Amy Grant' 'Mosaic' Paints a Beautiful Picture
Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far (paperback)
By Amy Grant
WaterBrook Press
ISBN: 978-0767929677, 222 pages
With her unmistakable voice and honest lyrics, Amy Grant has captured a unique place in American music. Now she bares her heart and soul in this collection of luminous reflections on everything from motherhood, marriage, and regrets to forgiveness, faith, and redemption.
I began Mosaic expecting it to be Amy Grant’s life story up to this point. But actually it’s more of a compilation of stories, song lyrics, and lessons from Grant’s life. My favorite part was a chapter called, “The Brazos River” in which she tells of being weighed down by the ramifications of certain decisions she had made in her life…. Grant writes:
I’m not saying I wanted to be anywhere else. I was grateful to be at this place in life surrounded by the ones I love—to lie down at the end of the day in peace beside my heart’s partner. It was just that I’d grown accustomed to the ache of grief caused by life, by loss, by doors closed that can never be reopened, the ripple effect of my choices. Consciously or unconsciously I had incorporated scars and shadows into my emotional movement the same way a war veteran accepts a permanent limp or disfigured limb—just glad to still be alive.
The chapter goes on to recount the impromptu water baptism of her and her husband Vince Gill. Touching and heartfelt.
When I heard that Amy Grant had published a book I was excited to read it. Grant’s ministry has impacted many people over the years, me included. I slowly made my way to Christ in 1983. Rather than it being one explosive moment of surrender, it was a year-long search for God—and the background music for that year was Amy Grant’s “Age to Age.” By the time I finally met Jesus, early in 1984, I knew every word to every song on that album. I had sung them in the car, alone at home on my knees, and near the end of my pilgrimage, lying face down on the carpet of my living room. Looking back on that time reminds me of my inexpressible thankfulness to God and to His servant Amy Grant. And I have a lovely 14-year-old daughter named “Amy” to help me remember that year-long journey.
Overall I liked the book very much, and was impressed with Grant’s ability to take the reader deep into her heart, without giving away private details of her life. The paperback version does have very small print, and some of the pictures are almost indistinguishable, but Mosaic is well worth the expense—especially for the consummate Amy Grant fan.
Book review by Paula Friedrichsen. Paula is a writer and speaker who lives in Central California with her family. Visit her Web site at www.pfministries.com. Watch her recent interview on Living the Life.
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