A Review by Georgia Lyonhyde for Reedsy Discovery

Let me start by saying how much I loved this memoir. I thought it was such a wonderful read and did something quite clever with its structure given the content. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and cannot recommend it enough. He Reached Down – A Memoir of Collapse andGrace by Michael Hippler is a memoir with a difference. In most cases, memoirs and biographies present the reader with a chronological account of events – X happened, causing Y to happen, resulting in Z and the lesson learned was… However, what I thought this book did really well was tease a little and start way in the future. You’d be forgiven for immediately thinking that this is a book about things falling apart and perhaps forgiveness, and to a large extent you would be right. Where it becomes interesting is that the book didn’t start with wild chaos, middling on a period of transformation, and suddenly becoming enlightened, finding faith and living happily ever after – a stereotype that is expected of religious related genres. Instead, the book started after the turning point then took use back in time (very far back in time) where we experience the narrator in all his youth and not so ‘glory’. Failed jobs, failed marriages, failed behaviors!

Each sub chapter begins with a short Bible verse, fitting for the episode we are about to encounter. Usually, a book that is taking a spiritual journey will explain the verse and can come across in a preaching manner half guiding, half pushing us to accept a certain viewpoint. This book was not like that at all. It didn’t explain the verse at all. Instead, Hippler takes us on his reflection by simply recalling an event. Imagine being a front seat passenger. The author doesn’t need to join all the dots to create the scene for you, because you are viewing it alongside the driver and are given the trust to form your own judgements.

At no point during my reading did I feel like I was under the guidance of a righteous believer. I experienced a man who presented himself with humility, admitted his flaws, took accountability, hit rock bottom, and in hindsight, can honestly reflect and understand his trajectory. I liked that I wasn’t pushed to find faith (which I already have in abundance) but was presented with someone who showed us a true embodiment of Christian values by depicting that someone seemingly unworthy was able to find and be found by God.

I have no problem scoring this novel 5 out of 5 stars. It was interesting, well-written, reflective, and consistent in its tone. I thought it was a break from the norm and definitely among my highly praised memoirs. A spiritual background is not required to read this text, although it may be off-putting for anyone that has vastly different beliefs, which makes recommendations difficult because on the whole, I think there were lessons wrapped up in this text for everyone for different facets of their lives.