3 Christian (Fiction and Nonfiction) Books That Left Me Questioning Everything
There are 1,025,312 books out there that can make you think. This is NOT a review of those.
This is a review of books that shatter your existence and the way you see life.
And let’s be real, if you clicked on this blog post, it wasn’t just casual curiosity that brought you here. You are searching for something. In the words of the most famous food critic, Anton Ego, you’re looking for perspective.
And this? This is perspective, mon ami. So much perspective that I limited myself to just three books. Why?
Because I would rather you pick up one today instead of adding 15 to your TBR list and go to bed with that same restless hunger for intellectual and emotional stimulation that shakes you to your core.
So here we go.
No. 3
Life After by Katie Ganshert
This book captivated me from the very first words:
"We rarely know when death will come."
Any book that starts like that has to live up to the emotions packed into those words. And Life After does.
You can look at this book in two ways. You can look at it as a hopeless book that ends up well or as a hopeful book that starts wrong. You can look at it as a book about death and loss or as a book about the uncertainty of living.
I am not here to trigger you, but this book doesn’t shy away from the messiness of hope. It is raw and honest about how confusing grief is, how humans are so deliciously complex, and how Jesus is right in the middle of it all.
And let’s talk about grief for a minute. Especially how God-fearing believers (we are not dealing with the non-God-fearing “Christians” here) try to offer comfort. I come from a Hispanic Christian background where, if you are still grieving after two weeks, people start side-eyeing you. Yeah. Let’s start there.
There is no manual for grief. It’s not a disease. You just don’t “get over it”. It’s a journey. You learn to live with it.
So, Christian or non-Christian—let people grieve. Cry with those who cry. Listen to their rambling. Let them talk about their memories. Ask them to share, but if they don’t want to, just be there. And when the time is right, remind them that joy is coming, even if life looks different now.
Because joy does come in the morning, no matter how long the night is, and that is exactly why I love this book: it portraits soul-level pain in terms we all can identify with.
It is so good I might as well read it again for old times’ sake.
No. 2
Victory Over The Darkness by Neil T. Anderson
Talking about sad topics, (because apparently nothing forces growth and change faster than disappointments, losses, and painful experiences), I went through a severe depressive and anxious episode in the summer of 2024. And when I say severe, I mean severe.
During that time, a pastor of mine offered to do biblical counseling with me. She gave me this book. And everything changed.
When I tell you that this book changed my life, believe it.
My change was so radical that I had to start dating myself just to get to know this bold, victorious version of me. And it all started with this poem, found in the book:
Lend me your hope for a while
I seem to have mislaid mine,
Lost and hopeless feelings accompany daily,
pain and confussion are my companions.
I know not where to turn;
looking ahead to future times does not bring
forth images of renewed hope.
I see troubled times, pain-filled days, and more tragedy.
Lend me your hope for a while;
a time will come when I will heal.
I can lend you my hope, and I can lend you this book. And once you read it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t pick it up sooner.
No. 1
Uncharted by Angela Hunt
I spent two whole days just trying to remember the title of this book.
Two days of absolute frustration.
I asked ChatGPT like ten times about it. I combed through my library history. I scrolled through my Kindle recommendations. I went through every legal (and questionably legal) document I’ve ever downloaded. Nothing.
The very last thing I did (which should have been the first) was pray. So I prayed. And the next day? Boom. I suddenly “remembered” my bookshelf app (most likely the Holy Spirit reminded me). I opened it, scrolled to my Christian Fiction shelf, and there it was.
Listen. Listen. Listen. This book will absolutely wreck whatever is left of your mind. It really willlllll.
I have never seen anything like it.
I have never read anything like it.
This book expanded my fascination, admiration, and fear of the Lord all at once. And the best part?
It’s fiction.
This book is crazy. Just get it. Then come back and tell me everything.
