Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Singing Through Fire, A Memoir: Finding Surprising Joy in Life's Darkest Trials by Lara Silverman begins with her transition from law to facing a debilitating neurological illness that forces her into near-total bed rest. She details physical symptoms like vertigo, nerve pain, jaw spasms, and her ongoing medical journey marked by inconclusive diagnoses, ineffective treatments, and reliance on family care. Silverman intertwines her medical challenges with her evolving Christian faith, referencing scripture and spiritual conversations, particularly with Matt, a terminally ill friend who becomes her husband. Their relationship blossoms through shared experiences of illness, faith, and hope. Silverman shares the daily realities of managing chronic illness and terminal cancer, hospital stays, moments of intimacy, and even physical death, framed within a Christian understanding of suffering, grace, and eternal life.

Singing Through Fire by Lara Silverman is a deeply personal and transparent memoir, with writing that is assured and composed, matching the gravity of its subject with the heartfelt prose of an author and wife. Silverman's recounting of the final years of her husband’s life through a lens grounded in faith and scripture is a testament to her faith, which was steered and anchored through the unbridled love of Matt and God. There's a beautiful scene involving a hospice conversation, and another centered on Psalm passages, that exemplify the book’s showing of grace and linking them to scripture. That said, the inclusion of biblical references never overtakes or feels clumsy, and the author maintains a perfect balance between individual memory and theology. Shifts in time are not the easiest to execute well, but Silverman does so in this memoir. Overall, Singing Through Fire is a steady, inspiring voice for readers in need of a little hope and a lot of faith. Very highly recommended.