Helen Cadbury—Unashamed

What an amazing woman was Helen Cadbury! Apart from the connection with chocolate, I didn’t know what to expect from this biography by Janice Pibworth. As the story unfolds we meet a woman who truly lived out the biblical exhortation to us all in Colossians 4 v 5, ‘make the most of every opportunity’. It is the story of what could be done by a determined Christian woman making the most of the opportunities God gave her.

Some of those opportunities came from her birth into a wealthy family, from an upbringing by godly parents, from joining her two husbands in their ministries, from extensive travel and from a long life. Indeed if you are looking to serve the Lord into old age here is inspiration from a woman who did that till she was 92!

This book brings together a wealth of sources to set Helen in the context of the Cadbury family, indeed it includes documents contributed by current members of the family, and includes a family tree which I found very helpful in identifying the many family members who had a particular influence on Helen. The story is told chronologically and by describing people, like her mother, we see how the example of others contributed to the development of Helen’s character. It is also an emotional story of two loving marriages and the loss of Helen’s only child.

Janice Pibworth presents us with a many faceted character whose story could be told as a life of Christian hospitality, of international travel, of a biographer, a philanthropist and a missionary. It draws us into a period of history when revival meetings and conventions were drawing huge numbers to hear the gospel and the beginning of the work of the Pocket Testament League who continue to put the bible into the hands of people who need to meet Jesus.

I’d really recommend you read this book.

I received this book as a gift - I was unaware of the faith of the early founders of the well known chocolate empire or their involvement with the pocket testament league, which was interesting. Unfortunately, I wouldn't say the book was masterfully written by any means, I felt it didn't really 'flow' to keep the reader interested and was a bit of a boring account of dates and destinations, and was especially dry towards the latter part of the book. I think Kevin Mungons and Rodger Carswell's reviews are embarrassingly overly generous to the author. Helen Cadbury and her family could be difficult to identify with due to the family's wealth. If you want to read an amazing story of a Christian woman who made a difference, you want to read the story of Scottish missionary Mary Slessor who had nothing of the Cadbury's money, priviledge, social standing, education, tea parties, luxury homes or opportunities which Helen enjoyed, but brought the gospel to many thousands in Africa through her hard work, determination and faith in God.