Scan barcode
maceykae's review against another edition
5.0
This book took me an extremely long time to read but that is not a reflection of the content, wellness, or “applicable-ness”. I started it and then put it down for months. I recently picked it back up and read a few chapters every morning while I drank my coffee. It was such a thoughtful read. Even if you would not categorize something you experienced as “spiritual abuse” but have felt wounded, unheard, or mistreated by someone who was a part of your church community, I definitely recommend this book!!
leh97's review
5.0
No resource has given me more courage or hope in the wake of church trauma than this one. I am also bowled over by the interdisciplinary prowess: part memoir, part exegesis, part theological treatise, part trauma psychology 101 (and beyond). And the writing is gorgeous?????? I’ve never appreciated or admired a book more.
10_4tina's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Excellent. Resonant. Beautiful. Raw.
I am really grateful for this book after a wounding church season and longterm health challenges myself. The relatability and the encouragement to keep acknowledging God near me and in it with me is exactly what I needed to read. K.J. Ramsey writes so beautifully of truth with a therapeutic lens and the combination is a healing balm.
Best, beautiful words:
Chapter 1:
"God called me beloved. When I couldn't come to God, God came to me. In a body too sick to open a bible, bankrupt of all my striving, I started to hear the words I would spend the rest of my life learning to receive as true: you are my beloved, with you I am well pleased."
Chapter 3:
states of stress - unable to access grounding resources in our brain that help you feel like you - dysregulation - struggling to connect with others and keep perspective because our bodies are overwhelmed by simply trying to survive (dysregulation is contagious - Story follows state)
Chapter 11:
"my joints are like kids on a road trip begging their parents to know when all the sitting will be over"
"The good shepherd was the shepherd whose calling card was being interruptible and welcoming of both hard questions people religious folks called questionable."
Chapter 15:
"For now I think faithfulness is accepting the memories as they come, allowing the losses to be seen and counted, this kind of loss is a trauma and I'm learning the contours of how it has and will shape me so I welcome the flood instead of avoiding it altogether because I know there is healing in remembering my story. I need not fear that which I have already lived."
Chapter 16:
"Psalm 23 shows us that our dark nights of the soul are not punishments or problems, but places to walk closely with the shepherd when all other comforts fall away."
"I started looking to Christ not as the conclusion to my courage, but my companion within it"
Chapter 17:
"I think the farther you both get away from the system and the experience, the better your body is going to feel."
"We slowly crawled out from under the dirt of doubt and self-dismissal and let our confusion form into words. We wrestled with the gospel we believed and the gospel we received."
Chapter 18:
"Fear is but courage's fuel."
Chapter 20:
"Fear is just courage's preamble."
I am really grateful for this book after a wounding church season and longterm health challenges myself. The relatability and the encouragement to keep acknowledging God near me and in it with me is exactly what I needed to read. K.J. Ramsey writes so beautifully of truth with a therapeutic lens and the combination is a healing balm.
Best, beautiful words:
Chapter 1:
"God called me beloved. When I couldn't come to God, God came to me. In a body too sick to open a bible, bankrupt of all my striving, I started to hear the words I would spend the rest of my life learning to receive as true: you are my beloved, with you I am well pleased."
Chapter 3:
states of stress - unable to access grounding resources in our brain that help you feel like you - dysregulation - struggling to connect with others and keep perspective because our bodies are overwhelmed by simply trying to survive (dysregulation is contagious - Story follows state)
Chapter 11:
"my joints are like kids on a road trip begging their parents to know when all the sitting will be over"
"The good shepherd was the shepherd whose calling card was being interruptible and welcoming of both hard questions people religious folks called questionable."
Chapter 15:
"For now I think faithfulness is accepting the memories as they come, allowing the losses to be seen and counted, this kind of loss is a trauma and I'm learning the contours of how it has and will shape me so I welcome the flood instead of avoiding it altogether because I know there is healing in remembering my story. I need not fear that which I have already lived."
Chapter 16:
"Psalm 23 shows us that our dark nights of the soul are not punishments or problems, but places to walk closely with the shepherd when all other comforts fall away."
"I started looking to Christ not as the conclusion to my courage, but my companion within it"
Chapter 17:
"I think the farther you both get away from the system and the experience, the better your body is going to feel."
"We slowly crawled out from under the dirt of doubt and self-dismissal and let our confusion form into words. We wrestled with the gospel we believed and the gospel we received."
Chapter 18:
"Fear is but courage's fuel."
Chapter 20:
"Fear is just courage's preamble."
raffol's review
5.0
This was so much and hard to read at times because there’s a lot to process, but also SO good. I wish there were a thousand more books like this, filled with honesty and wisdom.
“How do we get up to walk again in a world that has so wounded us? How do we walk forward through the potential danger of another dark valley, when we’re still aching and hobbling from the last one? We begin where we begin.”
“How do we get up to walk again in a world that has so wounded us? How do we walk forward through the potential danger of another dark valley, when we’re still aching and hobbling from the last one? We begin where we begin.”
randimarie727's review
5.0
If you have experienced religious trauma of any kind, you need to read this book. Maybe you need to read it more than once.
christinaswilcox's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse