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abookdoctor 's review for:
Breathtakingly beautiful, honest, and unapologetic. I loved this book so much. I laughed and cried with Candice Benbow as she recounted her story (and her mother’s story). This book reads like a love letter to women who have experienced harm in seemingly “safe spaces” and who may have taken their frustrations out with God. But, as a friend of mine once said, and Candice reiterates, God can handle our questions and our frustrations. God made us the way we are, and he called us GOOD. So, leave God out of your messiness when you’re lecturing other folks on how to live and get “free.” Mind your business and your parts. MKAY?!
I didn’t expect to see so much of myself in this book. So much of my academic journey and struggles, so much of my issues with patriarchy and internalized sexism from women. I reflected on the ways others’ comments and opinions on my worthiness shaped or mis-shaped so much of my graduate life. I reflected on run-ins I’ve had with church folk as a kid and how my Mama let them folks have it. I’ve been angry at God and church many times, too. So, reading this book made visible my hurt as Candice articulated hers in ways I couldn’t. As much as this book is about falling out with “church” and the harm so many people experience there, it’s also about falling “into” ourselves and our squads. It was beautiful to read Candice’s essays and to witness how deeply she was loved and cared for by her Mom and how, even through tension and growing pains, that love was unconditional and reciprocated. It reminded me so much of the relationship I cherish with my Mom.
Red Lip Theology shows us many ways that life is going to life, and how you get through it is how you get through it. There’s no right way to navigate grief, hurt, and trauma as long as you do so in truth and with care for you. That’s what God wants for us. May we all locate our truth and live into it as fiercely as Candice does in this text. If I remember nothing else, I will remember that “I am enough, just the way that I am.” Thank you, Candice for this text. It is truly a BALM for wounded spirits and broken hearts.
I didn’t expect to see so much of myself in this book. So much of my academic journey and struggles, so much of my issues with patriarchy and internalized sexism from women. I reflected on the ways others’ comments and opinions on my worthiness shaped or mis-shaped so much of my graduate life. I reflected on run-ins I’ve had with church folk as a kid and how my Mama let them folks have it. I’ve been angry at God and church many times, too. So, reading this book made visible my hurt as Candice articulated hers in ways I couldn’t. As much as this book is about falling out with “church” and the harm so many people experience there, it’s also about falling “into” ourselves and our squads. It was beautiful to read Candice’s essays and to witness how deeply she was loved and cared for by her Mom and how, even through tension and growing pains, that love was unconditional and reciprocated. It reminded me so much of the relationship I cherish with my Mom.
Red Lip Theology shows us many ways that life is going to life, and how you get through it is how you get through it. There’s no right way to navigate grief, hurt, and trauma as long as you do so in truth and with care for you. That’s what God wants for us. May we all locate our truth and live into it as fiercely as Candice does in this text. If I remember nothing else, I will remember that “I am enough, just the way that I am.” Thank you, Candice for this text. It is truly a BALM for wounded spirits and broken hearts.