The Shack

William P. Young

Jun 2008 · Sold by Windblown Media

About this eBook

Over 25 Million Copies Sold! 

After his daughter's murder, a grieving father confronts God with desperate questions -- and finds unexpected answers -- in this riveting and deeply moving #1 NYT bestseller.

When Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter Missy is abducted during a family vacation, he remains hopeful that she'll return home. But then, he discovers evidence that she may have been brutally murdered in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness.

Four years later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note that's supposedly from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment, he arrives on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.

Ratings and reviews

This was the best, and most moving book I've ever read! I balled like a baby! Being an empath, I have the ability to actually feel the emotions of everyone around me, including those of the people on TV or in things I read! Not only do I feel emotions, but I feel them 10x stronger than the average person. So good emotions such as attraction, kindness, empathy, compassion, admiration, bravery, happiness, and love, etc etc. Too me, are truly amazing. Almost to die for! But, like they say, you have to take the good with the bad. Which means I also feel bad emotions 10x stronger than the average person s well, bad emotions such as disappointment, rejection, anger, depression, fear, loneliness, hate, etc etc. So feeling the emotive that does through this book straight from the pages into my fingertips, created something in me that I can't even find words to describe. I felt it all so strong. I can't even explain the feeling in words!

If it were up to me, I would make this required reading for every teenager & college student around the world. That is to say, I believe this book has so much TRUTH in it, that it can and will benefit anyone, of any religion, to come face-to-face with the big questions that many are too uncomfortable talking about: → What happens when we die? → Is there purpose in this life? → Why do bad things happen to good people? → Does God exist? If so, what part does He (or She) play in my life & those I love? → How can I find peace? → Who is Jesus? → What does it mean to have a "relationship" with God? Mr. Young has a wonderful gift of creating the most beautiful scenes for one's imagination, and the way in which he so easily crafts the relatable characters (God as a woman; the Holy Spirit as a being likened to a mist; people and places and events, it feels as though this story came from yesterday's nightly news...) — it is almost impossible NOT to fall head over heels for this amazing story. IMO, this man could very well be the next C.S. Lewis ("the Chronicles of Narnia"), or Madeleine L'Engle ("A Wrinkle in Time"). Even if you've seen the movie, I encourage you to read the book — there are so many things you will gain by reading this wonderful story, than the movie was able to encapsulate. Also, as a note to first-timers, the first few chapters are tough. They're very emotional, and the crisis that emerges hits close to home with at least every parent I know who has read it. But once you get past those chapters, you will be thrilled with the ride your imagination and soul are in for within the remainder of the book. Push through. This is a book for the ages.

This isn't Christianity. This is the excuse for modern religion, and it disgusts me. It just fuels the practicing Christians into laziness. It tells them that they CAN pick and choose what to follow from the bible and for some reason that makes no sense to me. This may be biased because I'm not religious, but this book was also terribly written with an inconsistent writing style so, whatever. Just don't read it.

About the author

Wm. Paul Young was born a Canadian and raised among a Stone Age tribe by his missionary parents in the highlands of former New Guinea. He suffered great loss as a child and young adult and now enjoys the "wastefulness of grace" with his family in the Pacific Northwest. He is also the author of The Shack, Cross Roads, and Eve.