankful, and choose purposeful action. Discussion questions and lists of scriptures to meditate on magnify the value of this book. Excerpts from her husband Gene’s journals, as he worked through the loss of his dreams for his only son, will provide encouragement for men reluctant to express what they’re feeling inside. Buy this book to understand and grow through your own sorrows, then freely share your copy or another to help someone else. I did.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Sherrie Eldridge (Fishers, IN), August 21, 2007
I couldn't put this book down! I read it in two nights. Carol Kent, along with excerpts from her son and husband, show us what it means to not "spiritualize" pain and loss. I can't say "HURRAY" enough! There are so many Christians that just put a pious platitude on their pain, or the pain of others, and the connection that is intended by God between the two never happens. They become "holier than thou" in their suffering. Carol is just the opposite and I applaud her courage for leading the Christian community in the REAL struggle of faith.
Write a review of A New Kind of Normal: Hope-Filled Choices When Life Turns Upside Down
Catalog Shopping
Membership
