Book Review of
Where the Light Fell
Raised by an impoverished widow who earned room and board as a Bible teacher in 1950s Atlanta, Philip Yancey and his brother, Marshall, found ways to venture out beyond the confines of their eight-foot-wide trailer. But when Yancey was in college, he uncovered a shocking secret about his father’s death—a secret that began to illuminate the motivations that drove his mother to extreme, often hostile religious convictions and a belief that her sons had been ordained for a divine cause.
Searching for answers, Yancey dives into his family origins, taking us on an evocative journey from the backwoods of the Bible Belt to the bustling streets of Philadelphia; from trailer parks to church sanctuaries; from family oddballs to fire-and-brimstone preachers and childhood awakenings through nature, music, and literature. In time, the weight of religious and family pressure sent both sons on opposite paths—one toward healing from the impact of what he calls a “toxic faith,” the other into a self-destructive spiral.
Where the Light Fell is a gripping family narrative set against a turbulent time in post–World War II America, shaped by the collision of Southern fundamentalism with the mounting pressures of the civil rights movement and Sixties-era forces of social change. In piecing together his fragmented personal history and his search for redemption, Yancey gives testament to the enduring power of our hunger for truth and the possibility of faith rooted in grace instead of fear.
“I truly believe this is the one book I was put on earth to write,” says Yancey. “So many of the strands from my childhood—racial hostility, political division, culture wars—have resurfaced in modern form. Looking back points me forward.”
Lynn's Review
Where The Light Fell is Christian author Philip Yancey’s memoir.
I love to read memoirs because they share an experience I have never had. I joke that the more dysfunctional the memoir the more I enjoy it. I am not sure what that says about me…
I have read some great reviews about Where the Light Fell which is Philip Yancey’s memoir. I have read a lot of Christian books, but I have never read anything by Philip Yancey. I own several of his books but have never read them.
To be honest I am still processing my thoughts on this book. I am really glad I read it. If you have read Philip Yancey’s books I think his memoir will help you understand his writing better.
In Where the Light Fell he shares his story of growing up in the south where his brother and he were raised by his mother after losing his dad to polio.
He shares his strict fundamentalist, legalistic Christian background. But he also is very honest about his mother’s two personalities. The Christian who followed all the rules in public was a very different person at home. He weaves his story and his brothers together sharing how although they both grew up in the same home, they have turned out very differently.
Philip Yancey is very honest when it comes to his upbringing and I can see why this book would make a lot of Christians mad. However, I have been in enough churches, and church circles to know that a lot of people will be able to relate to Philip Yancey’s story. And I can totally understand why Philip Yancey writes so much about grace in his other books.
The reality is that so many people focus so much on following the rules, that they lose the real focus of Christ. Just because you follow the rules, does not mean that your heart has turned to Christ. Philip Yancey reminds us of that.
There were several quotes that stood out to me in this book and I marked multiple places to remember. One of the ones that stood out the most was when he said he realized that “those who appear the least lovable usually need the most love.”