The Road to Becoming

In The Road to Becoming, Jenny Simmons invites us to share her moments of lostness, of brokenness. She reveals her heart with wit and grace, and shows anyone who has suffered a loss - a job, a loved one, a dream - how to walk through that difficult season by God's grace. I felt like I was sitting down and talking to a friend as I read, and boy, could I relate to much of what she wrote. Her words were balm to my soul, and it was a gift to know that I wasn't the only one who'd cried out to God in anguish when things were dark. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to know they aren't alone and who needs a light in the dark.

Do you remember what it's like when a book really surprises you? When you agree to read it because someone asks you to, but honestly, you just read Jen Hatmaker, so how good can this book possibly be?

And then. Well, let's just say you nearly forgot Jen Hatmaker. Because this one was SO good.

In both content and technique, this is one of the superior books I have read in 2015. Jenny Simmons brings truth and beauty to a subject we have all experienced - the death of a dream, and the fear of what happens next. So many times in the course of reading, though our experiences are nothing alike, I could relate so completely with the words on the page. Jenny Simmons is honest and funny and lyrical and breathtakingly real as she tells her story, which feels in the strangest way like mine.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. One of the best parts about being a reader, for me, is finding that hidden gem - the title you didn't know, the book you didn't expect, the author you can't wait to follow for their entire career. This is one of those moments of thrilling discovery for me, and I would be surprised if this wasn't one of my favorite books of the year.