Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta, a Book Review

by Lorilyn Roberts

Janet Eckles lost her eyesight at thirty, became the victim of an unfaithful husband, and endured the horrendous murder of her precious 19-year-old son. Who could endure all of that and not be bitter, angry, and hopeless? How could a loving God allow this to happen?

In Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta, Janet Eckles shares her very personal story and tackles these probing questions—and many more that we have all asked when going through unimaginable crises. With Biblical insight, rare sensitivity, appropriate humor and Latino wit, Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta will help you to know God’s perfect love in the quagmire of tragic circumstances. 

Some of my favorite quotes included: 

“But amigas, joy has nothing to do with a trouble-free life. Joy has everything to do with the absence of fear.”

“In all areas of life, unfairness abounds. And justice may be blind. But injustice allows us to discover the beauty of forgiveness.”

“No amount of fear can increase our bank accounts, and no amount of losses can decrease God’s provision.”

“Those bumps aren’t all bad. If they jostle us, that means we’re moving ahead. And we’re not broken down on the side of the road of grief.”

“And with the same strength we use to remove the cheese stuck at the bottom of the tamale casserole, we must scrape away the “loves” that give us a false sense of purpose and satisfaction.”

Are you a woman who longs for a deeper relationship with God? Are you a desperate wife who has been spurned, suffering in silence, or groping through the nightmare of abandonment? Are you reeling from the bruises of broken dreams, shattered goals, financial ruin, or strained family relationships? Are you on the road of dead ends, confusion, and personal mistakes?  Have you dug your own grave of despair? Is hopelessness your middle name?

Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta will help you to learn the power of forgiveness and the secret to being made whole. Janet Eckles, through her physical blindness, has given those of us who see an uncanny spiritual vision into God’s redemptive love in a fallen world.