The Elephant Talks to God.

Linda M. Bayley is a freelance writer based in Sudbury, Ontario.

“The elephant decided it was time to have a talk with God.” So begins this delightful collection of parables about a curious elephant looking for life’s answers. Some of us talk to God in one way or another, but when the elephant talks, God actually answers in an audible voice from a cloud, a boulder, or even the stars. Following the elephant from youth to parenthood, Dale Estey lets us in on these conversations.

One might think that a book about an anthropomorphic elephant engaged in conversation with the Creator would tend to be either saccharine or heavy-handed, but Estey’s approach here is so light and charming that the reader is drawn in through the sheer joy of the prose, and may only notice later that a question has been raised in his mind. We see the elephant enjoying a good mud bath, trying to fly with the butterflies, accompanying a dying elephant to the elephant graveyard, and always asking questions. God’s answers are not always direct, but they are in turns humorous, sobering, and thought-provoking.

You don’t need to believe in God to benefit from The Elephant Talks to God. This book, if read with an open mind in a quiet place, can evoke laughter and tears, joy and sadness, and even some hope. It is a panacea for the modern illnesses of cynicism, stress, and despair. Everyone, believer or not, should read this book.