Cradle of Dreams

I enjoyed this novel. I read it from start to finish in one day because I wanted and needed to know how it ended. Knowing this story parallels Dr. Bentz and his wife's struggle with infertility made it even more compelling. Paul and Laura's feelings during the adoption process with Maggie and Max are so real! I suggest this book to every Christian fiction reader.

This is the unfolding drama of a couple desiring to become parents. You enter the lives of Laura and Paul as you turn each page. Their despair and pain is expressed through the everyday trials as they struggle through the different avenues of infertility. Through the maze of tests and paperwork, timing and emotional upheavels you will feel the agony as they exhaust every resource to have a baby. The adoption process takes its toll on them. The long ordeal has many twists and turns.Each step along the way, Paul and Laura give this over to God.But not without pain and questions. He shows them that He has had a plan all along. You will find that you will not be able to put this book down. It will stay with you long after you are finished reading it. I highly recommend it to those with fertility issues, losses and for family and friends who desire to be supportive.--- reviewed by Susan for Christian Bookshelf

I wish this book had been written when my husband and I were first struggling with infertility. I would have given copies to our parents, siblings, friends and pastor. This story shows so realistically what couples go through. Infertility is one of those experiences in life that unless you've been through it you can't begin to understand it. This book puts you right into the main characters' shoes and you walk their journey with them.Bentz does an excellent job of showing the wife's side of issue. You see Laura's thoughts and feelings about the process and how her desire to be a mother becomes all-encompassing. The book is compelling and thought-provoking but not for people just starting treatment or the adoption process I think it would be too heart-wrenching. Read it later when you're journey is complete or when you reach a place where you are at peace with your situation. I am very glad I did.

Joseph Bentz provides us with an intimate and uneasy look at the trauma of marital infertility. His descriptions of emotional states and the tension between protagonists Paul and Laura ring so true that I found myself occasionally feeling guilty, as if I'd been caught eavesdropping. I found "Cradle of Dreams" a compelling read; once I started I had to finish - never mind the wee hours of the morning and the lack of sleep!I can see this book initiating some very deep discussions among close friends (or book clubs or church groups, etc.): why is the drive to procreate so strong? why do we feel our very identity threatened as men or women if we discover a fertility issue? why is it we don't usually know how much we want children until the opportunity evades us? how essential to experiencing a "rich, full life" is parenthood, anyway?I'm not sure the book answers these questions but it certainly poses them in a compassionate but thought-provoking manner. Bentz pulls no punches - read at your own risk.

With his third novel, Joseph Bentz continues to sharpen his style and touch when it comes to contemporary Christian storytelling. "Cradle of Dreams" is a detailed and sometimes painful look into the saddness, frustration and emotional impotency that haunt a couple dealing with infertility. One of the major strengths of this novel is Bentz's growing ability to effectively dissect one story using multiple perspectives, as he did in his second book, "A Son Comes Home." In "Cradle," the plights of both Laura and Paul are clearly and powerfully told in an alternating fashion that allows the reader to look at the story from various angles throughout its development. Bentz also captures the hope that both an abiding faith in God and a strong relationship between a man and wife can bring in times of intesnse stress and self-doubt, a hope he relates in simple, everyday terms. In this way, the novel speaks to people who may be dealing with any number of personal issues, not just infertility. Overall, "Cradle of Dreams" is an outstanding book on a topic that has not been addressed enough and is another example of why Bentz is an author to watch.