Magnificent Strength of Heart: A Memoir of War, Faith and Family

Picture a loving husband and father devoted to the Christian message of faith. Add a gregarious, opinionated wife and mother who, along with their three daughters, embark upon a journey to El Salvador in a red and white Volkswagen van decked out in checkered curtains. For the Perez family, their missionary aspirations to serve and help others soon take a turn towards a different kind of survival: their own physical lives and mental peace of mind. Tense border checkpoints crawling with armed militia, home invasions, even neighborhood kidnappings to raise money for terrorist factions. These were weekly occurrences in the 1970s in this country whose name, ironically, means "The Savior."

In her intriguing memoir, Belinda McDanel exposes the dense beauty of this Central American region that borders the Pacific Ocean as well as government corruption in tandem with religious leaders' involvement with terrorist groups. To survive this intense two-year journey, it would take a family unwavering in their devotion to each other, humble obedience to family rules, an indomitable inner spiritual strength steeled by formidable physical resiliency. This family had all the right attributes to not only return to their native United States unharmed, but they emerged stronger in their faith, their family bond and their resolve to always obey the paramount, overarching rule taught by their father: We must stick together as a family because the enemy is somewhere outside the front door.

The Perez family middle child, Belinda Perez McDanel, recounts family stories. With raw honesty she enters the depths of pain with a rare gift to feel deeply, and to be thrown about by chaos and strife but doesn't get stuck there. With an evening ritual she returns to peace. To go from experiencing pain -- no numbing, no denial, and no minimizing-- to peace by the time her head hits her pillow shows magnificent strength of heart.