You may be familiar with Kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with golden glue. The idea which underpins it is that in embracing imperfections and flaws, a stronger, even more beautiful piece of art can be created. As humans, we are all broken and damaged by painful situations, challenges and traumas, and to know that these are the very things which make us stronger and empower us to reach out and help others who are in a dark place is extremely comforting. The cover of the book I’m reviewing today shows just such a pot and the stories within reflect the twin themes of healing and restoration which underpin Kintsugi.
I’ve met Matt in the flesh once at a Christian writers’ conference last year, been on his podcast and have the privilege of being a member of the Association of Christian Writers alongside him. When he asked me to be part of his blog tour for “All Things New”, I knew it would be a fascinating read, and so it’s proved to be.
One of my favourite kinds of books is a selection of personal stories. I love the freedom it gives me to skip from one chapter to another without feeling I’ve lost the thread. Matt tells a different story in each chapter, beginning with Jesus, then following on with his own faith narrative. I was gripped.
All Things New: Stories of transformed lives
I loved the selection of real-life stories, many of which contained edge of the seat moments. Fiona, struggling with her mental health, found herself in her bedroom taking several lethal doses of prescription medication. Torn with guilt by thoughts of her family finding her dead, she drove to a car park in the town centre where she phoned the Samaritans. She remembers that the lady’s voice on the other end was, “calm and reassuring, like that of an angel.”
Lying in her hospital bed, still alive in spite of taking an overdose which should have been fatal, she prayed fervently and heard a voice speaking clearly to her.
“It was then that Fiona heard a voice. It was a strong, clear audible voice that spoke with strength and authority. Fiona knew it was the voice of God. He spoke and told her that she would be alright and that she should go and lead a life of worship.”
These days, Fiona goes to a local church and her life has improved out of all recognition. No magic wand has been waved. She isn’t completely healed of depression and mental health issues, but she has far fewer bad days and she says it’s like someone has turned the volume down.
“She still needs to take medication, but is walking through her healing with God, step by step, day by day.”
Next, we meet seven-foot tall Simon, child of an alcoholic father, kicked out of home at sixteen, on drugs for many years with a voracious stealing habit. Good coffee led Simon to salvation, via prison. Quite rightly unimpressed by the poor quality instant brand served in the prison canteen, he heard that the Prison Fellowship served excellent filter coffee. That was enough to send Simon to check them out and as a result, he found faith, was baptised and is happily remarried to his second wife. The chapter ends, touchingly, thus:
“Today it is hard to imagine Simon having lived a life of crime. He is now a very gentle and caring man who is fully committed and dedicated to his faith, family and church.”
I found all the stories inspiring, but Terry’s really hit home. I’ve often seen the Tough Talk team speaking about their lives and I’ve read all their books. They are powerful testimonies of how God can triumph over anything. Terry’s story reminded me of them.
“At fourteen his parents divorced. At fifteen he received his first prison sentence. At sixteen he left school. He was living a life of violence and crime, full of anger and heavy drinking. This is how life began for Terry.”
Things only went downhill. He took drugs, drank heavily and his partner broke up with him. Terry climbed on to the roof of their house and decided to kill himself.
“Terry was an atheist at the time but as he wrapped the coaxial cable from the TV aerial around his neck he said: “If there is a God, I’m coming to meet you”. At that moment he was flooded with a sense of peace that words cannot describe. He just knew that he was going to be safe. In that moment he knew that God was real and that Jesus had saved him. Then he jumped.
At this point he lost consciousness. He was rushed to hospital where he spent a week in intensive care fighting for his life. In the months and years that followed this event, Terry met up with some of the emergency services workers who were there on that day. One of the paramedics told Terry that it was a miracle he had survived – he was expecting to bring out the body bag.”
These days, Terry has a good relationship with his ex, is a Christian and works with the homeless and ex-offenders. A life of anger and hopelessness has been replaced with peace and joy.
Matt rounds off the book by giving the reader plenty of practical suggestions on how to meet Jesus or improve their walk with God. In a rather neat analogy at which many will smile wryly, he likens the faith journey to his gym membership.
“I have been a member of several gyms over the years. It starts out in a whirlwind of excitement and determination – I know exercise is good for me! I enthusiastically join a gym and attend regularly for about the first four weeks. After a while the excitement and euphoria starts to wear off and the hard work of my task begins to take over my focus. My use of the gym starts to reduce. Soon the weather changes and I don’t want to go on the journey to get to the gym because it is too dark, or too wet, or I’ve just come back from a bad day at work. Eventually I stop going altogether. I still have the gym membership card in my wallet, but I’m not really a member of the gym because I don’t go. On paper I’m a member, but in reality and in my heart, I am not.”
I really enjoyed this book. I can see that I’ll be taking it down from the shelf on a regular basis to dip into it again. It’s thoughtful, readable and engaging and at no point does it give the impression that life is easy and all you have to do is start following Jesus to make everything lovely and sparkly.
If you’d like to find out more about the author, you can follow him on
You can get your very own signed copy from Matt’s website.
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I received a complimentary copy of this book but was under no pressure to provide a favourable review.