A review by and9591
Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker

5.0

What Jen Hatmaker accomplishes here is truly singular. As someone who watched her speak at Christian conferences geared towards women, followed her teaching, witnessed her hold firm to her beliefs and be ostracized because of it, glimpsed threads of this story through her social media - she laid it all out through this book and did it so, so well. Her vulnerability and honesty in storytelling is at its most perfect form. I related so much to the wisdom shared about dealing with organized religion, trusting your own body after trauma, witnessing your loved ones stepping up for you in immeasurable ways, and so much more. As an outsider I feel like she handled everything with such grace and did not give away any more than she needed to, and this is so effective in lending truth and power to her words. 

I also found myself thinking “I wish I could recommend You Could Make This Place Beautiful to her” - and I kid you not, four pages later the first Maggie Smith poem was included. 

The gentle nudges and pushes she feels in her body are what I once attributed to my religious faith and have had trouble honoring now - I feel like I’ve been handed a permission slip by Jen to trust myself again. I am so grateful for this book and know it will make such a difference in so many lives, including my own. I cried a lot and laughed a bit and am so honored to have been gifted this story. 

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss for the DRC and the ARC.