We’re all familiar with the fact that the Civil War happened, but unless we have family stories from it, we may not think about what it was like for the soldiers who fought in it. What they personally experienced and what went through their minds isn’t found in many books. Though a work of fiction, The Journal, written by Beth Harlow, is meant to let us think about the soldiers on a personal level.

Starting with a journal being given to a Confederate soldier, we see the war through the eyes of men on both sides. Being taken and given away, the journal moves around to different battlefields, and to different battles. Men write about what they see and experience, and about what they fear and find comfort in.

The men are at different places in their walk with God, from being a non-believer to a new Christian to a faithful follower, and places in between. As they read over the preceding entries, some realize that they need to make changes, and most are helped by what they read to some degree.

Beth Harlow does a good job of writing The Journal like it was written by people on the battlefield. The people who make entries are not named, which, I think, makes it easier to imagine what it was like. You can put yourself into the entry and see it through your imagination. Seeing what the war could have been like at that personal level can change it from a fact you heard about in history class to something that you realize involved real people. Seeing where they were in their walk with God, especially during a war, can help you get a better idea of where you are in your walk. It provides a fresh set of “eyes.”

I received this book from BookCrash in exchange for reading it and giving it an honest review.