Book Review: Mosaic by Amy Grant

I won this book over at So Many Books So Little Time back in October. My copy arrived just in time for the holiday weekend and I set out to read it. Before I knew it, I finished it!

I have to say I was a bit disillusioned in the beginning as this is a different form of biography than I am used to reading because it is not presented in linear timeline fashion. It truly is a mosaic...where Amy gives the reader glimpses into her life through her music (lyrics), poetry, and vignettes.

And while I was looking for the linear, I was profoundly blessed by the candid way in which Amy shares her life and her heart. And it only confirmed what I've always thought.

I remember watching Amy on her former husband Gary Chapman's show on the Nashville Network one Christmas season. Gary asked Amy what she wanted most for Christmas. Her answer? An alarm clock for HER side of the bed! That really struck me...I mean here were these two people who had made plenty of money, and the thing she wanted the most was a simple little alarm clock.

I think one of my favorite glimpses that Amy gives us in her book Mosaic is when she shares a story about her current husband, Vince Gill, receiving a request to call one of his fans on her 89th birthday. The request was made by the woman's daughter. While driving around Nashville, Amy and Vince discussed the request and he tried to call her while they were on their drive. Since he kept getting busy signals, he and Amy decided to go visit the woman in her small cracker box style home. I can only imagine what she thought when Vince Gill and his wife showed up at her place!

This is a book that could be enjoyed by both lifelong fan and someone who has never listened to Amy Grant sing. The fan will connect with the music, the stories of time on the road, and glimpses into recording. The person who is meeting Amy for the first time will relate to her life as a wife, a mother, a family member who struggles to work out her faith daily.

As I finished the book, I found myself reflecting once again on its organization and layout. While our lives are lived day to day, month to month, and year to year...in reality we are living out our own Mosaics of sorts. Sometimes we have to look back in order to move forward. It's those pieces and snapshots that make us each unique creations of God.