Actually Meeting Amazing Grace

Check it out, folks — hot off the press. The clients (who have become friends over the past few years) delivered my personal designer’s copy over the weekend. And I have to admit it always feels great to see something move from the drawing board and the computer screen to tangible form, on shelves, in stores. An actual product.

I asked to read the manuscript before I created the cover art so I could really capture the feel of the book. And it was a fascinating experience. As I slowly read through the book, it moved from being a chore to being fed.

Meeting Amazing Grace is intended to be a self-help book dealing with family relationships, and specifically in-laws, but it’s written as a novel (which in my mind makes it a lot more palatable -- I have a hard time actually finishing anything non-fiction). There’s even a surprise twist at the end that gave me chills!

But in this sweet little story they manage to weave all kinds of real-life relationship scenarios...with clear-cut, concise advice. While I’m the first to admit this isn’t Literature with a capital L, they’ve managed to make the material wonderfully accessible. And as I read I began to realize lots of changes, large and small, that I can make in the way I deal with my own in-laws (who are wonderful, by the way). The point here is that ANY relationship can be improved by these ideas.

The book gets its title from one of the main characters, Grandma Grace, who is truly amazing. But of course the intended double meaning is there, because as you read–and think about what they're teaching–you can’t help but come face-to-face with that other grace as well.

It’s kinda cool to know the authors personally, and realize they live these principles day in and day out. Their lives reflect this kind of healing and joy. (In fact the wife’s name IS Joy.) Their previous book, I Don't Have to Make Everything All Better, is a bestseller addressing everyone's need for emotional validation, and is packed with wise counsel. We've probably gifted it half a dozen times.

So whether or not you find your in-laws insufferable, the next time you're browsing through the bookstore...take a second look at Meeting Amazing Grace and think "Hey, I know the artist who did this cover." (And then open it up and start reading.)