by A. Y. Ford

Created on: July 17, 2010

“Rebel With a Cause” by Franklin Graham tells of his personal experiences with the challenges as well as the blessings of being born the son of Billy Graham. Franklin discussed how he often knew what was expected off him, even as a young child, and yet how he went astray as a teen and young adult. His rebellion took him in the wrong direction for a period of time.

Franklin shared fondly about his mother and father and the ways they supported him and loved him even when he was not making the choices they would have wished he would make. He shared things about his parents that may seem out of character for the public figures people know them to be. He shared about his mother hiding a snake in his suitcase before he left on his honeymoon. He allowed the reader to see a playful fun side of her that many would not otherwise know about.

There were many other influential people in Franklin’s life that he wrote about as well. He had friends he turned to when he needed help and he had friends that helped lead him into the ministry he is still involved in to this day. Throughout the book he shared his struggles as well has his triumphs. One time in his life that was full of both was when he began his involvement with Samaritan’s Purse which he was still actively involved in at the writing of this book. From reading this book it is clear that Franklin has a heart to help hurting people, and even though that may in part have been influenced by being the son of Billy Graham there are other events in his life that helped this heart to develop.

He discussed his struggles with smoking and drinking and how strong Christian friends helped him get over these addictions. He also told the reader about how he met his wife to be and how they began dating and eventually were married.The perspective shared in this book is one of humbleness and thankfulness for how far Franklin has come since his early years of rebellion. As the subtitle states this is the story of how Franklin became, “Finally comfortable being Graham.”

This book could be an encouragement to parents who have a teen that may not be making choices that line up with the principles under which they were raised. This book could also be an encouragement to anyone who has personal struggles with life choices. This was a great read and I highly recommend it.

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