Description:

Elizabeth is a mother of three going through a painful divorce from her minister husband, but when custody of her children is given to her abusive ex, she must flee with her kids to ensure their safety. Unfortunately, she is caught, jailed, and subsequently persecuted by everyone she once knew: family, friends, congregants, etc. While fighting for the return of her children, she is berated by her ex and finds that she has been essentially "excommunicated" from her old life. Her only true friend is Tori, and while trying to put her own life back together, she begins to have deep feelings for her that go against everything she's been brought up to believe- not only is she fighting the community, but also her own feelings. So Elizabeth gets out the Bible and starts reaffirming her faith, uses GOD's word to prove to herself that GOD accepts her relationship, and realizes that GOD never gives us more than we can handle- even though it sometimes seems like too much for us. Faith always prevails.

Review:

Let me start off by saying that I have always been a supporter of the Gay and Lesbian community as well as a Christian, so when I heard about this book and its controversial topics, I knew that I had to read it. I Want To Know My Future is a heart-breaking story of persecution at the hands of a group of so-called Christians; and after going to church for many years, I can tell you that even though someone goes to church every Sunday and calls themselves a devoted christian, it doesn't mean that they actually practice GOD's teachings. As with any place of worship, there is always room for gossip - leading to more twists in the truth and misguided opinions about someone/something, so I understand where the author was coming from when she wrote I Want To Know My Future, and its heartbreaking plot-line. I found the book to be an amazing story of unwavering faith and love in GOD during terrible persecution and abuse from the religious community. The plot was well-written with an emotional, yet easy to read, style; and the characters were well-developed and believable, particularly Elizabeth's character and the many trials and tribulations that she went through. There were a few grammatical errors and a couple places where the words didn't flow as well as they could have, but that didn't deter from the text or the messages that I got from it. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to all Christians and those who believe that GOD loves everyone, no matter what race, color, creed, sex, or orientation. This would be a good book for a church book club, although controversial.

Rating: Bounty's Out (3.5/5)

*** I received this book from the author (Bostick Communications) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review ( )

An incredible story of how one community of Christians failed God by choosing malevolence over love.

The title of this book "I Want To Know My Future" refers to the feelings Dipman struggled with after her life took a dramatic turn. When her friends and family turned against her and the judge gave custody of her children to her abusive ex-husband and she was jailed, after running with her children to another state. Dipman shares her true life story of the terror, harassment and constant fear she experienced throughout this ordeal that went on for years. Her abusive ex-husband who was also a minister in her church, continued to stalk her, while turning the congregation against her and making her life a living hell. After her divorce, Linda began to take note that her feelings for her friend Tori were like no other love she had ever experienced with any man and they soon fell in love. Having been raised a Christian, Dipman fought the feelings toward her friend due to what she had been taught through the church about the sin of being a homosexual. Through prayer and study of the bible, she eventually had an experience with the Holy Spirit and God who spoke to her and her friend Tori over many months. This gave Dipman the faith she needed to proceed with her relationship. Dipman and Tori had a soul-mate connection, however they never showed any outward affection in public. Even so, a whole community decided to persecute them, led by their ex-husbands who collaborated, even though the men had never even spoken to each other before the child custody battles began. Dipman had attended church regularly and was active in her congregation before her divorce. Afterward, she was shunned by members of the church, those who had been her faithful friends for years, even her own parents, chose to ostracize her. What Dipman and Tori went through was hell on earth.

There is a major lesson to be learned from this book, it teaches one that no matter how difficult life can get here on earth, our belief, faith and the love of God always prevails. It gives an example of how evil can spread and permeate a complete town and community, and how those who call themselves Christian can use the bible and religion to justify their actions of hate, abuse and harassment. I only had one problem with the book and it had to do with how drawn out it was. I felt it was repeated throughout the book to many times, why she should not have been persecuted by the law, treated the way she was, and why she should not have been judged because of her love for another. It just felt as if Dipman was trying to convince herself or the reader, and constantly remind them, of this unfairness. I felt she had gotten the point across from the beginning, however, I kept reading the same thing over and over again. I thought Linda and Tori's parents were very controlling and this did not help the whole situation. I also did not agree with what Linda said at toward the end of the book, about how all the people who hurt had them were later punished by God, while she gave accounts for the reasons why she thought this. I don't believe God punishes this way and I think Linda has much learning yet to do in this lifetime. I believe, yes there is evil, and yes bad things happen to everyone, however God gave everyone free will and these people chose to do what they did, and it was not all caused by evil. After studying the afterlife and spirituality for years, I believe once we pass away, we are then judged by ourselves and that turns out to be the worst punishment in itself, as it is then done with a clear mind. We then have a choice to forgive ourselves, a task that is not easy, and then spirits are given a chance to learn from that and taught to be better souls. I cannot say I enjoyed reading this book, as how can one say they enjoyed reading about someones misery caused by family and friends who call themselves Christians, while the children in this situation were used as pawns and taught to hate. The judging and hating of others, when they themselves are sinners, such hypocrites. They use bible scripture to justify themselves, yet the same bible includes scripture on how one is not to judge others, and to love them. The ignorance of these people in this town, and the corruption of the judge who later was removed, was incredible to read. This book leaves one shaking their head and wondering how this could happen to another human being. ( )

I will state from the very beginning that I felt disappointment. The disappointment was not in the writing style or anything other than I felt the author was afraid to be up front with potential readers about the topic of her story. No matter what my personal Christian beliefs are about homosexuality I will say this. No one should be discriminated against because of sexual orientation, race or religion. That being said, this is the story of two mothers who are divorcing their husbands for issues within their marriage. They then form a bond that brings them together into a relationship. Elizabeth's ex-husband, friends and church don't approve. They go beyond voicing their disapproval, they set out to defame and ruin her based only on her choice of lover. The court system sided with the ex-husband for many diffferent reasons. The book was well written telling a heart-wrenching story with a fairly happpy ending. Would I have picked this book up knowing it was about a woman fighting to keep her children who have been removed from her because of her sexual orientation? Probably not. I usually don't read books about homosexuality. As a reader and reviewer I don't have to agree with religious or philisophical beliefs of the author. Based on the story line alone this was a good book. I read it straight through. ( )