Review: All the Angels Stood by Laura J Marshall

Book Blurb

This is the last week in Staci Schofield's life. Her birthday is on Monday, which is also the day she plans to die. Poetic, seeing as her mother disappeared on the night of her own birthday. But when a popular guy from school, Rush, befriends Staci, will her plans change?

Rush sees demons clinging to Staci and nothing has worked so far to help her. What will make a difference in her life? A friend, an intercessor? How do you help someone move from 'take my life' to 'Lord, preserve me'?

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Author Info

Life isn't a fairy tale. It can be heart-wrenching and painful. Difficult times come to us all and many times they shape who we are and how we look at the world. We can find strength through the valleys as we learn to climb the mountains.
I have been truly blessed despite and through the tough times of my life.
I write both nonfiction and fiction. It is my deepest hope that within the pages of my romantic suspense books, that they will whisk you away to far lands such as to a mouse -laden castle in 17th century England or to a colorful bazaar with curry-laden dishes in the afternoon heat of India.
In my Battle Cry Devotional series, I pray the shared experiences of being women and mothers, along with scriptures from the Bible and God's guidance will refresh your souls.
Wherever we find ourselves on our adventures, may you feel closer to the Lord and His abiding love.....and find strength for the journey.

Visit me at www.LauraJMarshall.com
or at my blog www.theoldstonewall.blogspot.com

My Review

(Written and Provided by Amber McCallister)

All the Angels Stood by Laura J Marshall is a real and honest account of what teen suicide looks and feels like. This story will make you uncomfortable and fill you with unease, but you need to open your eyes and your heart to this crucial issue.  While this will be a depressing subject for most, it is one that is very close to my heart. While I make no claims to wisdom, I can offer my experience. I can open my heart and let you see what pain and misery I dealt with, and how God swept me into His arms and loved me through it all. 

While I have never went as far as planning such an event for myself, I found myself more times than I would care to admit wallowing in the same cess pool as Staci. My triggers came from being shown and told that I was different from my friends. I was strange and had no place. I wasn’t welcome, and their icy stares and behavior shook me to my core. The reason for my level of disbelief and shock was from the fact that we all attended the same Christian school and the same Christian church. People I thought I knew would smile next to me when my parents or other adults were around, and then they would stab me in the back when no one was looking. My heart was being ripped out, and no one cared. Adults thought I was heartless by the way I accused my “friends” of not being who they claimed to be. They thought I was the mean girl when I was the one who was being mistreated and stripped of my faith in man. 

I withdraw into myself so deeply that I didn’t ever want to come back out. It was just me and God against the world. I had Him, and He was my only refuge. He was the only one that I called friend. I cried out to Him more times than I can remember, and He gave me a peace that helped me get through each day. I walked with Him, and I didn’t need anyone else. When my fake friends would make nice one day and leave the next, I was OK. I leaned on God, and He wiped my tears away. He picked me up, brushed me off, and pulled me along to face another day with Him. He loved me, and He never left me. He was my heart and my reason for living. He still is and always will be.

Looking back, I don’t know how I made it through with just Him and me, but it was supposed to be that way. Without those times, I don’t know if I would hold Him as close to me as I do now. I doubt I would be able to fully surrender myself and those I love to Him each day. My heart would not as soft as it is right now to His prodding. I would not be who I am today if not for those dark days. My path had to follow that twisted course for a short time in order for the light of Him to shine a little brighter to my eyes, for His love to warm me a little more, and for His peace to settle my troubled spirit and reassure my soul a little more. Please be assured that I am not trying to make myself out as a wonderful person for that is not the case. I am just glad that those times have helped me to feel my Savior more sharply, to become more sensitive to His still small voice, and to be as docile in His hands as I hope I am.

Laura J Marshall never ceases to amaze me at her tender and perceptive heart. She is open to her Master’s voice and through her courage and her obedience, God is using her mightily. This story while it is a novella is more effective and poignant then if it was the length of a typical novel. Excessive words won’t get in the way of this beautiful message, and God is free to move in His gentle and powerful way. Marshall’s messages are deeply touching and very relevant as they came straight from the heart of God. This message is for everyone no matter who you are and no matter how old you are. We all need to hear this, and we all need to be pliable and open to God’s direction and prodding. While God can do all things, He usually chooses to do it through us. If He can’t use us, then what good are we?