Fearless in 21 Days: A Survivor's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety by Sarah E. Ball

Fearless in 21 Days: A Survivor's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety by Sarah E. Ball
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to have a free digital ARC copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I really appreciated the author freely sharing her story of her mental breakdown. She was a very overworked wife and mother who finally reached her breaking point and suffered panic attacks several times a day. In this book, she gives very practical advice on how to overcome anxiety through good advice and scripture. She has wonderful advice on how to better take care of your physical body as well as your mind, emotions, and spiritual self.

I would recommend this book for anyone who is or has ever suffered from anxiety or has a loved one who has went through it.

View all my reviews

The Man He Never Was by James Rubart

The Man He Never Was: A Modern Reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde by James L. Rubart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to have a free digital ARC of this book.

Toren is a professional football player who deals with major anger issues that stemmed from his childhood. His anger went through the roof when he stopped playing football and had no where else to let go of his anger. His anger affected his two children and his once wonderful marriage. One day Toren wakes up in a hotel and realizes that he's lost about 9 months of his life. He has no memory of what happened in those 9 months. When he goes home, his wife faints and his children are in shock. They had already had a funeral for him because he was presumed dead! The rest of the book focuses on Toren's search for what happened to him during the lost 9 months as well as emotional and spiritual healing that he never would have dreamed possible.

I enjoyed this book. It was part mystery and drama. I loved the connection that this book has with the classic works of Jekyll and Hyde as well as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Much of the struggle that Toren has in this book is a metaphor of the struggle each Christian faces with the old man and the new man. There were times right before the climax of the book where I was about to stop reading it because it got a little bit too "out there". However, I am glad I kept reading, because the resolution brought wonderful spiritual truths that I will probably remember for a long time.

View all my reviews

Blessed are the Misfits by Brant Hansen

Blessed Are the Misfits: Great News for Believers who are Introverts, Spiritual Strugglers, or Just Feel Like They're Missing Something by Brant Hansen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to have a free digital ARC of this book to review.

I cannot begin to explain how much I liked this book! I had never heard of the author, Brant Hansen, but I am sure that from now on I will read whatever he writes! The author has a podcast called Brant and Sherri's Oddcast (I have also added their podcast to my favorites as well). Mr. Hansen has had a struggle throughout his life fitting in to society (he was diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum as an adult) and church culture. His father was a well-loved preacher who actually had a terrible mental problem behind closed doors. Despite his childhood, the author is a Christian - but a Christian who looks at church culture just a little differently.

This book reads kindof like the Beatitudes to me. Each chapter starts out with "Blessed are the....." Some of the chapters are "Blessed are .... those who landed on the wrong planet, the unfeeling faithful, the introverted evangelical, the people who can't pray, the wounded, those who don't have amazing spiritual stories, the introverts who keep trying, the meloncoly and depressed, the unnoticed, the lonely, and misfit royalty (those with disabilities)." If you find yourself in any of those categories, do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

Mr. Hansen's writing style is brutally honest. I walked away from reading this book with a renewed confidence that although I may not be what the typical "church member" looks like, I have just as much worth as her. I have a "love-hate" relationship with my introvertism, and frequently feel very much inferior in Christian circles. "Blessed are the Misfits" was like a ice pick that gradually chipped away the ice wall that I have built up around me to protect me from my perceived inferiority in the church.

I don't typically read books twice, but I have a feeling that this book will be one that I bring out several times in the future.

View all my reviews