When I heard about this memoir, I was so excited to then get an ARC through NetGalley. I love memoirs and I love chronic illness memoirs. I also love memoirs about motherhood, so this seemed like the perfect book for me. But I just... I didn't like it as much as I thought I was going to.

The storyline was good, well written, well plotted out. But it was more the writing style that I just didn't particularly get on with--though it worked well enough that I was able to finish the book. But I just found myself skipping over and skim-reading a lot of the religious parts. I understand that religion is hugely important to the writer, but I can't personally relate to this, and so I was more interested in the on-page interactions between Marcy and other characters, than her 'letters' to God. There did seem to be a lot of lamentation in these letters, which is understandable. I'm chronically ill and I know the frustration--but I found it laborious to read those parts, maybe because they did hit close to home, in part.

This is one of those stories where is it truly difficult to believe is true. She gets a meningitis infection that puts her in a coma. When she wakes up, she thinks she is a child and not a woman with three children. What a journey! I scarcely knew what to think. Her life before didn't sound great and I can see why one would want to wipe the slate clean and begin again.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with an ARC copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An interesting read but definitely one I have mixed feelings on. The story is mainly about the author's memory loss, a thirteen year memory loss that happened about 25-30 years ago after suffering from meningitis and going into a coma. It was interesting to learn about the author's experience and how she tried to overcome everything. Overall, a good read.

Marcy Gregg’s story begins with the happy ending: her first solo art show and the loving support of family and friends. Who would have guessed that twenty-five years before, Marcy woke up from a coma with no memory of her husband, her two sons, her new baby, or anything about the past thirteen years of her life?

When her memory failed to return, the continual pressure of bluffing her way through life shook Marcy to the core and rendered all her coping strategies useless. Her healing process began when she recognized her weakness.

Marcy’s interest in painting emerged like a lost memory. Loading huge canvases with paint became a spiritual practice and put the truth of Philippians 4:13 on display: In Christ’s strength, she was able to believe that her painting would be a tool for spreading God’s Word.

Blank Canvas is an uncluttered memoir in which the author shares her story without becoming bogged down in self help or “devotionalizing.” The blank canvas of memory loss proved to be a devastating challenge, but trust in God freed Marcy to look beyond the blank canvas and to see a new beginning.

What “missing pieces” from your own life could become, instead, a space reserved for God’s creative work?

Many thanks to Tyndale House for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

This book is mostly about the author's memory loss and her response to that, but it also talks about alcohol addiction, chronic illness, and the author's painting career.

While I understand these were all parts of her story, the narrative felt somewhat disconnected to me because of that.

The book had a co-author, as the author isn't a writer, and I felt the same about this book that I feel about all books written by a third party and/or a "non-writer" - there was a lot of telling instead of showing, and it dragged on for too long.

I did appreciate how Gregg shared her failings and God's faithfulness, pointing readers back to Him.

This is a well-written book with an interesting story about Marcy Gregg who lost thirteen years of her memory after suffering from meningitis and going into a coma. Some parts did drag a little.

I am wary and a bit skeptical about near-death experiences and sightings of people who are not there so that did bring down my opinion of this book, I'm afraid.

3 stars from me.

Blank Canvas
by Marcy Gregg
Pub Date: May 24, 2022
Tyndale Momentum
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I enjoy reading biographies and this is a good one. This is the remarkable story of a woman who lost herself and tried to fight her way back on her own but who found unexpected beauty in hope, faith, and second chances.
3 stars

A very interesting story, but hard to fully believe here because 1) the vast majority of it happened 25-30 years ago, 2) the author suffers has great memory loss due to the coma, 3) so much is conversational and how can you really quote someone, describe what they were wearing, 30 years after the fact -- unless every single small detail of every day was journaled? It's well-written, aside from a few lines that are repeated as if they're a brand new thought (not a thread the author is trying to weave, but a new idea each time in the book)... but in the acknowledgements, it appears that the book has a ghost writer (not Marcy).