Impossible - Stan Walker
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Ltd: Auckland, NZ, 2020.
Wow.
So, Stan Walker is a New Zealand singer/songwriter who came to prominence as an 18-year old when he won the 2009 season of Australian Idol. I knew that about him. I knew he had a faith of some sort. And Elise has been listening to a lot of his more recent music lately, including some beautiful pieces in Te Reo.
That's really it.
Elise is actually the one who found this book at a second hand shop, and we decided to check it out.
I say again, wow.
Stan has had an incredible life. Incredible highs, and incredible lows. He talks about his journey candidly, sometimes too bluntly for comfort - including his abusive upbringing, his abuse and repeated rape at the hands of a relative, his diagnosis with cancer and subsequent operation to remove his stomach... and his career, his journey on Idol, and his faith journey - coming to know the love, forgiveness, and transforming power of Jesus.
I get the feeling that Stan conducted various interviews with Margie Thomson, who then arranged his thoughts into themed chapters. This is a good way of 'ghostwriting' as it really can allow the voice of the subject to shine through, but in this case there are times where both Elise and I felt that certain sections could have been a little shorter. This is particularly true in the chapter where Stan talks about the abuse and rape that he suffered. This is a deeply traumatic time of his life, and the fact that he is able to share what happened so openly is a hugely powerful part of his journey. But, with the chapter being so long, detailed, and heavy, there were patches when it became quite hard to read. Having it edited down a little could have potentially increased the impact by not causing the reader to 'switch off' before the end of the chapter.
There are also parts where Stan talks about his faith and has quite a different opinion on a matter to those that Elise and I hold. Partially this may be the world that Stan has grown up in, partially it may be that God has been working on other areas and will challenge Stan in these areas later on... and partially it may just be that we are allowed to have differences of opinion about aspects of the faith as long as we hold on to the core values.
Despite these differences, Stan radiates the love of God and is becoming quite a prominent role-model for New Zealand Christians, New Zealand Maori Christians, and Maori in general. To hear him talk from a Maori perspective about the land Elise and I call home is simultaneously challenging and encouraging. Our nation has a lot of growing to do, but it is great to hear from someone who is destined to be a leader among our generation.
A difficult, at times graphic and overlong, book. But a powerful one, and worth a read.
Completed with Elise, 8 October 2021.
(Elise Books)
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