As a mother of three on the ground and one on the way, stories about others who have more children than the norm (is it 1.25 these days?) always pique my interest.  When the story of a husband who suddenly found himself the father of quadruplets was published, and with a Christian slant, I was very interested to read Stephen Simpson’s experiences.

Truthfully though, Assaulted by Joy wasn’t quite what I expected.  Much of the book is devoted to Simpson’s life as a self-proclaimed “jerk” – his teenage angst and rebellion (most notably marked by his experiences with music and how they didn’t jive with his youth group), his dissatisfaction with life in general, and so forth.

Readers may also want to note that Simpson and his wife struggle with the decision to carry all of their children for as long as they can – there isn’t a distinctly pro-life stance presented here in the preservation of each tiny baby’s life.

There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of joy to go around in this book.  Even after the birth of his children the books emphasis is on feelings of overwhelm, medical challenges etc.  Maybe I missed the joy somewhere along the line?

Of course, this memoir is realistic for that reason – many of us struggle with feelings of overwhelm, angst, and frustration, especially when we try to run our lives on our own instead of surrendering all those details to the Lord.  Well, let’s be honest – sometimes even when we’re doing our best to hand these things over to the Lord.

I suppose I was expecting something more definitively joy-filled that distinctly celebrated children rather than being mired in the many struggles and discontent moments of life.  If, like me, you’re looking for a deeply inspirational read, this title won’t likely fit the bill.

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