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  5 out of 5 stars

  A Great and Inspirational Christian Testimony

  Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2020

  Format: Kindle

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  Graham Philip had, to put it very mildly, a terrible childhood. His violently abusive father referred to his wife as "pig", and his two sons as "piglets", and treated them like animals. Graham had what must have been both a very strong will and a vulnerable personality. He resolved to resist the world, a world that he saw only as a conspiracy of oppressors by refusing to cooperate; he would not obey his teachers, he obeyed his father only in the most literal sense, for to go against his father's orders meant risking his life at the hands of a violent lunatic. He and his brother hated each other; Graham had no friends, only what might be called companions in misery or partners in crime. He feared to open himself emotionally to others because, in his experience, openness only invited persecution and misery.

  This book was difficult to read, because Graham's misery as a child and young man were full of suffering (and I suspect he only tells us part of the bad things that happened to him). The story is ably narrated as a series of flashbacks, where Graham journeys from his job with Dolby in England to Australia to visit his brother, who has recently committed a very bloody murder. As far as the story tells us, Graham's brother wasn't actually tried, because he was too insane to stand trial. Graham is oppressed by the stark fear that he may be as insane as his brother. They went through the same experiences, shared the same genetics. While telling the story of Graham's journey to and from Australia, the narrative takes us back to Graham's childhood, his fears and suffering, and also to his salvation experiences that led to his becoming a Christian and eventually an emotionally healed man.

  Graham tells us of how Jesus spoke to him from the cross, calling his name. He describes the casting out of his demons in very literal terms. He tells us how the Holy Spirit performed soul-surgery on him, excising each part of the residual pain that was inflicted on him by the torments of the past. It's not an easy process, and there's no instant healing. Healing comes at the end of a protracted process.

  Hearing the voice of God from the cross and casting out demons is not a language with which contemporary rationalist thinkers will feel comfortable. Yet, it rings completely true; there is nothing phony about Graham. Rationalist thinkers have no difficulty swallowing the latest fads of psychological theory; I think Graham's description is of a far more effective therapy than anything psychology can offer.

  Even if you are not a believer, you ought to read Graham's story of how a very tortured soul, a possibly insane boy, was restored to himself, to God and to humanity. If you are a Christian, then read this and know that nothing is so terrible that it cannot be healed and forgiven by God Most High.

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