Book review: Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
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by Ron Hall and Denver MooreThe gist? True story told chapter by chapter by either Ron or Denver. Denver is born and spends his early years in Louisiana, essentially as a free slave, and ends up homeless in Texas. Ron is a wealthy art dealer in Dallas-Fort Worth. Their lives intersect when Ron’s wife Debbie ask Ron to serve with her a homeless shelter where they eventually meet Denver. I’ve tried to figure out a non-cliché way to say this, but basically God brings them together to change each other and the city. Cliché, yep. But God works in both unexpected and cliché ways (sometimes at the same time in His own mysterious way), so I’m cool with that.
My thoughts? No other book has ever made me cry as hard and still leave as uplifted as I did in reading this book. It’s emotional (and I’ll add here, with respect to a dear friend who wished she had this warning, that the range of emotions surrounding cancer show up in a big way in the story). It’s challenging: challenging me to pray, to serve, to listen, to love. I will be giving it as a gift, which is about the highest compliment I can give to a book. Good stuff, y’all. Very good stuff.
Some quotes (this is a section I’ve decided to add to most of my reviews, because the author’s words can tell you more than mine can):
- Ron’s words about their service to the homeless: “A thought nibbled at the edges of my brain: Maybe my mission wasn’t to analyze them, like some sort of exotic specimens, but just to get to get to know them.”
- Denver’s words in the closing of the book (and while I usually think reading the end of a book before you start it is bad form, I’m making an exception here; it won’t ruin it for you, I promise): “…whether we is rich or poor or something in between, this earth ain’t no final restin place. So in a way, we is all homeless – just workin our way toward home.”