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Fireproof | 
| Authors: Eric Wilson, Alex Kendrick, Stephen Kendrick
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $10.19
You Save: $4.80 (32%)
Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 1513
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 1595547169
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781595547163
Publication Date: September 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Inside burning buildings, Captain Caleb Holt lives by the firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner. Yet at home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules. Growing up, his wife Catherine always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter . . . just like her father. Now, after seven years of marriage, she wonders when she stopped being "good enough." Countless arguments and anger have them wanting to move on to something with more sparks. As they prepare for divorce, Caleb's father challenges him to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees, for his father's sake more than for his marriage. Surprised by what he discovers about the meaning of love, Caleb realizes that his wife and marriage are worth fighting for. His job is to rescue others. Now Captain Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever . . . rescuing his wife's heart.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 A Message Worth Fighting For September 17, 2008
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Fireman Caleb Holt puts his life on the line every day to save others. Despite his hard work ethic and dedication to his job, the flames that were once so evident in his marriage have begun to sizzle out. After eight years of mediocrity and disappointment Catherine Holt has filed for divorce. Caleb now comes to a crossroads where he must decide between giving up and staying to fight for the woman he loves. Searching for answers, Caleb reaches out to his father never anticipating how his life will soon change. Caleb is now ready to set out on the ultimate dare to fight for his marriage like his has never fought for anything before.
Firpeproof is the third collaboration between novelist Eric Wilson and filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick (the team behind Facing the Giants and Flywheel). As with the previous film projects, Eric Wilson does a masterful job of taking a screenplay and transforming it into a fantastic story with inspiring characters and a challenging message.
We live in a society where the marriage relationship is not appreciated or taken very seriously. The easy thing to do when things get difficult is to divorce, and we see this pattern played out over and over again for so many couples. Fireproof is a story written to challenge our culture's perspective on marriage. Yes, we get some great action sequences and suspenseful moments throughout, but the heart of this story is found in Caleb's resolve to save his marriage and fight for the woman he loves.
Eric Wilson brings this struggle to life throughout the pages, drawing us deeper into Caleb and Catherine's problems. I really appreciate the way that neither Caleb nor Catherine is shouldered with the blame, rather we see how both are equally responsible for the plight they are in. Wilson takes us into the depths of Caleb's struggle with purity and the darkness that resides there. Our glimpses of Catherine's flirtations with infidelity are eye-opening and equally as frightening.
Fireproof is certainly different than the suspense/supernatural thrillers we've come to expect from Eric Wilson. However, in many ways this may be one of the most important messages Wilson has tackled in his writing career. This story has the potential to change the way our culture looks at marriage and it is my sincere hope and prayer that this novel and the film will work together to do just that. My hat's off to Eric Wilson and The Kendrick Brothers for treating us with yet another soul stirring reminder of what is truly important and what it takes to fight for it.
(By the way, if you enjoyed Eric's writing in this book....then you will be blown away by his novel, Field of Blood (Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy, Book 1). AMAZING!!!)
 Mixed Feelings September 21, 2008
13 out of 23 found this review helpful
Of the three novels based on the Kendrick brother's movies, this one is definitely the best. I have not watched Fireproof the movie, so I'm unsure of the differences between the two. I'm assuming, like Facing the Giants, it follows pretty closely to the movie with added descriptions and a filled out story line.
The marriage between Caleb and Catherine Holt appears to be over. Dialogue turns to arguments, hurtful words are thrown about, and tempers run hot in their marriage. Long gone are the days of tenderness and pursuit. They've been replaced with accusations and temptations. When both decide it's time to divorce, Caleb's dad offers his son a challenge that changes not only his attitude, but his life. But is his change enough to win back the heart of his wife?
I'll admit, I haven't been a big fan of the Kendrick brother's movies. I can forgive low budget, but I've really struggled with their theology. It's been way to close to the health and wealth gospel which I do not at all subscribe to. I've also found their previous works to bludgeon the audience with scripture, large sermons, and heavy Baptist teaching. After reading Flywheel this spring, I was more than a little skeptical about picking up another book based on their movies. But, I got it for free, so why not?
There are some pretty good things about the story that I like, but some other aspects that weren't that great. It's still a little to close to the health and wealth teaching than I'm comfortable with, but at least it's not from start to finish. I also found myself really not liking Catherine. While both Caleb and Catherine were victims, it almost felt like we should feel deeply for Catherine. Personally, I found her annoying, but it certainly brought out the need to love everyone regardless. Additionally, I felt like a little bit too much time was spent on Caleb's short comings and not enough on Catherine's faults. They were both human, and both deeply flawed. While I understand the main plot was about Caleb's journey, I felt it was too one sided and almost unfair.
I'm also a little confused as to why it was never outright stated that Caleb had a problem with internet pornography. At least that was the definitely impression I was left with. I don't know why that issue was so tip toed around. Another annoying issue is the fact the relationship between Catherine and Dr. Keller was dropped. It disappeared and it seemed to be an situation that deserved some confrontation and resolution.
There were some very good lessons taught concerning marriage and our views of marriage. Also present was the power of prayer and friendship. Unlike the previous two novels, there weren't any highly questionable interpretations of scripture, which was a very nice change.
I realize with the novels, Wilson is basing them on the movie script, so he doesn't have a lot to work with as far as the over all story line is concerned. I think he nursed about as much as he could from a story whose ending is not particularly realistic. If you're familiar with the Kendrick brother's work, the ending follows the same pattern. There is some good drama, especially with the fire scenes, and I think Wilson does a great job of writing those. With the exception of Catherine, the characters are of the same high quality I've come to expect from Wilson's writing.
Overall, I have mixed feelings. The storyline itself is better than Facing the Giants and Flywheel and the theology is definitely better. However, there's just an unsettling feeling when I read these books. They don't portray the reality of a relationship with God very accurately. While Fireproof was better, it was still idealistic and somewhat fairtaleish.
Unlike Facing the Giants, I did not watch the movie first, so this review is based solely on what I thought about the book as whole and is evaluated as I would any other Christian fiction novel.
Proof Positive Work of Greatness! September 12, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
In case nobody has noticed, Eric Wilson is getting pretty good! Ok, cut through it already, he's better than most. So much so that Alex and Stephen Kendrick trust him with screenplays that they wrote, and Eric was chosen to do the novelization. In my opinion, that's great! Let's just say that with "Fireproof," Eric Wilson decides to turn up the heat.
Who would not want to be in the shoes (or boots) of Caleb Holt? He's a man's man, he's in charge, and he's one of the youngest to be promoted to Captain. He's a hard working firefighter. There is no doubt you'll see his name in the papers, maybe on the evening news. The man's a hero. But with all due respect, you'd better convince Catherine that. Who's Catherine? That would be Caleb's wife. They fell in love once upon a time, and now are preparing for the easiest way to go separate ways. The idea of communication, let alone eye contact between these two is nothing short of eruption in the home. And the marriage looks to go up in smoke.
But Caleb's dad isn't about to give up so quickly, and he dares him. He dares Caleb Holt with a 40 day commitment called, "The Love Dare." And what Caleb thought he knew about love is about to reach a whole new level. The stakes are going to be high. The question is, how badly does Caleb want this marriage to survive? Does he love his wife just as badly as he loves fighting a fire?
This is a movie I've looked forward to, and after reading this, even more so! Eric Wilson shines with this effort. He knows how to keep a reader's attention. And he knows how to make it special. And I give a special thanks to Eric Wilson. Thank you!
Fireproof!!! September 11, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Eric Wilson does it again with his newest novelization of a Kendrick brothers movie. I cant compare this to the movie as I have not seen it yet(but after reading the book I cant wait to see it). The book is about Captain Caleb Holt, an Albany Georgia firefighter who risks his life daily to put out fires and to save lives but it seems that the fire in his 7-yr marriage seems to be going out. His wife says that she doesnt love him and all they do is yell at each other. When Calebs father tells him to give it 40 days and to take the Love Dare, he decides to give it one more go. A great story with great characters. I highly recommend reading the book if you have seen the movie or even if you havent. The only thing though is if you read the book before seeing the movie you may be a little disappointed as Eric Wilson adds a lot of back story and character devolpment that is not in the movie. My wife has also started reading the book and she loves it so far. Again a great book by a great author.
 Fireproof September 21, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Good story, deals with very difficult marriage issues, more about love and marriage, than about mystery or action which the title might lead you to believe. It made me cry and laugh which says a lot about the authors ability to connect you with the characters. It encouraged me to fire proof my marriage.
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