Evolving in Monkey Town

Full review at http://bookwi.se/evolving-in-monkey-town-how-a-girl-who-knew-all-the-answers-learned-to-ask-the-questions-by-rachel-held-evans/

Short review. This is a good book about how faith should evolve and grow as you age. We all have questions that cause us to question our faith. The author's question is primarily about people that do not hear the gospel before they die, or about the fairness of God.

That question causes her to struggle through her faith to bring it to adulthood. This memoir is really about growing faith. The author is young (only 27) so there will likely be more questions of faith in her future.

I saw many examples of myself in her writing. This is well written and Rachel Held Evans did much to turn a standard story of growth into something more.

When I read this book for the first time in 2012, I was still fairly early in my own deconstruction process. So Rachel's book challenged me and encouraged me in so many ways. I identified with so much of her own background. I've read it three more times since then. The most recent time I listened to Rachel read the audio book version as I drove to her funeral. This was both devastating and comforting at the same time.

The bottom line is, I would recommend this book to anyone who was raised in a conservative evangelical way, especially if they have ever had questions or doubts along the way.

We need to learn to ask questions and we need to know we are not alone in this.

I am so thankful for this book and the rest of the writing Rachel shared with us.