Louder Than The Music

Delirious? - Meet Mrs Smith

Artist:

Delirious?

Title:

Meet Mrs Smith

Type:

Book

Released:

21 Feb 2011

LTTM Rating:

Your Rating:

Review

As the wife of Delirious? front man Martin Smith, you might imagine that Anna Smith's life is perhaps a little less than conventional. You'd be right. Not to be outdone by her husband, who has published an account of his time in the band, Anna has also written a book detailing what you might call the untold story of Delirious? As this saying goes, behind every great man there's a great woman, and from the glowing foreword written by her close friend, Australian worship leader Darlene Zschech, it's clear that Anna is a special lady. Anyone who can bring up...
Read More As the wife of Delirious? front man Martin Smith, you might imagine that Anna Smith's life is perhaps a little less than conventional. You'd be right. Not to be outdone by her husband, who has published an account of his time in the band, Anna has also written a book detailing what you might call the untold story of Delirious? As this saying goes, behind every great man there's a great woman, and from the glowing foreword written by her close friend, Australian worship leader Darlene Zschech, it's clear that Anna is a special lady. Anyone who can bring up an ever growing household, while her husband spends huge parts of the year somewhere on the other side of the world singing to crowds of thousands, clearly has the patience of a saint. This book charts Anna's life with Martin, the things she experienced with him behind the scenes on tours and in studios, and the things she experienced without him while he was away on tour. It goes hand in hand with Martin's own book, often touching on the same events, but from a different perspective.

Filled with the kind of humour and unassuming comedy that only comes from life's natural little jokes, this book has some fabulous moments. "He starts to talk about everything he's experienced in India and how his heart's caving in at the poverty he's seeing", writes Anna about one particular phone call home Martin made. "'Sorry, honey, must be awful,' I say. 'Right, got to go, the broccoli's disintegrating.'" But for every amusing anecdote, there's a serious side to the equation: "As Martin wrestles with the impact of this great poverty he's seeing and experiencing, I'm here trying to hold down the fort. He's getting 'all emotional' about someone else's kids, but all I can think of in that moment is how I need him here. Our children miss their daddy." It's a recurring theme throughout the book. "Both of us were back at work - one performing to crowds of over four hundred thousand and the other wiping bottoms and keeping Pampers in business."

Jumping back to early times in their life, Anna reveals her first impression upon meeting Martin. "great voice, bad suit... He was everything I wasn’t: serious, thoughtful, and introverted, whereas I was outgoing, fun, and the life of the party." As they say - opposites attract. Then there is the painful story of the car crash that nearly killed them both. "I remember seeing him stare at his bloodstained fingers. Apparently, he was pleased that he still had all of them so at least he could play the guitar, even if he had no legs", she recalls.

Ever the true-girl, Anna describes in great detail the proposal, planning the wedding, the ring, the dress and of course the big day itself - even the honeymoon! There's also an in depth look at pregnancy and the arrival of the couples first child, Elle. And then there's child 2. And 3. And yes, you've guessed it 4,5 and incredibly 6! Anna talks openly about each birth, with all the joys and pain that go with it. You will smile with joy at some of the stories about their children, and weep at the story of how she miscarried on a plane journey to America. This at times harrowing story lays bare the emotional roller coaster of life with the Smiths.

Indeed, Anna is not afraid to tell us what she really thinks. "Sometimes I want to ram that microphone where the sun don't shine", she admits! There are also a few little gems about the band that only an insider would know, like Stu G crying at the Disneyland parade, and a minute by minute account of how the band needed a police escort to get to a Bon Jovi gig. Anna also describes a string of musical visitors coming to their home to write or record with Martin: Michael W Smith, Matt Redman, Darlene, Graham Kendrick, Tim Hughes, Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman. It quickly inspires Martin to gather all his songwriting friends for a retreat where songs would be written for the church, raising money to fight poverty, and so CompassionArt was born.

There are extracts from Martin's personal journal as he experiences the heartache of India, and Anna's account of how they all traveled there as a family to see conditions for themselves. "Part of me wished I hadn't seen it. I wished I could pretend I didn’t know about that place, those people. God broke my heart. We watched kids with open sores pick out food and clothes from the trash heaps. The place absolutely stank, and the thousands of flies spread untold diseases-this was hell on earth."

You get a sense of Anna's constant frustration and battle, loving her husband on the one hand whilst struggling to raise an ever growing family and deal with domestic life on her own while he travels the world. "Martin uses his passport more than the children use their library cards!" If anyone was in any doubts why Martin felt the need to leave Delirious then this book gives you the insight that explains it. "What brought blessing and inspiration to thousands of people around the world also brought pain and resentment to our home. The band was always an extraordinary force for good, but our marriage, our children, and our family were important too. The children began to ask where Daddy was, and as they got older they simply needed him to be around."

It truly is the other side of the Delirious? story. A book that many, particularly girls, will enjoy and identify with, filled with moments of hilarity combined with stories of personal tragedy and heartache, plus advice on how to survive it all. Meet Mrs Smith.

Review by Dave Wood & Jono Davies

LTTM Rating 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Articles

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Wife Of Delirious? Lead Singer To Publish Book 'Meet Mrs Smith'

Anna Smith, the wife of Delirious? lead singer and established song writer Martin Smith, is to publish a book giving an insight into life with a rocker. 'Meet Mrs Smith - My Adventures with Six Kids, One "Rockstar" Husband, and a…