A New York Times Bestseller, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way is about finding unexpected strength when disappointments leave you shattered. While this is not a parenting book, parents of children with extraordinary needs can relate to its message. How many adoptive parents went into adoption thinking, “If we give this child the love and care he needs, he’ll be fine,” only to find out that prior traumas leave a lifelong impact that can cause great stress and heartbreak? Similarly, many parents expect to give birth to a healthy, neurotypical baby, and at some point find out that their child has needs they never would have expected.

Terkeurst addresses the disappointments that leave us shattered by consistently turning to Scripture. She talks about what to do when God’s timing seems questionable, his lack of intervention hurtful, and his promises doubtful. She uses God’s true Word and his many promises to show that he is not ignoring these situations, but working through them in ways we can’t understand and anticipate. She confronts Satan’s lies with God’s truths, exposing the enemy and turning us back toward our loving Lord. She does all this by inviting us into her own journey of faith, full of vulnerability and honest humor, so that we can begin to see our lives in the context of God’s bigger story.

It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way is a book that will challenge Satan’s lies and turn you toward God’s love, even in the most difficult times. It will even help you learn how to encourage friends who are going through the hard realities of life. And that makes it a book well worth reading.



- Jane Mose