July 10, 2006
Higgs, bestselling author of Bad Girls of the Bible
, offers a sweet but substantial gift book about accepting God's grace and leaving the past behind. Higgs's personal history includes "a lost decade of sex, drugs, and rock 'n 'roll," and though she doesn't focus on her past, she writes believably as someone who struggled with accepting grace herself. Each chapter contains multiple Scripture verses strung together with comments she's received from readers (such as, "I don't feel I am worthy of having God forgive me of my sins and weaknesses. I feel like a failure.") and reflections from her own life. She walks through several stages of receiving grace—including doubting that grace could be possible, confronting sin, forgiving yourself and repenting. Readers will feel at ease with Higgs's down-home style that's never preachy. Higgs aims to provide "a field guide, tracing a well-worn footpath from doubt to belief, pointing us away from shame and toward hope." She succeeds, and readers who are looking for more insight from this former Bad Girl will be very thankful.