Review: God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons For Life’s Little Detours by Regina Brett
Reading God Never Blinks is a bit like talking with Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett, if you’ve ever had the pleasure, except that you probably read slower than she talks. She’s been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize twice, and my bet is that this book, a best-seller from the day it was published, will push her over the top.
Those of us lucky enough to read her 3X weekly column in Ohio’s largest daily, or to listen when she sits in as Friday host on WCPN’s The Sound of Ideas, will recognize the voice in these brief “lessons:” If you don’t ask, you don’t get; Forgive everyone everything; It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
It’s the voice of reason, tempered by experience and fired in the toaster oven of God’s redemptive powers. And what experience she brings to these light-hearted sermons: an alcoholic at 16, an unwed mother at 21, a wife at 40, a cancer survivor at 41. The best part: she hasn’t missed learning something at every stage of her remarkable life. And along the way, she has developed a remarkably honest and courageous determination to face down her own demons, know herself fully, and finally, engage totally with the world and those around her.
Be prepared for whole dollops of pure religion, Catholic-style, unfashionable in our era of child-abusing priests and the bishops who abetted them. Ironically, Brett’s courageous, honest and cut-the-crap style, coming from a woman who has seen so much, highlights the Catholic church’s biggest failing: if she were allowed to be a priest, her sermons would probably attract huge followings of acolytes hungering to hear her speak her mind and counsel her followers. As it stands, she’s developed wicked skills as a writer, and we’re probably better off buying her books, or better yet, giving them away as gifts. Only good can come from this.
Just a note: these “50 Lessons” are not really for “Life’s Little Detours;” they are a manual for life’s biggest challenges, from cancer to teen pregnancy to losing everything and starting over. It’s no doubt the editors came up with the title and the cutesy graphics. But thank your God they didn’t touch Brett’s hard-bitten writing style and hard-won revelations. Like James Joyce’s “epiphanies,” Brett finds the one kernel of wisdom in each key episode of her life, then digs with a surgeon’s fervor to inspire healing, then brings it all to light in 1000 lucid, precise words.
Suggestion: buy two books and don’t start reading the one until you have a window of time, because you won’t be able to put it down. Once you do, you’ll immediately start thinking of who you want to send the other book to. Then you’ll send your first book to another family member or good friend, and then you’ll have to go out and get more. So be safe and buy three. That’s the only way you’ll be sure you’ll have one to pass on to that special someone you haven’t even met yet.
Regina Brett speaks at Nighttown this Mon 6/14 at Nighttown at 7PM as a benefit fundraiser for the Cleveland Food Bank. Register at 216-795-0550. The event includes appetizers, a book, and a donation to the Food Bank. Further events and book signings can be found at http://www.ReginaBrett.com
Review by Thomas Mulready