Book Review: Who I've Become is Not Who I Am by Sonya Visor

A compelling, revealing, and tear-jerking testimonial... Sonya Visor's debut non-fiction book Who I've Become is Not Who I AM will capture you from page one. Sonya is a playwright, workshop presenter, conference speaker, author, the Founder of TruU Ministries, loving wife of Pastor Tony Visor for over nineteen years, and mother of two sons, Jason and Tony, Jr. She and her husband have ministered effectively together in the city of Racine, WI at NCC (New Covenant Church) since 1999.

Sonya's passion is to minister to the people who hide behind well-crafted masks. In her telling book, Sonya reaches into the depths of her soul to share with others. The life she once endured as a sexually molested child almost led her to commit suicide as an adult, but I thank God for stepping in. Who she had become as a result of what had happened in the past threatened to destroy her future, but God still there, loved. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” Romans 8:28, KJV.

She admits to wearing masks in order to deal with the hidden pain layered beneath a facade she opted to show to the rest of the world. Take a look at an excerpt that moved me to tears.

Excerpt:

CHAPTER 2

IT HAPPENED AGAIN AND AGAIN

“Sonya…come in here for a minute.” He called for me from the doorway, as he stood watching. All I could see was his blue shirt and sunglasses through the screen door. I stopped laughing right there in the middle of running to second base in a game of kickball with my cousins. Nobody else could hear the request in his voice, but I knew what it meant.

“Okay…I’m coming.” I felt strange and sneaky, but I left my game of kickball and went anyway. All I wanted to do was play with my cousins and friends in the heat of a summer day. Let me hurry, maybe today he won’t keep me long…

                                                                    ~ ~ ~

Today, Sonya enjoys a life of freedom where she reaches back to help others who may be struggling with the same things she had gone through. As the Founder of TruU ministries, Sonya encourages the downtrodden who may be wearing a mask of the emotionally sound to be real with themselves in order to find the strength to become whom God has called them to be.

More information about Sonya Visor, details about her ministry, and purchasing details for her books can be found on her official website at http://www.sonyavisor.com/.

Book Review: The Morning After by Kendra Norman-Bellamy & Hank Stewart

The second installment to Three Fifty-Seven AM of the God’s Timing Series, The Morning After unfolds the interesting lives of seven individuals. Entering the worlds of TK, Jennifer, Jerrod, Angel, Colin, Elaine, and Mason anyone could identify with them in one way or another. Whether you’ve experienced the death of a loved one, infidelity, health concerns, or communication problems this book touches on them all.

(Excerpt from Kendra Norman-Bellamy’s site: About the Book)

When Essie Mae Richardson, the pillar of her upscale community, died a year ago, life for the residents who befriended her took a drastic turn...for the worse. The morning before Essie's death, it was business as usual in the Braxton Park subdivision. The morning after her death, every thread that held the friends and neighbors together begins to unravel…

As I read this story, I enjoyed how each chapter flowed into the next so much that it seemed as if it were written by one individual rather than two. The vivid imagery painted a mental picture making it easy to feel the characters’ emotions and visualize their body language. I love movies and could easily see this one fleshed out in film putting me in the mind of the notable Women of Brewster’s Place.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about God’s delivering power no matter what the circumstance…He is indeed able.

This book can be purchased online through various retailers or wherever books are sold.