'Beyond the Big C' is brief (72 pages) and to the point, setting out hope even in the face of a challenging diagnosis. As Marshall says, it’s not about how to cope with cancer, or how to beat it, but rather aims to introduce people to the one person who utterly transforms lives and offers hope both day by day in this messed up world, and beyond death too.

The style is warm and personal, frank about grim realities and challenging circumstances, and the author is honest about his own difficulties—particularly his ongoing fear. The credibility of the book cannot be questioned given the author’s own experience. The gospel proclaimed in the book offers true hope. The author’s trust in Jesus shines through.

This book perhaps merits reading so that we might understand what others are going through in the midst of a cancer diagnosis, but that’s not really the point. The point is for it to be read by the person who doesn’t know Jesus, and who desperately needs to encounter him in light of their diagnosis. What higher commendation can I offer than this: having finished reading for this review, I put the book in the post for someone in exactly that situation.

Benjamin Wilks, Covenant Church, Newmilns