Peretti shares with us the difficulty he went through growing up with a medical condition that caused a deformity requiring many surgeries over his first handful of years. Fighting against infections and dealing with the condition left his body unable to develop as it should, and he went through school years smaller than the rest of his classmates. This led to years of persecution by his peers, and Peretti who was left feeling like those in authority had failed him, forcing him into the situation where he was bullied regularly, unable to do much of anything about it.

I read this entire book in one afternoon, and I won't pretend that it left me feeling happy. I went through a range of emotions while reading, which was mostly pity and sadness, but included elation when Peretti described a turning point for him, which simply took a teacher caring enough to ask if things were okay.

More than just an autobiography about this part of Peretti's life, he discusses the failure of teachers and other authority figures to keep kids from going through the same type of thing. The mindset that "we all went through it, you can too" or "it's just part of life" is a big part of what he addresses, saying that it's not nearly enough reason to turn a blind eye. That kids (and even adults) who are bullied suffer long-term effects that can cause problems in future relationships, and can lead to the bullied later becoming the bully. There have been a lot more anti-bullying programs started in the 20 years since this was written, but it does still happen.

He even puts out a challenge for those who see themselves as the victims to examine their lives for times when they might have been the bully. Even just laughing along when friends or peers are making fun of someone makes us guilty. It's a hard thing to think about, but it really made a difference for me.

This book gave me a whole new insight into and appreciation for my favorite author and his lovable nature, joviality, brilliance, insight, and heart for God. It also puts my own life into perspective. I recommend this book for...everyone, really. ( )

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Peretti's This Present Darkness, a Christian piece of fiction, is on my list of favorite books. So, when I saw something in the bookstore yesterday with his name on it, I became very curious. The book is very short and very simple. Peretti, after the tragic events of Columbine High School, felt compelled to reach out to victims of bullying since he himself had been a victim as a kid. His main point throughout the book, which has a Christian slant, is that bullying is wrong (no matter how old you are) and everybody from teachers and parents to kids themselves, have a role in stopping it. Maybe in the year 2000 this was a new (ish) concept. It's nothing new under the sun now. The autobiographical parts Peretti includes of himself and his rare congenital medical condition, one that caused a terrible deformity that took years to correct and that was the source of his being an easy bully target, I found very interesting simply because I learned something about the author. He is a pretty simple, witty and engaging writer and I think it was his humor and writing style that kept me turning pages last night, not the subject matter of the book. I enjoyed the hour and a half it took me to read it, but that's about it. My opinion of Peretti as an author hasn't changed and I can't say that this particular little book didn't not impress me, but it certainly didn't impress me too much. ( )

The best-selling novelist describes the tormented childhood that shaped his imagination. Peretti's mistreatment gave him a special interest in monsters, a longing for justice, and a sensitivity to the problem of evil and its otherworldly manifestations

Unbelievable how this child was bullied and yet lived to give fiction that revolutionised Christian novels ( )