One Perfect Word

December 12, 2011
In this slim volume, part memoir and part inspirational tract, megaselling romance novelist Macomber (Cedar Cove series) explores her lifelong practice of choosing a single word each year to study, meditate on, and incorporate into daily religious practice. She gives examples of some of her past words, such as “prayer,” “desire,” “hope,” and “passion,” and illustrates through past journal entries and reflection how each year of her life has adhered to its designated word. This practice has clearly been integral to Macomber’s spirituality, and some readers may be inspired to utilize this intriguing idea in their own lives. The book itself, however, fails to live up to the promise of the idea, constituting instead a rather bland pastiche of unremarkable journal entries and faith-promoting stories drawn from various other Christian works. Additionally, the inclusion of concrete suggestions for implementation only once every chapter is incongruous and serves to scatter the book’s focus, especially since many of them feel more like advertisements or inducements to buy things than genuine advice. Agent: Wendy Lawton.