The Anchor Of My Soul

Something I Am Not by Cher Gatto is a Christian contemporary allegorical story. It is absolutely heart-breaking and beautifully written. The love and pain reach from the pages and lodge in the reader’s heart.

You cannot help but love and admire the main character who is lost but in his lostness, he still tries to rescue another. He does not want the innocent to have to walk in his footsteps.

The main character clings to hope. It is a hope that God sent following a prayer. It is a hope that he clings to even though life looks so very dark. “Don’t believe the lies that threaten to shake and destroy you… you have a God who loves you.”

The novel has the main theme of fathers and truth. Our heavenly Father loves us unconditionally and will never leave us to suffer alone. In contrast our earthly fathers may be abusive and not treasure the gift of life. The abused think they deserve the behaviour they receive and it is heart-breaking as they excuse the behaviour. “Even now I defended him.” The father of all lies wants to separate us from God. He wants us to believe the lie that we are unloved and worthless. The truth is we are loved and Jesus paid the ultimate price for each and every one of us. We must tune into the voice of God.

How we view God is often coloured by our experiences. “Maybe He wasn’t scowling down from His throne, watching and waiting for me to mess up so He could knock me across the room. Maybe… God was more like this man.”

There is the horrendous theme of human trafficking and modern day slavery. There are some hard to read scenes. There are parallels with the Biblical story of Joseph.

Church is not about a performance. Church is about coming to God just as you are. “Church is never about being something you’re not.”

Something I Am Not was a painful read but it also had a great hope and His name is Jesus. Cher Gatto has produced a heart-wrenching read with some gems of love sandwiched in between the pain.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON