Authors: Ron Hall & Denver Moore (with Lynn Vincent)
Thomas Nelson, 2006
235 pages
My friend SLY recommended this book when I saw her a few weekends ago, and I put it on my very long list of books to read someday. Little did I know I would end up purchasing the book just a week later, and getting so deeply involved in it that I could not put it down.
It's the story . . . of two men who seem to have nothing in common. Denver is a 60-something former sharecropper from Louisiana who has been a "drifter" most of his life. Ron is a 50-something "good old boy" from east Texas who through a combination of wit and luck is Fort Worth's most successful art dealer and gallery owner. Ron is at the top of his game; Denver lives in a homeless shelter, where he has taken on the persona of a scary badass.
Then there's Ron's wife, Deborah, whose desire to serve leads the couple to the homeless shelter - despite Ron's reluctance. Through her, their lives merge, and they all find out that they are more alike than they ever thought possible.
What we have is a story of love and loss, redemption and forgiveness, and of good and evil. But mostly, this is the story of an unlikely friendship. Yes, it has a Christian/spirituality theme, but it's not preachy. A sub-theme is the concept of modern-day slavery and you will learn a lot about the economics and realities of sharecropping as practiced all the way up to the 1960s (or later) in some parts of this country. You'll get to know some of the people at the homeless shelter, and if you're lucky, you'll come to the same realization as Denver and Ron . . . that we all have more in common than we have differences.
This is the kind of book my Mom loves, so I'll be sending it on to her now that I'm finished. (That means the ladies in her UMW group will probably all be reading it soon!)
Rating: 4 stars
