{Book Review}
The Magnolia Story
By Chip & Joanna Gaines
with Mark Dagostino
In this short little book, we readers get a peak into the lives of the stars of HGTV’s hit show Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines. The Magnolia Story tells of how the two met, got their start in business, and their struggles to make a career for themselves.
Review: I’m a pretty big HGTV fan, but I’m very picky about the shows that I watch. Part of drew me to Fixer Upper isn’t just the design style that I love, but the sweet, natural costars, Chip and Joanna Gaines. On the show, the two have an easy-going banter. They portray a strong love of life, family, and their work. I found the couple immediately likable.
Everything that drew me to the pair on television was just as apparent in The Magnolia Story. The short book (under 200-pages) is set up to show the dialog between the two (each has a different font that carries through the book). The book is really Chip and Joanna telling the story of their lives, interjecting to add commentary, a forgotten thought, or their own perspective. As I read it, I could hear the two speaking in my head, in that very natural way you see on television.
The book focuses not on the Fixer Upper show so much as the pair’s beginnings – how they met, their courtship, and their start in the house-buying/house-flipping/restoration/home design/home decor businesses. Yes, multiple businesses. So many that I didn’t bother to count. The pair encountered countless challenges but persevered through hard work, commitment to each other, their work and their community, and their faith.
And those are really the 3 themes that carry through the book that are perhaps underplayed on the show. The pair have a strong commitment to family and community. They work incredibly hard in what they love, to be successful and so that they don’t let others down. And finally, they have an unshakable Christian faith, a belief that they’re following God’s plan, and that God is taking care of them.
For fans of Fixer Upper, The Magnolia Story is a must-read. It’s the story of Chip and Jo, in their own words. It shows two people who stay true to themselves and their beliefs. I walked away from the book, with a new appreciation for Chip and Jo and the work they’ve done. They are genuinely good people who work hard, which makes me like them and their hit show all the more.