El Dios que yo amo

June 16, 2003
"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. (Aug.)Forecast:Tada has been a bestselling author in the CBA market since she penned the first account of her life,
Joni, in 1976; that book has become a platinum seller. In July, she will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

July 1, 2003
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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)