Book Review: Same Kind of Different As Me

My niece gave me her copy of Same Kind of Different As Me, recommending it enthusiastically, saying she couldn't put it down until she finished it. That's quite a testimony from a young mom of three very active children! When I opened the book, I found the names of several of her friends inscribed on the flyleaf. This book has been passed to many people. Many folks at our church are reading it, so I was interested in seeing what all the fuss was about.

Same Kind of Different As Me is the true story of the transforming power of Christ's love in the lives of a homeless man, Denver Moore, and a wealthy Dallas area art dealer, Ron Hall. Debbie Hall, Ron's wife, was the catalyst that brought them together through her work with a Fort Worth homeless shelter. Each chapter in the book alternates between the voices of Ron and Denver. Each one describes very frankly their pasts and shortcomings and the ups and downs of their evolving relationship. When Debbie is diagnosed with cancer, the two men are united in their devotion to her during her illness and treatment. The authors do not gloss over the hard questions and grief that ensued, but acknowledge them and wrestle with them.

Out of curiosity, I checked the amazon.com reviews for this book and was stunned to find only one negative review out of nearly 100 reviews. That's amazing. I'm on the board for our local Literacy Council and just learned that Ron Hall will be the featured author at its annual Book and Author fund-raising event in February. I'm looking forward to meeting him then.

Same Kind of Different As Me is being made into a movie. I hope that the movie reflects the integrity of the book and doesn't sentimentalize the gritty parts of it.

This is a compelling book, dare I say even a life-changing book. I highly recommend it and also recommend that you keep your tissues handy when you read it. Now I need to pass my copy on to my neighbor.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that all profits from this book are going to the homeless mission in Fort Worth, Texas where the Halls met Denver. The book is not getting national publicity, so it depends on word of mouth (or blog!) for its sales. Thanks also to Presbyweb for highlighting this review yesterday.