This inspiring and incredibly true story of how Bart Millard was led to write MercyMe’s hit song “I Can Only Imagine” had me on an emotional roller coaster that ended in the best way possible.

Bart Millard shares the story of his life and the journey he traveled with his abusive father. After a car hit his father on a construction site, the once happy and nicest guy around became an angry and bitter “monster.” The target of his anger? Bart himself. Bart never had the opportunity to know the nice guy his father once was, but instead was subjected to emotional and sometimes physical abuse. At the age of 8 Bart was left by his mother and forced to stay with his abusive father. After feeling abandoned, he did not know what to do. Because of this, Bart took solace in his church and built a family around it to escape from the depression of his home life. Not only did the church and his faith help him, but his love for music as well.

When Bart was only 15, his father was diagnosed with cancer. This was a pivotal point in their lives. His dad became more dedicated to the church, cultivating his relationship with Christ, and trying to right his wrongs with his son. Their relationship became one of love a friendship instead of hatred and anger.

After the death of his father, Bart channeled everything he went through to write MercyMe’s number one hit song. Not only was it a hit in Christian music, but mainstream music around the world. The song meant so much to Bart and, come to find out, it would also hold a lot of meaning to their fans. This story was a wonderful journey to forgiveness and much more.

I absolutely loved this book. It hit home in so many ways. I know what it is like to suffer through emotional abuse and I have also come to the point of forgiveness and realized that it is a necessary thing in order live in happiness. Not only that, but I, too, use music as my escape and have for much of my life. I can’t even explain how great it is to hear someone else’s story, knowing that I can relate so heavily.

I could not put this book down and read it in one day. I definitely recommend reading this book for anyone. It is Christian based, but I personally feel that just adds to the incredible nature of the story.

Overall, I gave this book a 5 star rating!

Be sure to check out the Major Motion picture based on his story coming out March 16th! It looks fantastic!