Made Well

I was introduced to Jenny Simmons when her first book, The Road to Becoming, came out. I was very excited to read Made Well. Reading this book is like sitting down and talking to a friend. Simmons writes in a very open, down-to-earth style, and I could relate to what she said. This isn't some loftier-than-thou book filled with the “right” things we're supposed to say as Christians when someone is struggling. Simmons shares her own experiences and difficulties, and this is is a gentle invitation to hurt, to seek, and to heal right where we are. I recommend this book for anyone struggling, wondering how God can bring beauty from their mess.

I discovered Jenny Simmons the author last year, when I read her first book, The Road to Becoming, because a friend asked me to. She was my favorite author discovery of the year. When I was given the chance to be on the launch team for this, her second book, I couldn't get in line fast enough.

Simmons is a beautiful writer - her words have a way of weaving themselves into my heart, tugging out emotions I didn't expect in places I wouldn't have predicted. She is honest and raw, and doesn't hesitate to share the broken places in her own life, which allows her reader to feel the truth of her words. She is tender with pain - she doesn't discount it, but she doesn't wallow either. She holds pain in sacred hands, allowing her reader to experience it, while inviting them to move forward into the healing that awaits.

Probably my favorite nonfiction of the year - highest of recommendations!

(I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion - but it was so good I purchased my own!)