Wild in the Hollow by Amber C. Haines - REVIEWED

About the Book:
Amber Haines is a woman haunted by God. Like Eve in the Garden, she craved the fruit that she thought would lead her to freedom. But the whispers of temptation led her instead down a path of isolation, dissatisfaction, and life-altering choices. In her most broken moment, Amber met God waiting for her in the fallout, freely offering her grace and life.

This is a story of the God who makes himself known in broken places.

My Thoughts:

“The hollow is made for a Holy Spirit that satisfies, and any other thing will only dry the bones and hush the prayer.”  (p. 68)

Amber C. Haines book, Wild in the Hollow, is a unique blend of biography and spiritual insight.  It is a book that follow someone’s heart, in this case, the author, from a place of rote religion to a life filled with the abundance of God’s love and leadership through the Holy Spirit.  Haines’ story is not pretty.  It reminds me of some of the testimonies that I heard as a girl in church.  I would often think that such messed up life experiences made for a powerful testimony of God’s love and power. 

Haines has been through a lot of pain in her lifetime.  But in some way, we all have.  And we will continue to encounter pain and loss this side of heaven.  What I think the author is trying to point us toward is that God alone can fill the hollow inside us.  When we try to fill it with anything else, it becomes an idol that consumes us, then ,breaks us. 

Wild in the Hollow shares Amber Haines’ journey.   As believers, I think we will all recognize part of ourselves reflected back at us. She writes in a beautiful, poignant style that makes me want to weep at times.   This is a very moving book – raw in its honesty – beautiful in its lyrical style!

About the Author:

Amber C. Haines is a soulful writer and a blogger at TheRunaMuck.com. She is curator, with her husband, Seth, of Mother Letters and is a contributor with many acclaimed writers and bloggers at DaySpring's (in)courage. She has been involved as a coordinator with both BlissDom and !dea Camp Orphan Care and continues to build meaningful relationships with church leaders, lifestyle bloggers, authors, advocates, and poets. She lives in Arkansas.