In case you haven’t heard the good news yet, The River was just named #15 on the CBA Top 20 Fiction Bestseller list for January! Keep spreading the word about The River and look out for more updates coming soon!

We wanted to share some great reviews we’ve received so far. As always, we’d love to hear about your own experience with The River, so let us know about it!

This first review is from Kathleen Samuelson, Editor-in-Chief of CBA Retailers + Resources, in her column for October:

The way that Neale describes The River gives it life. The River could be frightening and angry, but also inviting and calm. It provided a foundation on which one’s faith in God could either float in His arms, or fight against the current.

I had the pleasure of seeing Michael Neale perform “The River” in song. recitation, and film last month at Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. He brought the book to life: the struggles, the heartache, the salvation, the joy. And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t miss the ocean so much. But I longed to hear The River.

BookPage had this to say about The River:

Michael Neale’s The River gently sweeps readers along like a leaf in a current as Gabriel struggles with beginning a new life after a terrible loss.

Throughout this artfully crafted story is a genuine sense of The River as a force of nature to be reckoned with, respected and learned from.

And another great review from Booklist:

Neale’s novel is a powerful allegory about faith in something more powerful and mysterious than oneself. Gabriel loved The River as a child, but when it took his father and he was sent to live with his mother in Kansas, he developed a fear of the water. A trip to The River as a teenager reminds him of his connection to this wild place. As he trusts The River to lead him forward, Gabriel’s life flourishes into more than he dreamed it could be while in Kansas. Neale evokes a relationship between his protagonist and nature as real as any Gabriel has with the people around him as he learns that by trusting The River to guide him, he will end up where he is meant to be. The River is not without its rough patches, enabling Neale to illustrate how it is in the toughest situations that we find our way.

Michael Neale is a gifted writer, performer, and masterful storyteller and his novel The River releases on September 18, 2012, and can be purchased online or at your local bookstore. Michael serves on the team of Worship Leaders at Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, where he lives with his wife Leah, and their three children Micah, Maisie, and Wyatt.

With this first work of fiction, readers will find themselves immersed in the lives of John Clarke and his son, Gabriel on what should have been an ordinary day in the wilderness near their home. Then in one moment, life changed for everyone—forever. Chains of fear and resentment imprison Gabriel, keeping him from discovering the treasures of The River. He remains trapped, afraid to take hold of the life awaiting him.

When he returns to The River after years away, his heart knows he is finally home. His destiny is within reach. Claiming that destiny will be the hardest—and most brave—thing he has ever done.

A moving story with a message of forgiveness and redemption, The River will wind a path into your heart in ways you never expected.

Sold-Out Performance of The River Experience Live

On Friday, August 31, at 7 p.m. at the Gardens Campus, Michael Neale performed the Live River Experience with original music, creative storytelling, and stunning visuals to a sold-out crowd of over 2,200 guests! Neale lead the audience through the story of The River with an amazing performance as hundreds of people were moved by the heart of the message and the power of The River.

There was even a fun photobooth available afterwards for people to get their photos taken with Michael. All those great pictures are available here.

The Live River Experience was presented to benefit Hope for Freedom and the efforts to end human trafficking in our nation and around the world. All the proceeds will directly benefit Hope for Freedom and the opening of our new safe house this fall.

Stay Connected with The River

We would love for you to be a part of The River. We’re all friends here, each with a different story and a unique path to travel. Cozy up to the campfire and share your own experience with others.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRiverExperience

Twitter: @TheRiverIsAlive

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/riverexperience/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/theriverofficial

Rss feed: http://www.theriverexperience.com/rss

Download the mobile app for free: The River Experience

The night of the LIVE experience, a young woman in her early twenties was standing in line to have her book signed by Michael. When she was 15 years old, her father passed away. She had never been to church. In fact, her first Sunday of church was the week The River sermon series started and she said God met her so powerfully. After that first Sunday, she came every week, went to the church’s journey class (for new believers and those just coming to CF), and went to The River Experience. She said her life is forever changed by God. She was trapped in a holding pattern for many years but now she knows she was made for The River . . . made for God.

Isn’t it amazing how one experience, one moment, or one word can change a life? Her testimony is a great reminder that while we’re on our own journeys, we should always reach out to others along the way. They were made for The River, too.

If you were able to make it to the sermon series or the LIVE event and have a story to share, we would love to hear from you!