40 by Travis Thrasher ~ review

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: FaithWords (May 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044650551X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446505512

About the book:

Nine months shy of hs 40th birthday, freelance music producer Tyler Harrison has started to experience horrific hallucinations. At first, he thinks it's just the stress of his job, but the hallucinations continue until they culminate at the three-day concert in Chicago, Lollapalloza, which he is covering for work. There he is approached by an older man who tells him that he's going to die on his fortieth birthday.
The man claims to be an angel named Matthew, and even though he gives Tyler enough evidence to convince him he's telling the truth, he doesn't know what to do with the information.
Tyler's underlying doubt and confusion about Matthew's prediction turn to anger, both at God and those around him. As he begins to exhibit destructive behavior, he befriends Ellis, an internationally known DJ. Tyler is scared that he really is about to die. He's scared for his sanity. He's scared that if he does die, he's not going to Heaven. He also soon becomes scared of Ellis, who is wild and opens up a door of temptation to Tyler.
As Tyler begins falling in a downward spiral of fear and confusion, he reaches out to a pastor he met, Will, and tries to right his wrongs with some of the important people in his life in a desperate attempt to find peace before his 40th birthday.

My take on this book:

What if you knew the exact date that you were going to die? Thats just what Tyler Harrison has revealed to him by an angel named Matthew. 

Tyler Harrison is a music producer who has a few regrets in his life, but when he is visited by an angel named Matthew, who is actually his guardian angel, and his guardian angel tells him that he will die on his 40th birthday, which is about nine months away. Well as you can imagine Tyler begins to wonder if perhaps he isn't loosing his mind. When Matthew reveals episodes throughout Tyler's life and allows him to see how his life has been spared through the years. As truths are revealed to Tyler, his emotions run the gambit, and he soon comes to the realization that money and things really aren't important when facing your own mortality. Will he change his life before its to late?

This book really fascinated me. Not a quick read by any stretch of the imagination, it took me awhile to get into the feeling of the story, the emotions are intense, and often comes off as dark and brooding. As I read the story I found myself wondering what I might do if I knew when I would die. I enjoyed watching Tyler grow and chance throughout the story. The guardian angel Matthew was quite unlike any other guardian angel I have ever read about.  I thought the parts where Matthew allowed Tyler those glimpses of how things might have been had he not been around were fantastic. 

While I would caution that there is a bit of foul language used in this story, it just adds another layer to the character of Tyler. If your looking for a story that will have you thinking about your own life, that isn't your run of the mill Christian fiction then give this book a try. I for one will be looking for more of Mr. Thrasher's work.

4/5