I am never really one to read novels that focus on religion. However, “The Shack” sparked my interest, and I decided to pick up the novel that inspired the film. The Shack by W.M Paul Young revolves around a man named Mackenzie Allen Philips (Mack for short) who had his life flipped and his beliefs questioned. Mack suffers from the loss of his youngest daughter, Missy. She was kidnapped and her blood was later found in an old shack. Mack calls this experience “The Great Sadness” and was never able to recover from it. Four years after the death of his daughter, Mack receives a letter signed from “Papa.” Mack found this extremely strange; his wife would always refer to God as Papa. Against his better judgment and the advice from his friend Willie (the author), Mack decides to go visit the shack once more. Here, he goes through an astounding religious experience that changes his life forever.

Mack experiences something amazing: he gets to meet Papa (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit, Sarayu. I am not doubting the credibility of the story, but I doubt the actions that occur after this experience.

*Spoiler Alert*

As Mack’s time with Papa comes to an end, He showed Mack where Missy’s lost body lay. After Mack’s religious experience ended and he returned to his regular life, Mack was able to contact the police and tell them where to find Missy. The police questioned Mack on his knowledge of Missy’s whereabouts (this is to be expected, considering that Missy’s murderer, the Little Ladykiller, hadn’t been caught). However, the police took the situation a bit too leniently from what the novel showed. The police didn’t get upset when they discovered that Mack had spent time at the crime scene. I understand that four years had passed since Missy’s death, but this does not specify whether or not the investigation ended. Mack was also friends with one of the policemen involved in the investigation, so he was able to slip by without suspicion after he told the police his experience.

Mack was able to find peace through his experience with Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu. Thankfully, the Little Ladykiller was eventually caught after Mack told authorities what he discovered. The Shack is an incredible story based on an incredible experience, but the actions the authorities’ leniency and actions are questionable. I recommended this book for anyone going through their own “Great Sadness.” The Shack was a short read of 250 pages that can be finished in a short amount of time. If the book seems too time consuming, you can check out the film adaptation that came out March  3.