From Publishers Weekly
"Memory means everything to me," writes Tada. In this tender, beautifully written memoir, she reflects with vivid detail on the idyllic Maryland childhood that shaped her Christian faith and the 1967 diving accident that left her a quadriplegic but showed her that "there are more important things in life than walking." As the youngest of four girls, Tada idolized her father and namesake, Johnny, who instilled in her a daredevil sense of adventure and shaped her view of God. When as a teenager she drifted from faith, she prayed that God would turn her around. Tada believes the accident she had at age 17 was God's response: "It wasn't some flip-of-the-coin in the cosmos, some turn in the universe's roulette wheel. It was part of God's plan-for me." She shares how her experiences with suffering have given her a platform to encourage others with disabilities through her speaking, writing, artwork and the organization she founded to aid the disabled, "Joni and Friends." Intermixed with humorous stories about her friends, marriage and professional triumphs are vulnerable glimpses of her dips into depression, anger and frustration over infertility. But, almost 36 years after "the dive," Tada has learned that "true wisdom is found in trusting God when you can't figure things out." Christian readers should appreciate this mature, absorbing reminiscence of a remarkable life.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Tada has had a blessed life. From an idyllic childhood, during which a larger-than-life father beguiled her with tales true and tall, to an adult life as actress, author, and motivational speaker, attended by a devoted husband and friends, hers is a remarkable story of grace, good luck, and God's love. Not everyone might wish to trade places with her, however, because being quadriplegic would not be their idea of good luck. Nor, for some time after a swimming accident at age 17 paralyzed her, was it Tada's idea of God's love. The accomplished horsewoman and swimmer was sidetracked by an act of a God she thought she knew. And indeed, through prayer she discerned God more clearly and emerged from personal anguish. A moving, well-told memoir of both the desperate and the hopeful hours that led Tada to realize her mission in life as a minister to disabled persons the world over. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
The Silver Medallion award-winning memoir by Joni Eareckson Tada that captures her heart and thoughts by portraying her walk with God in the events, dialogues, memories, images, and scenes of her life.


From the Back Cover
A little girl on a big horse, cantering across a spring-green pasture…wide-eyed children gathered ‘round a beach fire, listening to a father’s stories of the high seas… an expansive, you-can-see-forever view from the top of Pike’s Peak… Another view from a Stryker frame, where an active young woman learns she will never walk again… Heading down a church aisle to marry the man she loves…looking into the eyes of a child in a wheelchair, and seeing the family God has prepared for a loving heart…sitting by the pool of Bethesda, reflecting on the miracle of healing God has performed in her heart… The God I Love brings to life these and many other moments. It offers an eternal perspective from a woman in a wheelchair who affirms that the God she knows and loves is the center, the peacemaker, the passport to adventure, the joy ride, and the answer to her deepest longings. Raised in an active, adventurous family, Joni Eareckson Tada worked hard and played hard to keep up with her older sisters and athletic father—until one day a diving accident left her a quadriplegic. But the tragedy that could have ended her life was in reality the beginning of an amazing, constantly unfolding story of grace that has touched the lives of millions worldwide and brought Joni unexpected joy and fulfillment. In this book, Joni unveils the God whom she has found to be faithful through over thirty years as a paralytic. This is not the story of a woman who has all the answers or who is very different from you. Joni struggles with the same fears, questions, and heartaches we all have in common. But as the weeks and months turn into years, and the years into decades, she meets her Savior at every turn. In this book, you’ll discover that he is there for you as well, no matter what your circumstance or situation may be. Written with beauty, feeling, and amazing honesty, The God I Love captures the heart and soul of one woman’s powerful, deeply personal journey of hope. It is a sojourn from a naïve child’s belief to a tempered faith that transforms and transcends personal tragedy, bringing light to the darkest places and good out of the most difficult situations, and offering glimpses of the glory that awaits God’s children.


About the Author
Joni Eareckson Tada is the founder and president of Joni and Friends, an organization accelerating Christian outreach in the disability community that numbers 550 million people worldwide. She is an artist and the author of numerous best-selling books. Joni and her husband, Ken, live in Calabasas, California.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

More than three decades ago, a diving accident left Joni Eareckson Tada a quadriplegic. Back then she questioned how a loving God could condemn an active young woman to a lifetime in a wheelchair. Today she is grateful. Because it's from this vantage point that Joni has discovered a God who is so magnificent that no circumstance, no matter how terrible, can separate her--or you--from his fierce, tender, and enduring love.

This is the work of a storyteller of rare ability, a book of honest pain and honest joy in the presence of God. This unabridged audio edition of Joni's gripping memoir will capture your imagination, unsuspectingly drawing you into Joni's story. In it you will uncover your own stories, your own memories, and your own encounters with the living God. His promises are sure. He will never leave you or forsake you. Joni Eareckson Tada paints a beautiful, intimate, and moving portrait of a woman who knows firsthand that no matter what the circumstance, God is always faithful. Always faithful. He is the God worthy of your love.

Author Biography: Joni Eareckson Tada is the founder and president of Joni and Friends, an organization accelerating Christian outreach in the disability community that numbers 550 million people worldwide. She is an artist and the author of numerous best-selling books, including Diamonds in the Dust, More Precious Than Silver, the Platinum award-winning Joni, Heaven: Your Real Home, and When God Weeps. Joni and her husband, Ken, live in Calabasas, California.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly