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Book Review - Heaven Without Her
- 06/28/08
- 5
I came very close to tossing this book away. With so many books coming my way these days, I need to move assess them quickly, determining which are worth a closer look and which are not. I cannot read them all. In this case, I saw the cover, I saw the title, I skimmed the back and thought “not likely.” But then I noticed that the author had included a little note inside. There she drew my attention to a couple of the endorsements that she felt would be meaningful to me—namely, Nancy Pearcey and Mark Buchanan, both authors whose works I am fond of. As I looked further I saw that it is also endorsed by Ray Comfort. Based on all of this I decided I would read it. And I’m glad I did.
Heaven Without Her is a memoir. It is the life story of Kitty Foth-Regner, who, until the year 2000, was living exactly the life she wanted for herself as an ardent feminist. She owned her own business, and a rather successful one at that, had a live-in boyfriend whom she loved, and owned a house with a beautiful garden. It was all she had ever wanted. But when she learned that her mother had a terminal illness and as she watched her mother succumb to death, her heart was stirred with questions of eternity. Was there something to her mother’s Christian faith, or was that faith really nothing more than wistful delusions?
Kitty set out to determine what was true. Her searching took her through most of the world’s major religions (and a few more). She saw quickly how each of them failed to offer good answers and true comfort. All but one, that is. As she explored Christianity through the guidance of sound pastors and theologians, she found a faith that offered answers to the toughest questions. She found a God who loved her as He had loved her mother before.
In this book, Foth-Regner documents hear search. In a fun and narrative style, she describes how the Bible answered all of her questions and how her heart was first convicted, then convinced, and finally renewed. The unthinkable happened—she became a Christian, and this despite so many years of feminism and agnosticism. Her old passions and desires fell away and were replaced with new ones; holy ones.
Heaven Without Her is a valuable read and I think an important one. i consider it an important apologetic work. Sure it presents truths that have been written in other books over and over again, but rarely have they been written in so readable a style. The innovation here is not so much the content as the style and its readily accessible format. This is an ideal book to give to a person who may have questions about the Christian faith. For that person who seems to be seeking or searching, this is a book that can provide answers and can show how God has worked in the life of another of His children. Despite my initial apprehension, having read the book I now highly recommend it.
(Interestingly, Amazon shows that people who bought this book have also bought Same Kind of Different As Me, another fantastic memoir. I recommend them both!)
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I write books and blogs for fun while doing web design and consulting for a living. I worship and serve at 
Published in 2008, this book
This is a guide that calls men,
This review of the bestselling
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Comments (5)
Thanks for the review. I'd like to read this then pass it on to my daughter.
That's funny, Tim. I probably would have gone through the same process you did--looking at the cover, reading the back, thinking "Hmm... okay, I don't think so; not for me." But then you see the endorsements of some folks you respect and admire and decide to take a closer look. It's funny the way we "discover" things sometimes, isn't it?
It sounds like an interesting book. I came to faith in Christ not quite 10 years ago after a 5 year "quest for truth" similar (but different, of course) to the one this woman went on. I was recently reading a book by the late James Boice, called "The Parables of Jesus". In it, he explained the parables of the man who found the buried treasure in the field, and the man who found the pearl. Both men, immediately sold all they had, and gave it all to obtain the great prize they had discovered. I didn't realize it when it happened; in fact it wasn't really even clear what occurred to me until I read Boice's clear description of the parable recently. I was the man on the quest for the pearl; I just didn't know it.
It probably started a few years before that even when I was pursuing my degree in Psychology. An atheist into my 20s, something started to turn my heart and mind toward God around the age of 22. But while I was determined to find the truth about God, I had also determined that I would do it on MY terms and conditions. Basically, my conditions were that I would seek God everywhere I could EXCEPT in the Bible and the Christian faith. I completely rejected those avenues, would not even acknowledge the concepts of "sin" and "salvation", all the while completely immersed in a lifestyle of sin.
I read around 30 to 40 books a year on every subject I could find that opposed the Christian faith--magic and the occult, mysticism, Eastern religions, mythology, Jungian psychology... and I had built a veritable fortress to protect myself (so I thought at the time) from anything that someone might say to share the gospel with me. I didn't want it, didn't need it (or so I thought), and wouldn't have anything to do with it. I was actually very much like Paul in my detestation of Christians and their faith, only I was no Pharisee. I was a complete sinner through and through.
But guess what? It turns out that God is sovereign. It turns out that if He elects you for salvation, when you hear the call, you will respond. I found my Savior in Jesus Christ a little over 8 years ago, and ALL glory be to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have never come to repentance or salvation on my own. There is no chance that I would have pursued righteousness or redemption without Him. I was completely undeserving of anything but Hell, and it is only by His divine mercy and infinite grace that I can say I stand justified before my God. Not because of anything I did or who I am, but because of what He did and who He is. I will never cease to praise His name.
Thankfully forgiven and found in Him~Simple Mann
Thank you!
I have some Amazon credit coming from the widget on my blog. This is definitely going on the list that I will purchase.
I went to Amazon after reading your review and was quite happy to see they offered an "inside peek". It looks quite good.
It seems like what may be unique is not only the readability of this book, but that it centers on a woman. Many apologetic books seem to have men as their target audience, wouldn't you say?
Thanks for writing about this. I found your blog while looking for a new memoir to read and this one sounds perfect! It amazing how life can change so dramatically when not only you least expect it but you might not even want to. If Kitty hadn't had at least a cursory interest in her Mother's faith she may never have found what it seems she ultimately needed.
I've just finished reading an outstanding memoir that centers on religion of a different sort but is equally compelling as Kitty's story. And while being quite heartfelt and at times sad, it is uplifting nonetheless - as it fills you with inspiration at the possibilities we have in life. It's called "What Peace There May Be" by Susanna Barlow. She grew in a household that practiced polygamy and the book documents her childhood struggles to find herself, torn between family loyalty and knowing there was something wrong going on. I found it quite compelling and just thought you might be interested also.