The Great Good Thing

A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ

By: Andrew Klavan

Narrated by: Andrew Klavan

No one was more surprised than Andrew Klavan when, at the age of fifty, he found himself about to be baptized. The Great Good Thing tells the soul-searching story of a man born into an age of disbelief who had to abandon everything he thought he knew in order to find his way to the truth.

Best known for his hard-boiled, white-knuckle thrillers and for the movies made from them--among them True Crime and Don’t Say a Word--bestselling author and Edgar Award-winner Klavan was born in a suburban Jewish enclave outside New York City.

He left the faith of his childhood behind to live most of his life as an agnostic until he found himself mulling over the hard questions that so many other believers have asked:

• How can I be certain in my faith?
• What's the truth, and how can I know it's the truth?
• How can you think, live, and make choices and judgments day by day if you don't know for sure?

In The Great Good Thing, Klavan shares that his troubled childhood caused him to live inside the stories in his head and grow up to become an alienated young writer whose disconnection and rage devolved into depression and suicidal breakdown.

In those years, Klavan fought to ignore the insistent call of God, a call glimpsed in a childhood Christmas at the home of a beloved babysitter, in a transcendent moment at his daughter's birth, and in a snippet of a baseball game broadcast that moved him from the brink of suicide. But more than anything, the call of God existed in stories--the stories Klavan loved to read and the stories he loved to write.

Join Klavan as he discovers the meaning of belief, the importance of asking tough questions, and the power of sharing your story.

very personal and relatable

I finished this book in only a couple of days. I appreciate how open the Great Klavan is about his successes but most importantly, his struggles.

Made me review my own faith.

This book made me review my own life, and had me drawing parallels and intersections with my own life. Needless to say, it opened my eyes and allowed me to deepen my own faith.

Wonderful.

This is not a flowery, happy-go-lucky, "I love Jesus so much" kinda story, which I appreciate. It's real; it's gritty; it's human. It'll move you to appreciate life, love, beauty, and wisdom better. You'll be led to contemplate your own beliefs and perhaps amend them. You'll want to catch up on your knowledge of classical literature. He won't ever try to convince you or prod you into believing anything. He simply leads you through the story of his life and how God subtly, gradually got Klavan's attention.

Amazing book. Very Raw!

The author has a very sincere faith. I loved this book from front to end.

A great read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it's a very entertaining life's story of a very cool guy.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Klavan, of course.

What about Andrew Klavan’s performance did you like?

As always, his voice is smooth and rough at the same time. I could listen to him talk for hours, even if he wasn't saying things I agreed with! I almost always agree with him, however, and he always paints such beautiful word pictures.

Any additional comments?

I was really anticipating his conversion, and to be honest, it was anticlimactic for me. It's been a few months, but if I recall correctly, he didn't talk much about the realization that I assume (and hope) he must have had, of being a wretched sinner who has sinned against a Great God. Without that, what is the point of Christianity?