“If we’re not careful ,” I said softly, “he’s gonna drag us down with him.”

Wow, this could not have been easy to share and it was difficult to digest, but I'm glad this father had the courage. It's hard to admit our own faults, let alone those of our addicted loved ones, especially as terrible as killing an innocent man. It's a line that you pray the addict in your life will never cross. It happens though, and it's rare you get a peek behind the curtains like this.

It's important to remember that this book is from the perspective of a father and in no way endorsing what his son did or telling others how to feel about it. I felt a range of emotions from hurt to shame to anger to cringing, if I'm being honest.

You never think this is going to happen to you. I explicitly told the addicts in my life that I would never stick by them if they hurt an innocent. That's particularly why I wanted to read this. When you take a step back personally, it's easy to throw a "bad" person's life away but when it's someone you love, I imagine you feel differently. That's just the way it is. I am a big advocate of prison reform so I have to wrestle with this conundrum sometimes(although he got a more than fair sentence).

The stories were a bit triggering for me as I do have PTSD from dealing with an addict. They're in recovery now and I'm grateful for every moment but you never forget.

This isn't for everyone but it could be a good resource for families of addicts.

Always remember the victim.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review.

This book reminded me quite a big of David Magee's Dear William, which I also enjoyed and found emotionally impactful. The author dug deeply into how his family got to the point they were at, and he didn't absolve anyone from blame. He treated the victims respectfully and never tried to excuse or condone his son's actions. His raw honesty and willingness to show his pain gutted me in places.
This was well-written, moving, and encouraging in many ways. The letter he wrote as David had me crying. I'm glad I read this book and will remember it for quite some time.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary digital copy. All opinions are my own.

Out of the Nothing is where the Gratitude is found
This book is a true gem! It hit so many emotions for me. We follow a father who writes back and forth with his son who is in prison. The way they approach the crime, the punishment, God and everything else in between was so touching to me. As a recovered person I was able to see things from a new perspective and truly feel emotions that the father and family went through. I could feel for Lucas (the son) who lived the nightmare I always feel would happen to me. This is a must read. It’s a story that will stay with me for awhile. I highlighted so many passages in my kindle. Thank you for sharing this story, thank you for the honesty, the rawness of everything. I will be thinking of this story for some time while recommending it to friends and loved ones! Amazon has this categorized as “parenting” & “fatherhood” which is true but it goes so far beyond that! #letterstomysoninprison #kenguidroz #addiction #forgiveness #rehabilitation #bookstagram #booktok #memoir

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I need to give this book a rating of 2. i wasn’t able to connect with the author on his journey to find God again and rediscover his faith due to my own personal beliefs. Without connecting to his story in this way, I found that I wasn’t fully able to appreciate the story. The book was well written, with many raw emotions and offered true glimpses of what it is like to be a human and the ups and downs of life. i wish I was able to connect to this more.

Beautiful book. Loved it all. Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

I enjoyed this book as I love memoirs. I can't even fathom as a parent going through anything like this. To see your children make mistakes, suffer and then have to deal with the consequences of their actions is the worst. We only want the very best for our children and when they fall short we all feel like we are to blame. Where did we do wrong? What could of we done differently? Why? I am not a go to church every Sunday or even holiday type of person. I do believe in a higher power but yet have never full read the Bible. That being said I did like the letters in regards to David and the one about evolution. They gave a different perspective/insight.

This book will pull every emotional string you have and leave you awed by the journey this father and son went through together. Ken Guidroz has bared his heart, accepting the guidance of his faith to lead his actions. It is not a "feel good" book. Nothing in his life had prepared him to face his son and guide them both to the light. A book you will never forget and will refer to your friends over and over again.

3.5 but rounding up to a 4 ⭐️

I loved how raw, open and honest the author is while sharing such a deeply personal journey. The relationship that was nurtured through putting words to paper was inspiring!

It was a privilege to have an insight to a family that is navigating addiction and the most unimaginable crisis. The only reason I gave a 3.5 was because I did get a bit lost in the retelling of David and the in-depth connections to the Bible. Being someone that isn’t religious, nor has a background it was a bit lengthy. However, I recognize that is a personal bias - the letter and story are essential to this story and I can appreciate the purpose.

This is a beautiful, heartbreaking memoir of a man who found God to be who He says He is in one of the hardest seasons of his life. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in 24 hours. It's not a sanitized Jesus he proclaims, but a Jesus who refines us (and woos us, and loves us) in the dark night of the soul.

Guidroz's authenticity and vulnerability are piercing, precious, and weighty. And I think this text will resonate with many people - fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, people struggling in addiction, and people who are in the 'dark night of the soul' themselves.

I highly recommend it.

A very emotive read about a Dad whose son is in prison following years of heroin addiction illness sadly amd horrifically ending the son up with a manslaughter charge
The Dad is very open and honest in his self questioning and also his spiritual life questioning
At times I did feel I was intruding on his personal feelings but the author I feel needed to write this and wanted readers to join him and feel everything he was
Moving,honest and genuine

I so badly wanted to stop reading this book after I saw what it was about, but I couldn't. It wouldn't let me go, All I could think of was how glad I'm not him.