Mark Hall: Thrive review

Books written by musicians are always an interesting read. It’s a bonus to fans when they get to catch a glimpse of what’s really inside their favorite bands’ heads and get a deeper insight into their thoughts and mind. Numerous band members are authors that fans wouldn’t know about. Some have written multiple books. Casting Crowns singer Mark Hall is set to release his latest book, Thrive, which goes hand-in-hand with the band’s latest record of the same name- a page out of the book of Nikki Sixx. Thrive takes on the same concept as its musical partner in that we’re made for much more than to just live- we were made to thrive through Christ who lives in us. Hall tells stories upon stories from his life to tie in the theme. At the end of each chapter, there’s a summary lesson from the chapter for the reader to keep in mind. He tells about his early life and being in college, not knowing what he wanted to do and finding his calling. He talks about second-guessing his calling when he starts to fail miserably in college and finding that getting to his goals and meeting his calling was much harder than he expected. Hall talks in-depth about his feelings of failure and low confidence when he fails time and time again and discovering his dyslexia. He also talks about finding God’s true love in the midst of all of the troubles he’s had. Hall delves deep into the meanings behind many of the songs Casting Crowns have released and what’s behind the lyrics. He talks about the new record, Thrive, and what went into making the record and more. Any Casting Crowns fan will geek over the book and any Christian will find meaning, purpose and strength in the words of Thrive. With almost a devotional feel to the book, Thrive is one you absolutely must go and pick up now. Rating: 9/10 -Reggie Edwards Release Date: February 11, 2014