REVIEW: Melissa, If One Life by Janette Henning and Melissa Camp

Melissa: If One Life by Janette Henning and Melissa Camp

Genre: Biography, Memoir

Read: 7th August 2024

Amazon

Kindle

Hardback

Published: 4th May 2020

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The story that helped inspire the new movie I Still Believe.

Melissa, If One Life ... is the real-life love story of Melissa Camp, first wife of recording artist Jeremy Camp. Her heartrending story is told through her journals and reveals her intimate conversations with God, her extraordinary love story with Jeremy, her walk-through cancer and her supernatural responses to life’s hardest trials. The film, I Still Believe, is based on Melissa’s fun and emotional love story with Jeremy Camp. It is more than inspiring! It is transformational! It restores faith that great love does exist and is worth sacrificing everything for. This book expands the dialog, shows Melissa’s reactions and fills in the details of her remarkable life. It also reveals the mystery of living a courageous life filled with love, joy and hope no matter what the circumstances are.

MY THOUGHTS:

"If one life comes to faith in Jesus Christ because of what I go through - my cancer, my suffering and even my death - it will all be worth it!"

WOW! This has to be one of the most convicting and yet encouraging and inspiring books I have ever read. I don't read a lot of non-fiction because I find it very hard to connect with what is being written and being able to absorb it (as opposed to fiction which is easy to read). But this book was such a beautiful and inspiring read. I felt by the end that I had actually known Melissa, such was her passion and love felt throughout the pages.

I came across this book when purchasing her husband's, Jeremy Camp, own book "I Still Believe". When I read the premise for it I just had to have it and went out to buy, purchasing a copy for a friend of mine who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer also. My hope is that she will be encouraged through Melissa's journals which fill this book with such love and passion like none I have ever seen.

Melissa speaks constantly of her desire for a greater intimacy with Jesus and her prayers tell of her selfishness at times and I'm thinking...I have never seen a more selfless person than Melissa! She was the epitome of selflessness and shone with love. I can only ever see her smiling and love Jeremy's favourite photo of her which he included in his book saying...

"How I will always remember Melissa"

Melissa's journals coupled with her mother Janette's telling of Melissa's story are both convicting and encouraging, inspiring those read it into a greater intimacy and love for Jesus also.

Despite cancer ravaging her body, she continued to praise God and worship Him, knowing that He had a greater plan for her. I would have loved to have known Melissa. She is truly an inspiration. Her story is an inspiration. The title of the book sums her desire up perfectly...in her words:

Melissa's total sacrificial love for others as well as Jesus is her legacy that continues to live long after she breathed her last two decades ago. She wanted everyone to know the great love she had and she was willing to go through pain, suffering and even death so that others would come to know the Saviour she loved so much. She was and continues to be an inspiration. I could only hope to reflect some of what she did. I dare anyone not to be be moved to tears by Melissa's journals. 

You can purchase the book on Kindle but you will miss out on the beautiful illustrations that is in the hardback. The quote above I snapped from the book but really, it doesn't do it justice (my scanner isn't working so had to use my phone). These pictures below will give you a better idea (I hope).

This is truly one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. And it is beautifully illustrated too. It was lovely to see Melissa's smiling face in the photos at the end. You could just see the joy that radiated from her. She truly was beautiful...even after chemo took her beautiful hair.

Thank you Melissa for living and loving. Thank you for the love that is your legacy.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Janette Henning is first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ born out of the Jesus Movement of the 1970's. She is a wife, a mother of four and a grandmother of eight. She has been a pastor's wife, a church planter, a women's minister, a Bible Study teacher and writer, as well as a real estate agent teaming with her husband Mark in San Diego county. They live in the beach community of Encinitas, California.

Social Media links:

Website | Janette Henning | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads

REVIEW: I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp

I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp

Genre: Biography, Memoir

Read: 30th July 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 1st September 2011 (original)

21st January 2013 (second edition)

11th February 2020 (latest edition)

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Newly revised and available in trade paper! I Still Believe shares Jeremy Camp's journey of finding hope and healing through life's toughest moments and the songs that came from his journey that have inspired a generation.

When Jeremy Camp lost his beloved wife Melissa just three months after their wedding, the last thing he wanted to do was sing praise to God. But even as he struggled through unimaginable grief and fought to hold on to his faith, God had other plans: Pick up your guitar. I have something for you to write.

Jeremy obeyed, pouring out his heart, writing about the hope that God was still there, even in his deepest grief. The song he wrote that day, "I Still Believe," has gone on to inspire millions around the world.

This is the story behind that song and the movie that was inspired by it. It is an inside look at Jeremy's life--from his difficult childhood and teenage years to the tragic passing of Melissa at age 21 and the spiritual journey that followed. Searching for hope and healing inspired some of Jeremy's best-loved songs and led him, eventually, to find love again.

This revised edition of I Still Believe includes:

- 3 new chapters with updates on Jeremy's family and the film release

- 8-page color insert with photos from Jeremy's life

- Foreword by Bart Millard, singer/songwriter for MercyMe

I Still Believe is a powerful, heart-wrenching memoir about the strength of undying love and the power of faith--a must-read for Jeremy Camp fans and an inspiring, encouraging read for anyone who has experienced loss.

MY THOUGHTS:

"Scattered words and empty thoughts

Seem to pour from my heart

I've never felt so torn before

Seems I don't know where to start

But it's now that I feel Your grace fall like rain

From every fingertip, washing away my pain

'Cause I still believe in Your faithfulness

'Cause I still believe in Your truth

'Cause I still believe in Your holy word

Even when I don't see, I still believe..."

Words so powerful and yet inspiring when you read the story behind them. Jeremy Camp is probably my favourite Christian artist. Ok, so I have a few but I have an entire Spotify playlist devoted to his music that has a playing time of something like 16 hours. And I can listen to it every day and not get sick of it. His music, his message and his words are inspiring...not to mention the catchy tunes of many of my favourite tracks. "I Still Believe" is one them and yet I can now appreciate it so much more now that I have read Jeremy's (and Melissa's) story. It's heartbreaking yet beautiful and inspirational at the same time.

I bought the DVD and the book at the same time, though they both arrived two weeks apart. I wanted to read the book first so the DVD still sits on my shelf. It took me a day to read his inspiring testimony. A story that is testimony to his faith and love for God. The pain he endured at losing his wife of just three months could be felt on the pages of this book. I admit I bawled my eyes out reading it. And yet, in the midst of his pain, his grief, he wrote these lyrics in just ten minutes. But for the grace of God.

Jeremy's story begins with his parents who were loosely characterised as hippies. Given as it was still the mid-seventies, I guess that probably wasn't far from the truth. His dad stumbled to an altar call stinking of booze but together they changed their lives and created a loving family out of nothing but the little they had. Jeremy characterised his family as not just being poor but super-poor. But then in the seventies and eighties there weren't the benefits and services available to assist young families then as there are today. And despite having so little, the Camps had so much. Jeremy and his siblings never wanted for nothing because they had the love of their parents and their faith in God to provide their every need. And provide He did...at every turn when they needed it.

Despite growing up in a Christian family, Jeremy still had a bit of a wild streak in him. As a teenager, when kids think they know it all and don't need anyone or anything else, he strayed on his own path for a time...partying and drinking...but then he went away to camp and realised the path he was on was not the chosen path for him. He rededicated his life to Christ and upon returning, changed schools although his family couldn't afford a Christian school, Jeremy worked for his tuition there and it changed his life.

It wasn't until he moved to California for Bible college and after that he met Melissa Henning, the girl who would change his life forever. And although she featured in just few chapters, she was an inspiration. You could see her love, her light and her inspiration shine through each and every page. To lose her so soon after their wedding and so young must have been soul destroying. But for the grace of God, Jeremy made it through. He relives that grief, that pain every time he shares his story, and it must be incredibly painful. But oh, what an inspiration it it. Melissa's words "If just one person comes to know Jesus through my cancer, then my suffering would be worth it." What a woman! What faith! What inspiration.

I have Melissa's book "Melissa: If One Life...", written by her mum Janette Henning, using Melissa's journals she kept throughout her life, her time with Jeremy and during her cancer battle, and I look forward to reading that too.

I thoroughly enjoyed Jeremy's memoir and thank him for sharing his story with us. Though the book has gone through a couple of revisions, I read his second publication on kindle but picked up the paperback I bought of the latest edition which featured the making of the movie "I Still Believe" to read the additional chapters that featured between the last two in the original edition. I enjoyed reading how some of his songs came about and the meaning behind them, at what point he was in his life when penning them. I love how he wrote "Walk by Faith" on his honeymoon then played it to Melissa and she said it was just beautiful. Then two weeks after losing her, he wrote "I Still Believe". After such tragedy and loss, to not lose hope, to not lose faith, to still believe...that is beautiful and inspiring.

Thank you, Jeremy. And thank you, Melissa. And thank you to God and His son the Lord Jesus Christ for guiding these two individuals to journey their paths - one ending abruptly, the other onward and upward using their story to glorify God and to bring Melissa's dream to fruition. 

"If one life comes to faith in Jesus Christ because of what I go through it will all be worth it!"

 
Jeremy and Melissa on their wedding day   |   Jeremy, Adrienne and their children

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Jeremy Camp is a musician with forty number-one radio hits, four RIAA-certified Gold albums, and more than five million albums sold. He has been nominated for a Grammy, three American Music Awards, and four ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards.

Between 2002 and 2023, Jeremy has released twelve albums, five of them RIAA- certified as Gold. He has sold over 6 million albums, over 2 Billion streams and with 44 #1 singles across all formats. His music has earned him numerous awards and nominations across the Christian and secular music industries, including five GMA Dove Awards, Grammy nomination, three American Music Award nominations, and four ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Awards. Camp was named Billboard’s #2 Christian artist of the decade as well. 

Outside of music, in 2020 Jeremy had an international theatrical movie release called “I Still Believe” which hit #1 in the box office opening weekend.  The film depicted his life story of love and loss of his first wife after a battle with cancer. Camp has always written songs about his experiences and continues to write from the deep places of his heart. 

Jeremy lives with his wife, Adrienne, and their three children - Bella, Arie and Egan - in Tennessee.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads