October 4th, 2010 
davidguide 
Product Description
Therese’s brother and best friend, Steve, went on a business trip. He never came home. Steve was shot and killed in a Greenville, SC parking lot after an argument with a complete stranger went too far. From disbelief and anger to grief and acceptance, six years later, Therese’s journey is just beginning. Coffee Shop God will inspire forgiveness and healing in us all…. More >>
Posted in Uncategorized 
Tags:
Coffee Shop God is a book that resulted from the murder of the author’s brother. Yet for me the book is more about living than dying. Therese meets life head on and entices her readers with both honesty and humor. You can not help but be enriched by reading it.
Rating: 5 / 5
I began to read this book with some trepidation. It is written by someone I know, and that is always something to pause and contemplate before one opens the pages of a book. I have not known Therese Bartholomew for very long, six months at this writing, but I was still concerned. What if I didn’t like her writing? What would I say? I knew that she had experienced a horrible loss in 2003–the death of her beloved brother, a violent, sudden crime that was the epitome of the word “senseless.” I knew that she had suffered a lot as a result of what happened. Therese is a warm, sensitive, articulate and intelligent woman. I knew all that. But could she write a book?
The answer, unequivocably is “yes.” This book took me by surprise, drew me in, and never let me leave once I opened it. The author’s authenticity and creative skills are apparent on page one. She is a consummate storyteller, and as terribly tragic as this story is, she tells it seamlessly. It’s structure is sound, its wording, direct and engaging. More importantly, however, in places the feelings are raw, filled with emotion–anger, resentment, regret, unfathomable sadness, and even on occasion, self-pity. She is never afraid to reveal herself in all her pain and confusion. In spite of its strong emotional content, the author never plays to your emotions. It is all so very real, visceral, and most of all, honest.
At one point in the story, Therese asks herself if she should hate the man who killed her brother. Her decision to explore her feelings throughout this entire journey helps her answer that question. The book also offers hope to those who have lost loved ones, whatever the circumstances.
I am not a religious person, but a phrase from the New Testament kept going through my mind when I read Coffee Shop God. It was: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” I think this book will bring rest and peace to those who have suffered much, and it will bring hope and inspiration to anyone, no matter where they may be on their journey.
Rating: 5 / 5
Coffee Shop God is a straight-forward account of unfathomable loss where an honest soul is bared, a universal truth is wrenched from the gut of the author and the reader is left holding an unexpected gift.
The author gives an emotionally raw and painfully honest account of the days and weeks that follow the fatal shooting of her beloved younger brother. In this collection of essays, Bartholomew writes the things one might think but would probably never speak aloud. “Dad knows, like all of us, that Joe is the son who should be dead.-the middle of the night phone call son.” But she doesn’t leave herself out of this because later as she looks around at her family, she writes, “I wonder, if they, like me, are running down a list of people they’d rather see dead. I blink slow and heavy and wonder if I’m on their lists.”
The reader experiences the horrific late night phone-calls, the funeral arrangements, the police investigation, a courtroom encounter with the sister of her brother’s killer and even scenes from the author’s living-room; scenes we all have anxiety over but most of us have never experienced first-hand. Bartholomew speaks to us in heartache and humor revealing a refreshingly brave humanity. Bartholomew’s story is so redemptive, in the most unexpected way, that I had to turn right back to the first page and read it again. I then sent my copy off in the mail to a friend and purchased another copy for myself the very next week. Heads up readers..this is at least a three hanky read.
Rating: 5 / 5
I read this book in one day and could not put it down. Your emotions turn full cirlce in the book. I still find myself quoting things from the book and smiling when I think about it. I have made everyone that I know read it and they can’t put it down either when they start.
Rating: 5 / 5
Therese Bartholomew’s short, yet powerful memoir, Coffee Shop God takes the reader through the journey of a sister’s grief of her lost brother. In 2003, two days before Valentine’s Day, Therese’s younger brother, Steve, was shot in the chest by Karl Staton at a Greenvile, SC-area strip club. Steve and Karl had an argument over Karl’s girlfriend and Karl shot Steve in the heart, killing him instantly. The title of the book comes from Therese trying to find Steve so that she can have some hope. While in her neighborhood coffee shop, she meets a man who is also grieving and they comfort each other. She believes this is God’s sign to her that Steve is in heaven and that there is a God.
This book is comprised of 10 essays which discuss the moment the family found out about Steve’s death, to the days and weeks immediately following the tragedy, and, finally, to discovering the new normal of living in a world without Steve. Therese is a master of funneling the senses we ignore (smell, sound, taste and touch) into powerful word pictures that capture the moment without sentimentality or prolonged trauma. She is matter-of-fact in her delivery, yet poignant and emotionally raw all at the same time. Therese also lets her humor shine through, especially when she acknowleges how much time she spends in her pajamas with “pajamas are my favorite clothes.”
Therese describes Steve as her soulmate. She says, “My little brother is alone somewhere, and I need to be there. I need us to be kids again, snuggled in the same top bunk. I need to spend summer hours crouched in our gravel driveway, feeling my palms brush and push the rocks to the side, creating cities and towns and neighborhoods for our Matchbox cars.” She later says, “With one phone call, my little brother became a permanent was in my life. I can’t grasp the concept of him as past tense — a phase like bangs or an ex-boyfriend.”
Steve was also extremely close to Therese’s children, especially Jessica, whom she had while still in high school. She describes Steve as giving her unconditional love and support when her ex-boyfriend stopped returning her calls.
Besides Therese’s point of view, we also hear from her parents, her older brother, her niece, nephew and daughter. These voices will be even more fully heard on her upcoming documentary, “The Final Gift,” which will be released in late 2009 or early 2010. In this film, she addresses what her brother’s killer’s life must be like now and how society makes peace with crime.
I had the pleasure of hearing Therese read her essay, “Sisters,” from her book at the June Open Mic I facilitated in Wake Forest at Storytellers Bookstore. She commanded the room with her words, especially in passages such as this one where she’s in the courtroom bathroom moments before the killer’s sentencing. “The door opens and someone moves into the stall next to mine. I flush instinctively even though I’ve only been taking up this space. A toilet flushes and takes my moment with it. The woman comes out and joins me at the next sink. I look over toward her in that awkward bathroom moment with a stranger.”
I wish this book would have been longer so I could have had more opportunity to enjoy Therese’s powerful writing. Even though the subject matter is very dark and full of struggle, you finish the book knowing Therese is able to transcend the somber tone into one of hope and forgiveness. She concludes with, “Fear is the truest opposite of faith. I force myself to choose faith every day.”
Rating: 3 / 5