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3.5

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨⬜
Title: God Bless This Mess: Learning to Live and Love Through Life's Best (and Worst) Moments
Author: Hannah Brown
Genre: Memoir
Setting: Alabama / Los Angeles, California
Month Read: April 2022
Book Type: Audiobook
Publication: 2021
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Pages: 277


TRIGGER WARNING- 
Sexual Content / Alcohol / Murder / Grief






No Spoiler Summary:
God Bless This Mess is a memoir by former Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars champion, Hannah Brown. The book details her life from childhood through the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. She discusses pageantry, school, dating, her time in the Bachelor Franchise, and her time on Dancing with the Stars. Filled with fun Hannah quips you've come to love, and filled with a lot of emotion, trauma, and anxiety, you learn who Hannah Brown really is.






Review:
I'm really surprised that there is so much to Hannah Brown you don't know, especially when she's been a public figure you've followed for years. I loved learning about her family life, her early dating history, and all the work she's done publicly and behind the scenes since her time on my tv screen.


This book contains a lot of juicy tids about the men on her season, and I'm not shocked to find that the majority of her final 3 are sort of trash humans. Hearing her side of how Tyler and Peter treated her after their time on her season really made my heart hurt for her, and it really shines a light on how bad the lead should have a therapist during the filmings of their season.


Nothing is really off the table in this book, and I loved how absolutely candid she is. I thought this book would be more religion heavy, and as someone non-religious I was concerned about listening to this--- but I ended up loving how thoughtful and honest she is, and how many times she's sort of fallen in and out of her faith. It's inspiring in ways to see how much she has really fought to be who she is, and for what she wants to belive in for herself. 


If you're a fan of Hannah, or of the Bachelor franchise, you should definitely read this book. I thought it was a great inside look, and loved that she was the audio narrator.


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mgdsmile's review

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emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.0

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/js6eTYuzNYc2d0YonB/giphy.gif" width="300" height="180" alt="HB how honest do you want me to be"/>

read for: Bachelor/ette drama, stories about Hannah's relationships and personal life, further depth on family background and significant childhood events (no joke, serious stuff)

don't read for: sound theology, particularly excellent writing

I don't want to insinuate that my criticism of her memoir is criticism of the author herself. I have enjoyed following along with Hannah's life, & from all she's shared, she does really love Jesus. However, <i>God Bless This Mess</i> was filled with the classic women's semi-Christian self-help: "I am enough," "My goal is to do better and be better," and of course the classic "Jesus still loves me" (taken at face value, true, but needs context. How about Jesus's death and resurrection, or the significance of sin and sanctification?). Again, I don't know her, and I can't expect that everyone else has A. a thorough theological foundation in their life and B. the same views as me. I also wonder whether her position as a public figure meant that her content had to be genericized, like, "for me it's Jesus, but for you it may be Buddha or the universe," in order to appeal to a wider audience or to keep from beating Bachelor Nation over the head with Christianity. I get that, but it was disappointing to me. 

Overall, I enjoyed her stories, but as much as Jesus/God was mentioned, I do not share her worldview. That being said, I did really appreciate how the book narrated her experience with therapy - it is very obvious that she has done significant emotional reflection, and I applaud that (and agree that it can be very positively impactful to the Christian life). Also, the audiobook was fun (since Hannah herself read it). 

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emileereadsbooks's review

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4.75

This is what you want a Bachelor Nation memoir to be. Hannah spills the tea on her life and is willing to admit when she made mistakes. This is the most real and honest book I have read from any member of Bachelor Nation. Hannah shares her faith throughout the book like some others but it doesn't feel heavy handed. She also shares her mental healthy journey in a way that is so kind to her former self, and I felt proud of how far she has come.

 

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annafaust's review

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4.0


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readingwithmeredith's review against another edition

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4.0


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