Review: Born For This: My Story In Music – BeBe Winans

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

BeBe Winans, six-time Grammy Award-winning singer and member of Gospel music's royal family, shares the candid and close-up journey of pursuing his dreams while holding on to his faith.

Benjamin "BeBe" Winans always knew he was born to be a Gospel singer. Growing up watching his four older brothers perform fueled his dream to be on stage, and as teenagers, he and his younger sister CeCe were offered the opportunity to move from Detroit to North Carolina and join the Praise the Lord Singers for The PTL Club, hosted by the eccentric Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.Under the Bakkers' wings, BeBe and CeCe became the most popular televangical stars in America and soon found themselves choosing between their family values and the temptations of fame and fortune.

Like a conversation with a lifelong friend, BeBe invites readers and loyal fans alike to share in never-before-revealed details about life in the crossfires between church, Gospel music, and the mainstream recording industry. He shares personal stories about his mentor Andraé Crouch and close friend Whitney Houston, who both had a major impact on his life.

As he reflects on the obstacles, the disappointments, the victories, the surprises, the racism, and the love he has encountered, he realizes that when we understand our value before God, we can participate in a daily glory and peace for which we were all born.

Everyone knows I love Bebe Winans!

When I found out he was writing a book, I couldn’t contain my joy. At the exact moment, I told Alexa to play one of my favorite songs from BeBe named, These What Abouts. That song carried me through some dark times in my life.

Born For This starts with BeBe discussing his brother, Ronald Winans, and his last moments on this Earth. I couldn’t help but shed a few tears when he talked about the events of that night, especially when he wrote about how his mother handled losing one of her children.

I have always felt that BeBe Winans is a private person, but after reading about Ronald’s passing, I felt that maybe this was the time BeBe would give his fans a bit of the personal BeBe.

The book then addressed the history of the Winans’s name, which believe it or not I found quite interesting. There were other stories about his childhood that he shared, but I don’t want this review to be a summary of the book – so you will have to read the book to find out more about his childhood.

I’m surprised how much of the book, BeBe devoted to PTL Ministries. To the young folks out there – PTL Ministries was the Joel Osteen & TD Jakes of our time (minus the scandals). I grew up watching Jim & Tammy Bakker with my mother – so I found it very interesting hearing the behind the scenes stories of PTL. But after a few pages, I wanted the book to focus back on BeBe.

I did appreciate the learning lessons/reflections that BeBe shared with the readers throughout the book. I do feel that BeBe was a bit reluctant to get too personal with readers.

If you are familiar with BeBe’s music, then you will know it grabs hold of your heart and soothes all of the pain away. BeBe’s music is also a source of joy, especially on the days, you need that extra encouragement. As an avid reader, I wanted the words in the book to have the same effect on me. But unfortunately, it falls flat in that department.

Overall, I enjoyed Born For This by BeBe Winans.

Reviewed by: Orsayor

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