Book Review: This Life I Live
Two people found one another and made sweet, sweet music together.Â
Rory Feek writes: “All of my life, I’ve been anonymous. A nobody. Now I’m not just somebody. I’m somebody’s. I am Joey’s husband, Rory.”
This book is about a man loving a woman, and the woman who loved him back.
I will tell you what this book is not: It is not a story about her death. Instead, it is a tribute about how she lived.Â
Rory came from a hard-scrabble childhood. But he does not dwell on that.
Twice he’s been given children to raise alone.
He does not hesitate when writing about the people he wronged, the sins that follow him. He just lays it out there for all to see.
One of the phrases he uses a lot is: “They did the best they could with what they had.”
And that’s what Rory Feek does too.Â
He writes straight from the heart. A simple man with simple words just trying
to live an ordinary life in extraordinary circumstances.Â
He writes: “Joey can grow onions and tomatoes, potatoes and zucchini, and squash and peppers and corn ’til they’re coming out your ears. That, and love. That’s what she really grows best.”Â
Rory has lost his true love, but he still gets up every single day with a clean slate and tries to be a better man. A better father. This book is written with humility and grace. Without fanfare. It will speak to you in ways you won’t expect it to.Â
Joey + Rory singing: “If I Needed You.” Click link to listen.
Joey singing: “When I’m Gone.”
Awe-inspiring!
It is also a story of two people who were deeply in love with Jesus, and spread that love through their whole journey.
A very moving story!!
Beautiful story about a beautiful couple living a beautiful life.
Mary
I appreciate your review of this book. I had heard of this couple but might not have been exposed to the book and Rory's blog if you had not provided this review. I'm so glad that I know about them now, as learning about their story is helping me as I adjust to the death of my daughter. You mention the phrase that he uses a lot, "They did the best they could with what they had." How true. When my daughter passed away last year due to an eating disorder, I felt guilt (and still do at times) that I had not done more to help her. A woman I met through a group called Compassionate Friends (support for parents who've lost children) wrote to me in an email, "Know that you made the best decisions possible with the knowledge you had at the time." I didn't believe her at first, but as the months have gone by, I am understanding the truth in her statement. When we love people, we do the best we can with what knowledge and resources we have. We don't always get the outcome we wanted. But, there can be comfort and even a little peace when we get to a place of acceptance. Sometimes we only stay in that place of acceptance for a few seconds or minutes! But it does come. I definitely will read this book and I thank you so much for introducing me to it so that I can learn more about Rory and Joey's story.