The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ
Written by Andrew Klavan
Narrated by Andrew Klavan
5/5
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About this audiobook
No one was more surprised than Andrew Klavan when, at the age of fifty, he found himself about to be baptized. The Great Good Thing tells the soul-searching story of a man born into an age of disbelief who had to abandon everything he thought he knew in order to find his way to the truth.
Best known for his hard-boiled, white-knuckle thrillers and for the movies made from them--among them True Crime and Don’t Say a Word--bestselling author and Edgar Award-winner Klavan was born in a suburban Jewish enclave outside New York City.
He left the faith of his childhood behind to live most of his life as an agnostic until he found himself mulling over the hard questions that so many other believers have asked:
- How can I be certain in my faith?
- What's the truth, and how can I know it's the truth?
- How can you think, live, and make choices and judgments day by day if you don't know for sure?
In The Great Good Thing, Klavan shares that his troubled childhood caused him to live inside the stories in his head and grow up to become an alienated young writer whose disconnection and rage devolved into depression and suicidal breakdown.
In those years, Klavan fought to ignore the insistent call of God, a call glimpsed in a childhood Christmas at the home of a beloved babysitter, in a transcendent moment at his daughter's birth, and in a snippet of a baseball game broadcast that moved him from the brink of suicide. But more than anything, the call of God existed in stories--the stories Klavan loved to read and the stories he loved to write.
Join Klavan as he discovers the meaning of belief, the importance of asking tough questions, and the power of sharing your story.
Andrew Klavan
Andrew Klavan is an award-winning writer, screenwriter, and media commentator. An internationally bestselling novelist and two-time Edgar Award-winner, Klavan is also a contributing editor to City Journal, the magazine of the Manhattan Institute, and the host of a popular podcast on DailyWire.com, The Andrew Klavan Show. His essays and op-eds on politics, religion, movies, and literature have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times, and elsewhere.
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Reviews for The Great Good Thing
110 ratings16 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It's like a seven and a half hour Andrew Klavan monologue. Some would call that torture; I call it a great good thing!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Klaven's voice, to start with made this book what it was. By that I mean his audible voice and his writer's voice.
I laughed, I wept, I stopped to internalize, and I got to know a fellow child of God better than perhaps some friends I've known for many years.
But the best part of all was the hope that it brought me. The hope that anyone I meet might be secretly wrestling with the biggest question of all, from the most important person of all," Do you believe in Me?"
Thanks to you Andrew Klaven for your ruthless honesty. Welcome to the body of Christ! There's room for all.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An incredible story of finding God. Andrew thank you for your vulnerability.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best books I've read. Klavan draws you in with a beautiful story of his life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I want to share this story, it is well worth reading or hearing. Let any seeker of truth open their mind and heart and simply learn.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5People often say "uplifting and encouraging" glibly. This book truly is.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5His life in his voice- stunning!! I'll read it again!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Andrew Klavan is a master storyteller and this book about his life story is fantastic!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really enjoyed all, very very great listening wonderful wonderful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was incredibly inspiring.
I better understand now why I feel so connected to Klavan.
And I also think it is very funny that he pronounces “forehead” as “farhead”. Perhaps it is the one remnants from the LonGiland accent:) - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great read/listen. Quite a story Mr. Klavan has to tell.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wow! First off, I can’t believe Klavan’s wife stuck with him through all of this! Secondly, he has a true talent for suspense. If he told me he had a glass eye, I’d believe it. Thank you Klavan.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Man! This guy can write! You just throw your inflatable into the narrative, jump on board, and go with the flow. The fact that he reads it himself really adds to the pleasure.
I discovered this guy on The Daily Wire and was blown away by how insightful, and honest he was. I’m going to read one of his novels next.
Very, very highly recommended. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love Andre Klavan and I’ve listened to him on his podcast reference his book several times. I thought I would get to it eventually. Wow is all I can say. The book itself is great. The documenting of the miraculous changing of one’s heart would be difficult. Andrew did it spectacularly. I wish I would have read it sooner.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really connected with this book in ways I'm still trying to figure out.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr. Klavan's journey from unbelieving and alienated to converted and connected is an interesting one. His descriptions of his childhood are both idyllic and heartbreaking. He doesn't stint in his evaluation of himself as a youth with all his bad behavior. What was most profound to me is the power of true and unconditional love to bring one to God. Mr. Klavan found that love in his wife and experiencing that love is what appears to have opened the path for him to recognize and embrace the love the God has for all of us. I think the other thing that strikes me about this journey is that the author has this absolute need for integrity - for things to make sense - and that allowed him to recognize his relationship with God.