The Dark Night of the Shed by Nick Page

Bookaholics, I bring you a different, but well worth reading, Christian book today.

This is essentially a book for men, but as a woman I enjoyed it immensely. It is an engrossing book which, surprisingly for non-fiction, had me wanting to read just one more chapter. I read the book quickly through once, but I intend to return to it and savor it more deeply. The book uses a shed as a metaphor for our life. This is not something which would immediately spring to mind as a perfect pairing. Yet Page makes it work. The book starts by outlining a myriad of fascinating facts about sheds. And I do mean fascinating. It also talks about famous writers, or artists, who used sheds. In many of the cases I had no idea.

Once the scene is set, Nick moves onto the more serious purpose of the book. He talks about depression and the many reasons why men may have a mid life crisis. This is linked to low self esteem and the ways in which men try to overcome this. However, none of these bring true happiness or deal with the root cause of why they feel this way. He talks about the old Gods and what their modern equivalent would be. Men use these to prop up flagging self esteem, rather than turning to the one true God.

The book is packed full of wisdom and biblical insight. This could have been a dry treatise but Page has avoided this. The book is not only helpful and biblically sound, but also funny and interesting. The author has a quick wit and this has been used to good effect. There are laugh out loud moments and yet the book is sound, both in a psychological and a spiritual sense.

Each chapter of the book is based around the rebuilding of the shed in Page's garden. This may seem a strange way to structure a book, but it is beautifully executed and it works. At the conclusion of the book there are seven exercises. These are designed to move you forward spiritually and psychologically. This is not a psychology book but is written to help men once more find purpose in their life. As such I would say it works.

Overall this is an excellent book. As I say it is primarily aimed at men, but there is much in its pages which is useful for women. I would not hesitate to highly recommend this.

I was given an advanced review copy of this book, by the publisher, for review purposes. At no point was I asked to provide a favorable review. My rating and review are based on my reading, and enjoyment, of the book.





See you all back here soon my bookaholic friends. Until then, keep reading.