Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Facing Fear: Step Out in Faith and Rise Above What's Holding You Back by Nik Wallenda ~ Book Review

Nik Wallenda's family has been living the circus life for 7 generations.  As high wire walkers, his family has learned how to face fear.  They have learned to how to face it, compartmentalize it and trust their training and their skills.  But one day during a practice of their 8 person pyramid things went horrible wrong.  The pyramid collapsed severely injuring many of his team including his sister and aunt.  In the months that followed Nik did what he knew to do and what he'd been trained to do.  He kept on.  But during practices someone was shaking the wire.  Nik was surprised and stunned to figure out that it was himself that was trembling on the wire.  Soon the fear was creeping into all parts of his life and work and he started to doubt what he had always believed: that walking the wire was his God-given purpose in this life.   Facing Fear is Nik's story of overcoming the fear and insecurity the fall produced, of getting the negative thinking under God's control and getting back up after a fall, both literally and figuratively.

I loved this book.  I have always been amazed at Nik's life and how he glorifies God during his walks.  His personal story of tragedy and how he overcame the debilitating fear and guilt that literally would change life as he knew it if he succumbed to it was both interesting and very practical.  Nik is a man of faith in God and he doesn't back down from that, as that is his story, but the book is written in a very approachable manner to any reader, whether they are a Christian or not.  It's like sitting down with him and having a conversation with him where he tells you his story and how he overcame but also understands that you might not be at that place.  

I rated this a 10/10

Reading Challenge 2023 Met:  at least 4 hard copy format non-fictions, February color of the month on the cover: red or pink






2 comments:

Faith said...

This sounds fascinating!! I remember my parents loved watching the Wallenda family perform. Did he also walk across Niagara Falls or was that someone else??

Great review!

Susanne said...

Faith: Yes it is. He also walked across the Grand Canyon, between high rises in Chicago I think it was and across a live volcano.