Review: Five Years in Heaven

Five Years in Heaven: The Unlikely Friendship that Answered Life's Greatest Questions by John Schlimm, May 5, 2015. 288 pages. Published by Image. Source: Blogging for Books.

FIVE YEARS IN HEAVEN is an inspirational memoir about a young man at a crossroads in his life who returns to his small hometown and forms an unlikely and mutually enriching friendship with an 87-year-old nun and artist who illuminates a divinely inspired blueprint for finding one’s purpose and answering the ultimate question “How do I get to Heaven?”

First Sentence:

On that early spring day, the sun had started its descent when I pulled into the convent's back entrance.

While I enjoyed the story of the friendship between Sister Augustine and John, the writing, well, it wasn't entirely too my liking. But overall, the story was pretty incredible!

I am sad to say that it took me...well, roughly a month to get through this one. Even though I really enjoyed the story or seeing how Sister Augustine helped John move through the rocky times he was going through as he doubted himself and the dreams he was pursuing. Yet, it was the writing that made me drag my feet on finishing it. I know, I feel terrible saying that about an author's writing yet, this is not the first time I've liked a story more than the writing nor will it be the last.

It is easy enough to see why John, and those who met her, fell in love with Sister Augustine an her ability to help you find your way through life. There was just something about her personality and the way she spoke that, even through the memories of the writer, just jumped off the pages. From the stories of her childhood to that mischievous glint in the eye (that one could see from reading about her) there was, like I said, something about her and her wisdom that was great to read about.

Even though I really enjoyed the overall story line and the bond that formed between two unlikely people, a nun and a thirty something ex-PR/artist/teacher, the writing was slow going for me. While I liked reading about their experience in the ceramics shop at the convent, I felt that the, well, that the ceramics portion was a little much! *gah* He just rambled on about paints and molds and too much!! Literally, I would read a chapter and then put it down till the next day because the writing was too gilded that sometimes the story was lost. To put it simply, the writing was over the top and overpowered the actual story that was being told. So yes, I did have some issues with the writing.

Final Verdict: Five Years in Heaven- In the end, I, mostly, enjoyed this book because once you picked through the writing the true story really shone forth.

Five Years in Heaven earns

this book was received in consideration for a review. All thoughts are my own.