Losing My Voice to Find It by Mark Stuart

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

The incredible story of a lead singer's rise to fame and his crushing fall when he lost his singing voice, his career, and his marriage--and then found a new calling more in tune with God than he ever thought possible. 

Mark Stuart was the front man of popular Christian rock band, Audio Adrenaline, at a time when the Christian music scene exploded. Advancing from garage band to global success, the group sold out stadiums all over the world, won Grammy Awards, and even celebrated an album going certified Gold. But after almost twenty years, Mark's voice began to give out. When doctors diagnosed him with a debilitating disease, the career with the band he'd founded and dedicated his life to building was gone. Then to his shock, his wife ended their marriage, and Mark believed he'd lost everything.

Unsure of his future, Mark traveled to Haiti to help with the band's ministry, the Hands and Feet Project. When the devastating 2010 earthquake hit, media learned he was present and sought him out for interviews. Ironically, Mark became the scratchy voice for the struggling Haitians, drawing the world's attention to their dire circumstances. In the process, Mark found a greater purpose than he'd ever known before. In this gripping, compelling new book, Mark Stuart overlays his story with passages from the gospel of John, urging his readers to listen for God's voice and to embrace his big love that calls us into a big life.

My thoughts-

Like many Christians who were kids or teenagers in the late 90's I adored Audio Adrenaline. They were one of my favorite Christian bands (second only to Relient K). I remember going to see them at Six Flags with a few friends and then running into kids from my youth group and one of those boys ended up on stage with them that night. They put on a great live show, full of energy and the presence of God through their music and the power of fellowship. This was an interesting read to me. I loved the band, but back in those days the internet was still kind of a newer thing and we weren't looking for information about every little tidbit of every person's life so I didn't know much of Mark Stuart's story. I loved that through this memoir I got to learn about the bands roots in college before it's "Big House" days when they became a household name. It wasn't always all rainbows and butterflies and Mark Stuart is very open in sharing his story including the sad parts. The sad parts led to some really new great parts! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs or who loves Audio Adrenaline and wants a behind the scenes play by play of Mark's journey from then until now.