The Shack by William P. Young

A co-worker recommended this book to me last week. After reading the online synopsis I went out and bought it that same day. I was shocked it was the NY Times #1 best seller and yet I had not even heard of it!

The Shack by William P. Young is the story of Mack, whose daughter is abducted by a serial killer while they are on a camping trip. The investigators don’t find her body, but find enough evidence in a shack isolated deep in the wilderness to determine that Mack’s daughter has been brutally murdered.

Flash forward to a few years later and Mack receives a mysterious note in his mailbox asking him to come to the Shack for the weekend and it is signed “Papa”. Mack thinks the note may be a prank or could be the killer himself. But he also has a nagging feeling the note could be from God himself. He feels crazy for even thinking it, but has to go investigate.

His journey takes him on a discovery of himself, explores questions surrounding what he referrers to as “The Great Sadness” that descended on his family after the tragedy, looks at his relationship with others, and his relationship with God. It tackles some of the tough questions in life like “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It explores what it means to really love and be loved. In short, it gives you a lot to think about.

I enjoyed the book, but I wouldn’t call it life changing like many other people have. I didn’t agree with everything in the book, but most of it reflected exactly why I believe what I believe. It made me feel God’s love even more and made me look at how I can reflect that in myself to others.

Regardless of what you believe of this universe and life, I would recommend reading this book. It will make you think about some of the big questions and even if it doesn’t it is still an entertaining story.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Check out what other people are saying about it at TheShackBook.com