Clayton’s Chronicles, Jere Steiner (FriesenPress, Altona, MB, 2023)
A Celestial Biography
We have all read biographies and autobiographies. Unless they are purposely written by the author to vilify the character, typical biographies usually downplay foibles, dramatize struggles, and highlight successes. Clayton’s Chronicles, by Jere Steiner is a quite different type of biography. One might say it is a celestial biography written by an angelic chronicler, who is attempting to see life from God’s point of view. Needless to say, the book gives the reader a unique perspective on one human’s life in particular and on life in general.
The reader discovers that God’s perspective is not that of a wrathful God, who demands perfection and is ready to punish failure. Rather, the reader sees human life and creation through the eyes of a loving, compassionate, and empathetic God. Such a God not only loves all of creation, but takes joy in life’s complexities, and savors their relationship with it.
This book is also an ode to the common person. It celebrates the human spirit—the depth of its love, its strength against adversity, and its persistence in facing the challenges of life. Through the words of the chronicler, we see the value of our common struggles toward selfhood and our heroism in everyday relationships.
I found Clayton’s Chronicles to be very thought provoking. It invited me to see my life from a different, kinder, less judgmental perspective. The book also challenged me to adopt such a perspective in my relationship with others. Though the book is not a page turner, I never found it boring or trivial. I recommend this book to the person who enjoys a good biography and who is willing to learn about life not from remarkable success, but rather from the ordinary, everyday events of life.
I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.