Book Review: The Todd White Story (Life is Short – Leave a Legacy)

Some book reviews are easy to write. This was not one of them for me. Before I get started on this book review, I want to first express that I’m struggling. In fact, I’ve gone back and forth many times trying to decide if I should even write this review for reasons that I’ll explain below. In the end, I decided to move forward with it for two reasons:

#1 – Because I’ve committed this year to reading more (I love the way that it feeds my spirit), and…

#2 – I’ve also committed to sharing honest and transparent reviews here on my blog of the books that I read.

Why do I share? Well, when I found myself on the bathroom floor several years ago, completely broken and lost, God led me to a blog post where a blogger had shared a review of a book that she had recently finished reading, Lysa Tyrkeurst’s book – Forgiving What You Can’t Forget. That book ended up having a huge, profound, life-changing impact on me. And it was all because one blogger sat, typed, and shared. And I committed, years later, to do the same. The truth is, you never know where God will use your message, even if it’s just a simple book review like this. Hugs and love, friends!

So, back to the book review… let’s first give a background of what this book is all about:

Todd White has an amazing testimony. His book starts out with an honest and painful look at the first twenty-two years of his life; a life filled with drugs, anger, rage, manipulation, pornography, and more. He doesn’t mince words or sugar coat… he’s very transparent about the pain that he caused himself and his family. There are moments in his story that make your stomach churn because he is so brutally honest with describing every little detail. You want to reach through the book and just hold his little girl or hug his girlfriend. You want to reach through the book and just shake him. Even though you know the story doesn’t end there, the tears still prick at your eyes. It’s painful.

Then there are the insane God moments! Moments when Todd describes times when, by all accounts, he should have died, but God reached into the situation and saved him. I’ll skip the details because reading through them in the book will make your breath catch and your heart stop and I don’t want to take that moment away from the reader. But trust me… it’s really emotional and incredible.

And finally, we get to the part in the book where we journey with Todd through his transformation from addict and atheist to the spirit-filled, Jesus-loving, on-fire ministry leader that he is today. And let me be the first to say – I’d love to attend one of his meetings! His book details a life of radical miracles and Holy Spirit movement that sets my heart and spirit on fire! He lives in the kind of space that I pray to live in every day – 24/7! And his story, his book, is truly inspirational and beautiful. It’s raw, unfiltered, and miraculous! And I very much enjoyed learning about his journey and his life.

So, all that said, why did I struggle with writing this review?

Well, I’m going to be painfully honest. Ugh. Just so you know, after writing my own book, it’s hard sometimes to be painfully honest with book reviews, but here it goes…

I struggled to write the book review because IN MY OWN PERSONAL JOURNEY through healing, his story often felt a bit unrelatable, as I’ll explain below. Now, before I go any further, please understand what I’m saying and what I’m not saying.

Everyone is different and everyone’s journey will, likewise, look very different. Why? Because God works through us individually. We are not just a mass audience that he gives one message to and then we sink or swim accordingly. No. Everyone’s experience with Him, and path to healing, can (and will) be very personal and unique. I am BY NO MEANS casting shade, discrediting, or trying to assume any disbelief on my part when talking about Todd’s journey – I’m just saying that my personal journey was very different and, at times, I struggled to relate to his. Here’s what I mean…

For Todd, change seemed like a light switch. His life, his journey, seemed very black and white. God stepped in, radical change, and he was a different person overnight. And I can’t help but think that maybe God designed it that way in his heart because, given his lifestyle before, there could be no gray. It was black/white for survival, for life. But it did make some of the journey more difficult for me to relate to. My own personal journey was like a dance. Forward, stumble, back, stand up, dust off, forward, press in, stumble, keep going… and God was helping me all along the way. The light switch approach is very hard for me to personally relate to – but may have been just what Todd had to have (and others too, I’m sure)!

For example, Todd speaks of pastoral depression and suicide in chapter nine. He talks about pastors who do great work and then go home and “put guns in their mouths.” And then he shares the following:

“Why? Because righteousness never hit home! When you see that you’re right with God, there is no way that you could take your own life. Your life isn’t yours. It’s been purchased by the blood of Jesus. Depression has no place to land when righteousness is understood. Depression can prevent people from approaching the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. You’ll pray because that’s the Christian thing to do, but you won’t have intimacy because the depression is just too loud. I know because I lived with depression and suicidal thoughts for years. Then I accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ, and God settled those issues once and for all.”

And maybe that passage hits home for you. Maybe it nailed it. Maybe that black and white approach is exactly what your heart needed to hear. That’s why his message is so important. For me, however, my experience and growth lives in the gradual. I read that paragraph and my heart immediately says, that’s understandable, powerful even – and I agree – but it does not help me. How do I get from here to there? Jesus, walk me through this transformation. It’s not a light switch (or an overnight life switch) for me… it’s a journey.

You see, I don’t function that well in the black and white when it comes to change… it’s learning, growing, understanding… and it’s a process. Once I get there, I understand the black and white, but I usually don’t arrive there overnight.

And I grieve for the pastors that go through what he describes. If I spoke to them, I would not say God loves you and, my friend, righteousness is just not hitting home. I would say, “I see you, I hear you, and God loves you. Let’s walk through this wilderness together and trust Him to bring you through, one step at a time, if that’s what your heart needs.”

But that’s me. I’m built and divinely designed differently than Todd. And that’s okay because God will use each one of us in our own corner of the world. I’m gradual. I’m a slow learner (thank you, Jesus, for your steadfast and unwavering love for me in the process). And realistically, as I’ve learned in therapy, I’m super emotions-based when it comes to my approach with others. Black and white tends to be more logical-based, which allows for the perfect message for some audiences, just not necessarily for me.

For that reason, I keep thinking that I’d love to read a book written by his wife. You see, he details several times in the book where his change was instant and radical, but she (on the other hand) took time, thought, experience, and space. He talked about how he prayed for her as she and God gradually worked through her heart. And for me – that feels much more relatable. I’d love to hear her story one day! Truly!

This is why I say – every story, every journey, deserves to be told. You see, I may relate more to Todd’s wife and her journey and someone else may relate more to Todd. God gives us exactly what we need when we need it. He is a patient and loving God that walks us through healing in our own individual and unique way. And it’s okay if my journey looks different than yours, or Todd’s, or anyone else’s.

So, there you have it, friends. Those are my thoughts on the book, The Todd White Story (Life is Short – Leave a Legacy). And honestly, that was a bit easier to write than I initially expected. Blessings on your journey, friends!

If you would like to find the book on Amazon, you can click here to be redirected.

Have a beautiful day!

xo Shannon