My Life Unscripted: Who’s Writing Your Life?
by Tricia Goyer
What would your life look like as a play? Who would the main characters be? What parts of your life would you put into it? What parts would you leave out? The author has chosen a unique way to try to reach her readers. Her goal? To show her readers that instead of having the script of your life written for you, you can be in control and write it yourself! What she does is open up her life, including some very big mistakes that she’s made in order to help others avoid them.
The book has all the details of the script of a play including stage directions. It also includes comments from teens who’ve read the chapters. She also includes questions to help stimulate discussions so the book can be read in groups, or to simply get the readers to think through the points she’s trying to make.
Reviewed by Lynn Worley
editor June 30, 2008
Title: MY LIFE, UNSCRIPTED
Author: Tricia Goyer
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
2007
ISBN: 978-1-4003-1052-4
Genre: Inspirational/youth/Christian Living
It’s your life—and you’re the star. But why does it sometimes feel like your starring in a bad movie? You don’t have to be the victim in every drama—you can write your own script.
Tricia Goyer takes screen plays and shows you scenes from different scenes, both made up and real. She talks about the different scenes, and asks questions, leaving plenty of room to fill in your thoughts and opinions. Then she ends each chapter with a Bible study, where she lists several Bible references and asks a final question about the verses and how they relate to life.
Topics include (but aren’t limited to):
Life isn’t TV Land (the real deal)
Character Sketches (all about you)
Hero’s Journey (popularity: getting it, keeping it—for real)
Decision (preparing for peer pressure)
Admission (what does beauty cost?)
The Critic (the harshest judge)
The Worst Horror Movie Ever (facing your fears)
Discussion questions
MY LIFE, UNSCRIPTED is easy reading, and encouraging as you read about some of the mistakes that the author made in life, and how she managed to rise above them. You also read comments by other teens, and their thoughts on what is being discussed. I highly recommend this book for teens everywhere, especially teen girls. It will help them make it through the sometimes traumatic teen years and some of the decisions they will be forced to make. $12.99. 218 pages.
Reviewed by Laura Hilton