I Can Only Imagine - Bart Millard

The back story of the famous song is written by the lead singer/songwriter of MercyMe. It begins as a story of early trauma, abuse and neglect, resulting in a wounded, damaged adolescent. Bart Millard’s father, an intimidating, severe figure in Bart’s life for many years, was diagnosed with cancer, which wrought a spiritual transformation that was life changing for both of them. A relationship characterized by pride and fear softened into one of repentance, honesty and openness. Bart says his father went from being a monster to being his example in all things. Bart’s father died in Bart’s senior year of high school, but by then, a firm foundation had been constructed for Bart which would guide him all his life. Bart tells the story of the formation of MercyMe, a band that self-promoted for many years, ministering mostly through youth worship events, including conferences and camps. Living on a shoestring, the band worked together to cover all the bases necessary to keep itself going. This is a fascinating story of the group’s slow success, living on the edges of contemporary Christian music. Bart’s paternal grandmother, a great influence in Bart’s life, was the inspiration for both the band’s name (“Mercy me!” she once said. “Get a real job!”) and the famous song. After Bart’s father died, she said, “Bart, I can only imagine what Bub must be seeing right now.” Her words percolated in Bart for many years before he wrote, in 10 minutes in the middle of the night, the words to the now-famous song. The tale of how the song wove itself into the band’s history and gradually skyrocketed to fame, taking the band along with it, is a fairly simple story, part of the great charm of this very readable book, told simply and engagingly. A bonus is the sweet story of Bart and his wife, Shannon, who knew at 13 that she would marry Bart. The reader senses the great blessing these two have been to each other and how Shannon’s family helped preserve Bart through his traumatic childhood. Everyone will enjoy this book, although two groups of people may struggle emotionally with the first third of the book: those who have not been exposed to childhood trauma and those who have. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.