I’m not entirely sure how to start this review. I could start by telling you that I have been aware of Kevin Abell for a long time. We went to the same high school. But that wouldn’t tell you very much about his book and you might think I am reviewing this book because we were old high school buddies. That was hardly the case.
Kevin was one of those guys I wasn’t going to go anywhere near. He was a little creepy. I remember a certain Alice Cooper lip sync performance that cemented my opinion of him at the time.
I didn’t reconnect – or should I say connect – with Kevin until a couple of years ago when we were at the same church. Somehow, I don’t remember exactly, we were connected by 
someone who knew that Kevin was a writer and that I was into writing as well. I asked Kevin if I could see his writing, fully expecting it to be a caliber of writing I could look over and then give some pointers to its author. That wasn’t the case.
In my arrogance I was surprised to learn that Kevin already was what I aspired to be – a real writer. How could HE (Alice Cooper guy) have surpassed ME (wasn’t allowed to listen to Alice Cooper guy) in a discipline that I have work pretty hard at?
But that’s kind of the point here. Kevin Abell has been given a gift, one in addition to the grace of God in his life. That gift is writing. I say this because the writing is good, and it’s not good because he spends time at writing conferences or at a booksellers conventions or even in bookstores for that matter.
Kevin is a mechanic. Kevin is a father of four. Most of his time is spent on those two things.
The genesis of The Edge Of His Cloak is a series of letters (in the form of email) written to his church youth group – and anyone else who was willing to read – a few years ago. In these letters he writes about a range of things, but they all have the common thread of an author whose life has been transformed by meeting and deciding to follow Jesus Christ. The letters are pep talks in a way, but not the type that ignore reality and always end with “Everything is going to be OK.” These pep talks go something like this: “Life is tough. And not just for you – FOR EVERYBODY! Here’s the only thing I’ve found that actually helps me get through life and gives me real joy.”
“And one request-” Abell asks, “if you don’t intend to live for Him, please don’t identify yourself with Him. There are few things as distasteful as a believer who insists on living a life of disobedience… Perhaps for some of us, the most spiritual thing we can do is tell our friends that we are serious idolaters.”
Abell possesses a strength of faith and a clarity of thought that is not only endearing, but also admirable. The book is a remarkable testament of a faith that is both simple and profound; it is a glimpse into the everyday life and extraordinary faith of a mechanic, father, writer, and ordinary Christ-follower. But most of all this is the glorious autobiography of someone who has seen the risen Savior, been wrecked in his gaze, and embraced the only source of true healing.
“I don’t hate myself anymore,” Abell says in a chapter titled “Ongoing Counseling”, “I’ve graduated from self loathing to merely having an inferiority complex. Who knows for sure? Perhaps in 20 years or so I might begin to toy with self confidence.”
Humor is prominent in the book and Abell’s sense and placement of it is good. Dry wit is a strength, both in real life and on the page. Like Donald Miller, he is more willing than most to recognize his own shortcomings and then make light of them. In Abell’s own words,
“I like being this mildly reclusive sarcastic individual who uses his sardonic wit to keep people at bay. Because if I tell people what I actually think and if I say it in a straightforward manner, they might not like what they see.”
From a professional publishing perspective, there are things about the book that need some work. The grammar is not always perfect; the punctuation is odd at times. Despite those things, this is the most professional looking self-published book I’ve seen. In fact it doesn’t look self-published at all.
Despite these few shortcomings, Kevin’s book succeeds at this: (to paraphrase Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets) it “makes me want to be a better man” – and in this case, a better writer as well.
And just so you don’t think Kevin traded a free book for a good review… I paid my $15 bucks for this book, and so should you. It will be well worth your time. Buy it here: Amazon.
