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Struggle Bus: The Van. The Myth. The Legend. is the debut title by author Josh Wood. Struggle Bus is based on the adventures that Josh’s family experienced while owning a 15 passenger van. I became familiar with the Wood family’s adventures after reading the van’s brutally honest and hilarious Craiglist ad that went viral. In the post, Josh had included a link to his blog and when I learned that he and his family are also Christians living in Texas, I signed up for his blog’s email updates. A while after the post had gone viral, Josh announced that a book based on the ad was in the works and I’ve been looking forward to reading it ever since.
Each chapter of the book begins with a section of the Craigslist ad. Within the chapters, Josh expounds on the details of that part of the ad and gives readers a front-row seat to the crazy antics that naturally accompany parenting. Reading about the Wood family was truly delightful. It is evident to me that they love God and each other which is why they are able to enjoy life even when it is crazy.
Some parts of the book include Josh’s thoughts about how the Bible applies to various aspects of life. I really enjoyed reading these and found them to be greatly encouraging. At one point in the book, Josh gave a brief overview of what biblical marriages ought to look like. Although this book isn’t about marriage, it is clear that Josh and his wife Careese love each other and I found this to be such a sweet picture of how Christ loves His bride, the church.
As a parent, I was able to relate to many of the things that Josh and Careese have experienced. I laughed out loud many times while reading the book but laughed the most while reading the chapter on vomit. I suppose this is probably because at the time our family had just endured a round of the stomach flu and I could relate to the horrors Josh described.
Overall, Struggle Bus is pure fun and I highly recommend it. I look forward to reading more from Josh in the future.
