Through the Valley Love Endures

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As I continue to play catch up, I have another Christian book which I had the privilege to review.  Through the Valley Love Endures is not a fictional book, but rather one Christian’s story of his childhood and early adult life as he finally comes to fully embrace God.  I could probably write a book just on my thoughts regarding the topics he brings up. But, instead, you’ll find a more condensed version of my impressions in this review.

 

About Through the Valley Love Endures

What if death came for you today? Would you be ready?

Forced to face his own mortality, Eddie Santiago fought to stay alive in a broken world. His incredible journey through heartbreak, abuse, and adversity left him with one truth: every life makes a difference.

This is the true and compelling story of his supernatural quest through the valley of death, doubt, and darkness. Eddie provides a passionate story that will capture the attention of even the toughest skeptics.

Angels, demons, heaven, hell, Jesus and the devil: are they fiction, or are they more real than anything else in the world?

 

Through The Valley Love Endures is available in paperback ($14.99 retail) or Kindle format ($5.99)

 

About Eddie David Santiago, author of Through the Valley Love Endures

Eddie David Santiago has worked in the mental health/substance abuse field since he was 18 years old.  He holds bachelor degrees in both psychology and religious studies and has provided counseling related services for multiple mental health, substance abuse and human service agencies.  In addition, he earned his master’s degree in counseling along with certification in educational administration.

With over fifteen years of counseling related experience, Eddie founded the organization L.E.A.D. (Love Endures And Delivers) which offers interactive group trainings, seminar sessions, speaking opportunities for groups of all ages and crisis counseling sessions.

THROUGH THE VALLEY, LOVE ENDURES is based on Eddie’s early collection of writings, through which he found his voice.  He seeks to inspire others to find their voice and share their own stories.
Eddie resides in the Midwest with his beautiful wife Sarah and their three amazing children, Faith, Isaiah and Makaylah.

 

My Thoughts on Through the Valley Love Endures

I found it interesting in the forward that the publisher/ editor of this novel commented about how many roadblocks came up when getting this particular book to print.  In some ways, I saw the same thing happening as I tried to read the entire book to write this review.  I planned to read while traveling, but ended up with motion sickness to a degree I do not usually experience and couldn’t read at all.  Then, my Nook mysteriously kept losing a charge so that I would read a chapter and find it almost dead.  This was after fully charging that Nook earlier each day! Slowly, I got through this book and found it rather powerful.  All those obstacles had me thinking that maybe someone / something didn’t want me to read the words and let anything take root in my heart.

 

I say all this because I found myself agreeing with so much that Eddie had to say in his book.  There are forces out there that do not want people to walk in the light and would rather that we accept the lies whispered in the dark.  I have struggled with my own ‘lies’ dealing with self-worth for years as evidenced by long time battles with being overweight and often sitting on the border of depression.  As soon as I started to get a handle on those aspects of my life, situations would arise in other aspects of my life to knock me for a loop.  I’ve felt like things have been kicked up a few notches in the past 2 years and occasionally entertained thoughts of ‘giving up’ the fight.  It is those same situations that resonated so much with Eddie’s words that have me thinking this review was being made more difficult to complete.

 

Now, I will admit that the small skeptic in me occasionally found some of Eddie’s recollections of conversations to sound almost too good to be true.  But, I took that as calling from his memory of what was said by both himself and other parties.  Some of the supernatural encounters he presents may seem a bit far fetched for those whose minds are closed off to believing in things unseen.

 

The bottom line is that the message of this book is all about embracing God’s love for us and sharing it with the world.  As simple as that sounds, it is a powerful message and something that many of us would most likely admit we fall quite short of achieving. 

 

And, I know that the darkness does not want us to embrace what can be so simple to do for bringing light to the world.  You can see the evidence laid out in Eddie’s story as he often succumbed to believing lies or embracing feelings of hate towards those who appeared to attack him.  I can see it in the large numbers of broken individuals who suffer from different addictions and disorders with no peace in their lives and feelings of isolation.  I’ve personally struggled with some of those lies and see some of my family members I love dearly struggle with lies that they have bought into and think they are ‘on their own.’ But, I’ve also seen that those times when we fully embrace God and allow Him to work in our lives, the lies are seen for just that and healing can begin.

 

Many thanks to Eddie for taking that leap of faith and answering God’s call to put his own experience and thoughts into words that can be shared with others seeking healing and peace in their lives.  May more of us become reflections of God’s love in the world, bringing light that will banish the darkness.

 

Curious what others have to say about this title?  Visit the Through the Valley Love Endures Tour Page to find other reviews.