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The Shack Summary
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Michele Janz

The Shack

The Shack, written by William P. Young, is a fictional Christian story written in an autobiographical narrative. The title of the book is a metaphor for “the house you build out of your own pain”, as the author explained in an interview with radio talk show host, Drew Marshall. The Shack "is a metaphor for the places you get stuck, you get hurt, you get damaged...the thing where shame or hurt is centered, it is the “icon of Mack’s deepest pain.” The story is the tale of Mackenzie Phillips, known as Mack and his family who have suffered the tragedy of the kidnapping and murder of Missy, their youngest child. For 33 years, Mack has been married to Nan, a nurse working with terminal cancer patients. She also lectures about establishing relationships with God when you are dying. They have five children, college aged to elementary. The book is broken into two parts, before and after the ‘Great Sadness’, which is how Mack describes his painbefore and after
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Upon his journey, he is in a serious accident and almost killed, while recovering, he discovers that he was not at the shack all weekend, instead the wreck happened on Friday, the same day he left. When he tells his unbelievable story to Nan and his friend Willie (the author), despite it incredibility, they believe him. He later takes police to find the cave where he and God had retrieved Missy’s body, and she is still there. With the evidence that was found, the other victims were located and the Little Lady Killer was arrested. According to his friend Willie, Mack is hoping for a revolution revolving around Jesus in the world, centered on love and service. He had seen a profound transformation in Mack. The Great Sadness is gone. Mack now lives a life filled with joy and simplicity amidst his community of

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