Book Review: "unlikely angel" by Ashley Smith

“unlikely angel” is The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero. It’s not the type of book I usually read but I was ‘blessed’ with it by a friend who knows that I enjoy reading. All in all, it was good........

Hostage situations can make interesting reading and Ashley Smith has done brilliantly in capturing how she was being held hostage at gun point by Brian Nichols – an accused rapist and murderer. I really like her down to earth approach by highlighting her struggles i.e. drug abuse, death of her husband and wanting to raise her daughter Paige who was living with her aunt Kim, her thoughts, her conversations with God or rather praying and pleading with God to help her out of this situation and how Brian Nichols mellows down, eventually handing himself over to the authorities. Her use of “flash backs” is really great because it gives us a picture of what she was like before being held hostage and how her life fell apart after her husband Mack was murdered.

I don’t know too much about drugs and drug use particularly, drugs called ‘ice’ and ‘xanax’ but what I do know is that they have adverse effects on the mind and body. It’s interesting seeing how Ashley had her “God moment” and was released from the desire of drugs while she was being held hostage. I guess moments like that make one realise what is important in life – in this case, Ashley shared about God and desired to get her daughter Paige back. It seems like “Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren had an impact on her too as she recalled some of the chapters from the book.

The terrifying moments of being held hostage ended peacefully for Ashley – a result of prayer. Four public servants weren’t so lucky. God has impacted her life so radically with scriptures like “The truth will set you free” – being honest and experiencing the freedom that goes with it. Ashley has a strong, healthy support network around her and she is giving God all the glory for the outcome of this hostage situation: “God was the real hero.”

No-one could ask for a better ending to a story – a true story. Praise God.

By Molly Manhanga