I could relate to this story in many ways. I am so glad that Donna was able to overcome the setbacks in her life. I found the stories of how she was rewarded with her children to be very interesting. This book should touch many lives. I know it touched my life! ( )

Donna VanLiere is a woman who has been through the heartbreak of infertility. Through that lens she write about life's disappointments and how to cope with them. Definitely liked this book. ( )

One of my life-long best friends is adopted. I recall us searching for and eventually finding her birth-mother only to discover that the genetics that she shared with them could never measure up to the love that she shared with her true family... the one that she was adopted into.

I also know several mothers who have adopted their children. They have always known and truly believe that their children were destined to be theirs. I couldn't agree more and these are some of the best mothers I know.

Donna VanLiere had every hope and every dream of a certain life and becoming a mother. After a childhood that included sexual abuse, she meets the man of her dreams and is fortunate enough to marry him. Her story takes the reader from the childhood dreams to her adult dreams of having children with her husband, Troy (who, by the way... sounds absolutely wonderful). However, after a tragic miscarriage, the couple is inexplicably faced with infertility. She questions God and tries to find his grace in her life as she craves from the depths of her soul to be blessed with children. Eventually, she does find that grace in the form of three beautiful children, two adopted from China and one from Guatemala. But, more than God's wonderful grace in these three children, she finds peace and grace in the entirety of her life. How she discovers it, she shares with the readers of this heartfelt book. I couldn't be more grateful for her moving words.

On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"

I needed this book at this stage in my life! Donna's story is one that brought me inspiration and reminded me that I have to be open to God's grace in my life in whatever form it is given to me. It may not be the way that I envisioned it and planned it, but His plan for me is greater than I can ever dream up myself. I pray for patience so much and it's still one of the biggest hurdles I face. I know that God is working on me and is preparing me for the greatness that will be the legacy of my life. This book helped remind me of that. For the genre Non-Fiction:Memoir/Spiritual, I am going to rate this book a 9 OUT OF 10. ( )

I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant to accept the opportunity to read and review Donna VanLiere's "Finding Grace." Frankly, I have read very little in the Christian Fiction genre and I watch almost no television, so I was completely unaware of VanLiere's books or the movies made from them. However, I am definitely a fan of memoirs and something about her personal story made me curious to read what she had to say about her life and how she arrived at the point she is today.

"Finding Grace" is an inspirational story - probably more meaningful today even than when VanLiere was writing it, in fact, because of the way people all across the country, and the world, are being tested by the horrible economic crisis we all face. Thousands of jobs are lost everyday, along with the benefits attached to those jobs, such as health insurance, and parents are under tremendous pressure to maintain some sense of normality for their children.

Donna VanLiere shares her own story - and her theory that "broken dreams," the shattering of our expectations of the life for which we believed ourselves to have been destined, are the "launch pad to growth." VanLiere, who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of two perverted young neighbor boys as a child, had her innocence stolen so early that she spent most of her life questioning God about his absence when she most needed His help. As an adult, her dream was to marry and raise a family of her own but her dream plan was shattered by her inability to c0nceive despite spending thousands of dollars and several years trying to right the problem.

It was only when she recognized that God had a different plan for her, adoption, that VanLiere reached what she considers to be a state of grace in her life. Now she wants to share her insights and experiences with others who may be struggling with their own faith as a result of the difficulties they face in their lives. VanLiere's message is one of hope - that when life is at its darkest is the perfect time to open one's heart to an alternative plan, one that just might be what was meant to be all along. VanLiere defines "grace" as "when you get something you don't deserve." It is a gift that you have to do nothing to earn because God wants you to have it, the kind of gift you may not even recognize until long after having received it.

"Finding Grace" will definitely offer hope to those in turmoil about their immediate futures - but it also reminds that life is a long journey with many crossroads, and peaks and valleys, along the way. The most important thing to remember, according to Donna VanLiere, is that it is never too late to accept the grace that is always there for the taking.

Rated at: 3.5 ( )