On the way down to South Carolina, we stopped in Knoxville, TN. There we found a fantastic Christian bookstore. As I was browsing the shelves, I saw the book, Same Kind of Different As Me, a book I’ve wanted to read for some time. Lynn Vincent, the collaborater, is a good friend of mine.
I’ve read this book throughout our vacation and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Its one of those books that has the capacity preconceived notions you might have about certain people or groups. This book definitely challenged my view of homeless people.
The book is unique in that it contains to seemingly incongruent stories.One of a wealth and successful Fort Worth art dealer, the other a vagrant from the backwaters of Lousiana, now a resident of the streets of downtown Forth Worth.
A perfect storm of events, that can only be described as an act of God brought these two men together in a remarkable partnership. A crisis in Ron Hall’s marriage brought he and his wife Deborah to their knees. The revitalization of Forth Worth brought the homeless together at one mission. A blurb in the local newspaper and the call of God upon Deborah’s heart brought the Halls to Union Gospel Mission in downtown Forth Worth.
I came away powerfuly impacted and impressed. First, the history of sharecropping and racisim in Lousiana opened my eyes to the struggles of black people in the South. Secondly, the vivid description of life on the streets gave me a newfound compassion for the homeless, and the simple authenticity of Deborah Hall toward these homeless showed me that simple love can bring joy to the hearts of those who are less fortunate.
A final note. Lynn Vincent did the collaborating/ghostwriting of this book. She did an incredible job weaving these two stories together. This is tough work and in allowing the voices of the authors to come through, she became invisible.
I highly recommend this book, it is a powerful read.