As I Have Loved You By Kitty de Ruyter Covenant Communications, 1994. 165 pages. ISBN: 1-55503-707-0 Suggested retail price: $13.95 (US) Audience: Probably LDS Adults, mature teens may like it
Reviewed by: Patrick Wagman

When I signed up for this book the description from Covenant said something to the effect that it was a conversion story. I guess that is true but it was not what expected.

The book starts when Sister de Ruyter is a child in Indonesia, right before the start of WW II. She describes a childhood that sounds like something better than a fairy tale: beautiful place to live, very well to do family, the family liked by the neighbors, servants including a nany for each child, very strong and loving parents (part Dutch part Indonesian), and an overall ideal life. Then the Japanese invade and the family well never be the same.

When the Japanese come life becomes a nightmare. First the family is held in house arrest, the father is taken captive, and escapes several times, and became part of the underground and finally the rest of the family is taken to an internment camp. Sister de Ruyter does an excellent job of helping the reader experience the brutality of the camp and the war, with out being terribly graphic, I think that is a rare, and exceptional trait today. After the camps are liberated life does not return to "normal." The family home is "stolen" by locals who have decided to rebel against the Dutch and the family because it is part Dutch, is relocated to the Netherlands.

For most of the book, the LDS church is mentioned once: by an American serviceman who dies cradled in the arms of Sister de Ruyter and her Mother. When they are in the Netherlands the family is introduced to the Church. And resisted by Sister de Ruyter's mother. The book focuses on the strength and love of the Savior and the incredible unwavering faith her mother had in Him. It seems to me As I Have Loved You is about unending faith and being blessed and knowing it even in the face of unthinkable horror. It is about maintaining and strengthening your faith in the Savior throughout your life, regardless of what is happening.

Is the book worth reading? Yes! It is well written but even more than that it is an incredible testimony of faith and enduring to the end. I mentioned in the beginning that this was not what I expected, let me try to explain. When I think of my "conversion story" I think of a short period of time starting around November 1991 and ending in March 1992 when I was baptized. I had never thought before that my entire life story comes into play in a persons conversion, but through this book I realized it does.

I knew the book was excellent when my wife read it first. She reads short stories, things she can walk away from quickly when someone needs attention. Since we have been married I have rarely seen her sit down and read a book cover to cover. She started As I Have Loved You late Saturday afternoon and handed it back to me Sunday afternoon.