Book review — Reaching Your Prodigal

Book review — Reaching Your Prodigal

Reaching Your Prodigal: What Did I Do Wrong? What Do I Do Now?

Phil Waldrep. Franklin, Tennessee: Worthy Publishing, 2016. 114 pp. (Hardback).

Fans of evangelist Phil Waldrep (of which I am one) will remember an earlier book by the evangelist about parenting prodigals. Although this one has the same basic subject, it is a very different book.

Waldrep has a heart for hurting parents of adult children who have gone astray, and this book was written in an attempt to support them with sound advice and encouragement. After laying some solid groundwork in some introductory chapters, Waldrep offers six principles for dealing with the prodigal and the pain inflicted by the wayward offspring. The principles concentrate on relieving any guilt parents might feel and following a kind of modified tough love approach in holding the prodigal accountable while loving him unconditionally.

My guess is anyone with a prodigal son or daughter would love this book. I suspect it would help offset some of the anguish they feel and give hope to what might seem like a hopeless situation.

By Martine Bates Fairbanks, Ed.D.