Book Review: My Life with Rev. Sun Myung Moon

A book by David Kasbow
Reviewed by Lynn Criner

Lynn Criner is a Unificationist living in the Washington, D.C., area. She was an editor in the book review section of The World & I.

David Kasbow and his family

David Kasbow, the Unification Family Church pastor in Detroit, has written an autobiography, My Life with Rev. Sun Myung Moon. The book chronicles his experiences in the church beginning in 1973 when he started his church life by taking part in True Father’s early U.S. speaking tours. David has continued in frontline missions for more than forty years.

David Kasbow’s autobiography chronicles the whirlwind of day-to-day activities that True Father initiated out of a deep desire to bring peace to the world. The steps that True Father took to end communism and the activities he pioneered to lay a foundation for peace in the Middle East are explored. True Father’s philosophy of peacemaking, in which enemies must be able to reconcile, as well as some of the amazingly successful ways that worked out in True Father’s life are recorded.

David’s book is a valuable history of the church in America and the role of American Unificationists in the world. The book offers an introduction to True Father’s  vision, his relationship with Jesus, his incredible sense of timing, his interfaith work, some of his most significant and unpredictable victories, and many other aspects of his life and work, including the Holy Marriage Blessing.

David said he wrote the book because “ True Father asked us to write about our lives in the church. When he ascended, it hit me that our experiences with him will never be repeated. I knew we should get them on paper for our children, for Americans and the world. I hope my book will help to keep the legacy of our True Parents alive for the Unificationist-born youth, our new Unificationists and friends, and Americans in general.”

Tom Cutts, National Executive Director of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC), praised the book, saying: “It’s very well written – a real page-turner. I couldn’t put it down and read half of the book in one sitting. I became a Unificationist after David and missed some of the incredible campaigns of the early church in America. David’s perspective as a frontline soldier made me feel I was right there myself. He also offered rich lessons on meeting God and managing a daily life of faith. I am ordering a copy for each of my four children.”

Dr. Tyler Hendricks, former Unification Church president, said of this book, “It is a great testimony to God, True Parents, and the heart of the everyday Unificationists who built this movement. It’s honest, faithful, and has so much love infused in it.”

Unificationist Rose LaLonde from Canada said, “We finally found a book that the whole family enjoys. Our children love the stories David Kasbow shares about the early days of the [Unification Church in America]. It’s truly inspiring and uplifting.”

The book is available on Amazon in both paperback and e-book formats. To make the book as available as possible for younger Unificationists, there is a PDF version on the web that can be accessed for free. Readers’ comments on the website and reviews on Amazon are welcome. The paperback also can be ordered for $12.00 by writing to: My Life with Rev. Sun Myung Moon, P.O. Box 401416, Redford, MI 48240.