Mary DeMuth's Life in Defiance

As Ouisie Pepper’s mysterious new friend, Elijah, observes of her, Ouisie has “prisons aplenty.” To Hap’s abuse, to the knowledge of Daisy’s killer, and to alcohol addiction Ouisie remains captive. But what grieves her most is her disobedience to the Lord. The Voice beckons her to baptism, for only by dying to herself will she be set free from her burdens. But she consistently resists.

Ouisie confesses, “All I know is that someone seems to be watching me out behind the woods, Sheba’s bent on fixing me, and Hap’s not going to be thrilled with the state of the house when he gets home. It’s all too much, really. Too much for a woman to bear.” All the secrets she holds inside drag her down and hold her under. They stifle her, suffocate her hope. She fears releasing her secrets will unleash a torrent and “send [her] drowning on a river [she] never knew was there.” Ousie’s longing to make God smile outweighs her fears, though.

Justice. Finally.

Readers of Life in Defiance, Mary DeMuth’s third book in the Defiance Texas Trilogy, anguish in Ouisie Pepper’s hesitance to expose Daisy’s killer, reel from the blows of Hap’s fists, and, sighing relief, revel at her release from burdensome secrecy. Read all three in the series and find it is better to reveal truth than to live with the consequences of burying it forever.



Compensation Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for reviewing it on my blog.

Mary DeMuth's Thin Places

If thin places are those moments in which we are allowed to peer through the veil and glimpse God’s grace, then Mary DeMuth’s Thin Places is itself such an experience.

With this moving memoir, author Mary DeMuth struggles to make sense of her life, to find answers to all the whys. Why was she molested? Why did her father die? Why did her stepdads leave? Why didn’t her mother love her more? The weight of personal violation burdens her shoulders. The grief of fatherly loss shatters her heart. The glare of the victim target illuminates her shame. Mary frets about incompetence until she reaches that thin place of acceptance and realizes that despite many deep and lasting emotional injuries, God is more than capable of restoring and making her whole. For He is all she needs.

God repairs wounds. He pacifies sorrow. He fills voids.

I share Mary’s brokenness. I too am flawed, helplessly selfish, needy, and clay-footed, as Mary describes herself on page 100. Though, thankfully, I have not been physically assaulted, I certainly have experienced ample portions of pain. And what I realize, the blessing I receive from Mary’s message, is that I need to stop attempting to fix those broken areas myself. I know that God is all I need, but I don’t always allow Him to BE all I need.

I have been a Christian most of my life. Although I am no longer an infant Christian, sometimes I still crave pure spiritual milk so I may taste that the Lord is good (1 Peter 2:2). Thin places remind me that I am ever in a state of maturing. Thin Places quenches my thirst.

A line from an old movie states, “I gave her my heart; she gave me a pen.” Mary DeMuth gave Jesus her heart and He gave her a pen. However, unlike the breakup scene of that film, Jesus’ gift to Mary was not meant to cover up a wound. His pen—or computer—enables Mary to expose human frailty and to reveal God’s grace to the world. Of the effects of her writing, Mary says, “I could say my writing is all for me, and it’d be a hint of truth…He shows me that my paltry words touch others…All I can say is: let the healing begin” (DeMuth, p. 70). For this reader it has.

Thank you, Mary, for allowing God to work through you in this mighty way. Thank you for reliving these memories, for recording the challenges of your life, and for offering your transparency as a thin place.



Compensation Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for reviewing it on my blog.

Mary DeMuth's A Slow Burn

Author Mary DeMuth’s A Slow Burn (Zondervan, 2009) presents quality literature that appeals to the masses. In this second installment of the Defiance Texas Trilogy, the reader assumes Emory Chance’s burdens and becomes the mother of a murdered child, a mother consumed by the guilt of love ungiven, of hope neglected, of shame unyielding.

When Emory was a child, her mama warned her the crossed lifelines on her palms destined her to heartache and misfortune. Drug abuse, adultery, and neglect of her daughter, Daisy, brought that prediction to fruition, engulfing Emory in pain and suffering. Believing God created her to fail, Emory tells Ousie Pepper, “I’m really only good at messing things up.”

With Daisy’s killer stalking Emory, lurking in the shadows, she trusts no one, especially not God. In Emory’s opinion, God is weak. He couldn’t protect her little girl from evil. Why expect Him to deliver her? One man, Hixon Jones, a man “more like Jesus than anyone,” accepted God’s charge to protect Emory. Having wrestled with life’s afflictions, Hixon knows firsthand her need for redemption and persistently reaches out to Emory, despite her resistance.

The reader transforms along with Emory Chance and emerges a bit charred but renewed, together receiving a final prayer, “Dear, dear Jesus, Author of everything beautiful, Thank you for changing her, for making her a woman who loves you again...Oh, how I pray that every single day, Emory would know she’s treasured.” As Emory considers the message, she knows she’ll “spend her life living up to outrageous love like that.”

Mary DeMuth is a master at her craft, and A Slow Burn is a must read! Her books are available on her website or at retailers like Amazon, Christian Book Distributors, or Barnes & Noble.