Book 23 - The Shack

This book really is a great read, and I would recommend it for everyone on the planet to have a read of. It is written by William P. Young, and it was published in 2007. It became a best seller in 2008, and you can see why, when you read it.

I actually really believed it was a true story, but it is a novel, apparently.  I got some information from Wiki, below ...

The novel is all about Mackenzie Philips, a father of five, called "Mack" by his family and friends. Mack is set up as a friend of the authors, and the book is focused on an event that occurred after Mack took his three youngest children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon, stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way. Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack's son. Mack is able to save his son by leaving his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite. After Mack returns, he sees that Missy is missing. The police are called, and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the "Little Ladykiller." The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken, but her body is never found. Mack's life sinks into what he calls "The Great Sadness."


At the beginning of the book, Mack receives a note in his mailbox from "Papa," saying that he would like to meet with Mack on that coming weekend at the shack. Mack is puzzled by the note - he has no relationship with his abusive father after Mack leaves home at age 13. He suspects that the note may be from God, whom his wife Nan refers to as "Papa."

Mack's family leaves to visit relatives and he goes alone to the shack, unsure of what he will see there. He arrives and finds nothing, but as he is leaving, the shack and its surroundings are supernaturally transformed into a lush and inviting scene. He enters the shack and encounters manifestations of the three persons of the Trinity. God the Father takes the form of an African American woman who calls herself Papa, Jesus Christ is a Middle-Eastern carpenter, and the Holy Spirit physically manifests itself as an Asian woman named Sarayu.

Mack tells the story of the time that he shares speaking with, dining with, and learning from Jesus, God and the holy spirit. There are some great interactions.

It is really a powerful book, and there is one part that was quite amazing, where Mack is weeding a garden with the Holy Spirit. It turns out that they are in Macks soul, cleaning it up. Amazing stuff, and just one of the phenomenal little quirks in the book. The big one is really about forgiveness ...

In summary, the book explains what I really thought to be unexplained, in many ways. The author is am amazing chap, to be able to articulate the messages, as he has done. Very clever, very insightful.

Look, I must say, though, that my wife read this book, and loved it passionately, and I read 'The Five People you Meet in Heaven' first. We each liked the book we read first more than the preceding book, so that was interesting. The Shack was great, but I preferred the former, even though they really were about different messages and story lines.

Anyway, a great read, and highly recommended. 4.5 out of 5 from this little book critic.