An extended review of a 2024 book by Marie-Eve Dawood
Note: Our print issue contains a shorter version of this review. Faith Today welcomes your thoughts on any of our reviews. We also welcome suggestions of other Canadian Christian books to review: Contact us.
Book by Marie-Eve Dawood. Author Academy Elite, 2024. 232 pages. $20 (ebook $10)
Halifax author Marie-Eve Dawood reflects in this book on her experience as a single Christian. She details some of the 21st century challenges faced by people who desire to be married to a godly partner ("Jesus-loving fishers of men," she humorously calls them).
Her approach is relatable and relevant, and her creative use of language – metaphors, puns, allegories, anecdotes and humour – is appropriate and delightful. The book cover design sums it up beautifully.
Her down-to-earth and unpretentious attitude lead directly to honesty and vulnerability – she admits to lowering her standards a few times and then getting angry at God when things didn't stack up as expected. Also remarkable is her unapologetic stance for sexual purity, which she communicates without trying to be politically correct.
The book is also well researched and well thought out. Dawood has an uncanny ability to draw the reader into every experience and emotion.
The opening chapter gives a peek into the author's life and how it unravels over nearly four decades. The first scene takes us on a four-hour trip with her family – the duration of which, in the eyes of a little girl, is the equivalent of eternity.
This sets the stage for the rest of the book, becoming a perfect image for its theme – "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12).
How do you spend an eternity waiting to arrive at your destination? Dreaming can become an escape – imagining a picture-perfect life filled with every goodness, including a perfect godly husband. What happens when this dream turns out to be a mirage and you're still waiting for your Prince Charming almost 40 years later?
The author takes us on a journey of heartbreaks, disappointment and hard choices springing from her convictions. She comes face-to-face with the tough question single people are confronted with when they get to a certain age – Do you wait forever, or do you shut the door at some point to get closure? Research on the time window for healthy childbearing only adds to the weight of this contemplation.
Dawood’s journey involved personal daily choices, but she didn't have to navigate it alone. Readers will applaud her parents’ unflinching support and how it highlights the role of family as the primary support system for single people navigating the murky and sometimes treacherous waters of finding the right marital partners.
The book also points out the role of the local church as the primary place single congregants look for eligible spouses with shared faith and values – and also where to get the right counsel. Dawood writes frankly about how the local church is often not adequately equipped for the conversation around singleness, and sometimes resorts to pontification. If singles can't find potential partners or counsel in church, then where?
Dawood eventually realizes her prolonged singleness was not God's punishment for sin. Such wrong thinking, she admits, made her journey more difficult and misshaped her expectations in pursuing what she believed was God's will for her.
Not every story like Dawood’s comes with a happily-ever-after ending, but this one does end with a family picture of the author with her husband and twin sons. More importantly, her story shows God’s faithfulness is greater than that ending or some other ending. Dawood’s steadfastness – holding on relentlessly despite the odds – are both refreshing and encouraging.
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