Behind The Smile

Behind The Smile
By Lisa Potts
Hodder & Stoughton. 200 pages. £6.99
ISBN 0 340 72148 0

Behind the Smile is the extraordinary story of an ordinary, bright, lively, enthusiastic youngster's traumatic experiences.
Lisa Potts was working as a nursery nurse in a small primary school in Wolverhampton when a man with a machete ran into the playground and began attacking the children. Without thought for her own safety, Lisa courageously defended the children whilst receiving many injuries herself. She undoubtedly saved many lives that day and has since been awarded numerous tributes including the prestigious George Medal.
This is a fascinating book which is easy to read. Lisa's experiences were truly horrific and the story of how she coped is something that we can all learn from.
As a teenager, Lisa had an uncomplicated faith. It was a pleasure to read of her experiences without any 'jargon'! She knew what she believed; she prayed and studied God's Word; sought guidance and enjoyed the fellowship of a church that proved exceedingly supportive when she needed it. In her own words: 'God had prepared me spiritually for what was to come.'
It was a salutary experience, in reading, to realise how long it takes for a traumatic experience like this to be worked through and the effect it had on the victim and her family and friends. It shows the need to be extended sympathy, understanding and counselling. This story also showed the power of the media on people and situations for both good and evil. I can recommend it to be read widely as it has a message for those in leadership as well as those in the pew.

Val Maidstone

© Evangelicals Now - January 1999
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Main Articles

• Why forgiveness?
  Consideration of the relationship between chuch and state particularly with regard to the political situation in Ireland
• One little foot
  The story of a doctor's struggle with his conscience as to whether he should allow a deformed baby to die at birth
• Juggling work, family and church
  The difficulties of getting the right balance of priorities in our lives
• Feel good about yourself
  The war over self-esteem and self-control (reprinted from World Magazine)
• Proverbs and the power of words
  How words can powerfully affect our thoughts, beliefs, values and thus our actions
• The axe laid to the root
  An extract from a sermon preached in 1931 on the root of man's problem
• Y2K - don't panic!
  The facts and fantasies of the Year 2000 computer bug
• Y2K - is it doomsday?
  The predictions of social breakdown at the turn of the century

Other articles

• Hope Floats
• Thank You God - A Book of Children's Prayers
• Brief reviews of various books suitable as Christmas presents
• The King's Collection - CD recording of the choir of King's College in Cambridge
• Matters of Life and Death - An extract from the book Matters of Life and Death showing how the Hippocratic - Christian consensus guiding all doctors is being eroded
• God - The Evidence (The reconciliation of faith and reason in a post-secular world)
• Legend - The Genesis of Civlisation
• Interpreting Charismatic Experience
• Behind The Smile
• Awaiting the Millennium - A history of end-time thinking
• People Who Made History
• For the Love of God - A Daily Companion to Discovering God's Word
• 365 Days with Spurgeon