Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans

Wholehearted Faith Reviews

• 
  J.L. Neyhart

  3/24/2022: I just finished re-reading this and leading a small group through it at my church internship as well as my online "Progressive Theology Book Club" on Facebook.
  
  11/3/2021: I pre-ordered this book on audiobook, ebook, and probably physical book too because it is the last book (for adults) by Rachel Held Evans. The audiobook dropped into my audible app sometime after midnight on November 2 and I listened to the Foreward, the Introduction, and the Prologue before I fell asleep that night. I listened to chapter one on the way to my church internship that morning. (Which, by the way, if it wasn't for Rachel's earlier writings, I'm not sure I would even be pursuing my MDiv right now and working as a pastoral intern right now.)
  
  I listened to chapter 2 on my way to my preaching class that night where I was preaching my very first sermon!
  
  I listened to chapter 3 on my way home. Then between that night and throughout the day on November 3, I finished listening to the audiobook and highlighting so many passages in the ebook. I wanted to savor and devour this book at the same time. I wanted to cry, a lot.
  
  Rachel's words continue to inspire me and resonate so deeply with me. Her heart for the marginalized is God's heart for the marginalized. I follow Rachel as she followed Jesus, with her whole heart. And my heart still hurts that she is no longer with us on this earth in physical form. Reading this book brings up my grief and my thankfulness for her life and work, for what God has done and continues to do through her words.
• 
  Raymond

  I thoroughly enjoyed this book although it was bittersweet. This was the last book that Evans was working on before she passed away in 2019. Jeff Chu completed the book on her behalf and with the blessing from Evans' family. This book definitely sounds like her voice, I could not tell where Chu's writing was, which suggests to me that he knew his friend well enough to mimic her voice. Evans was a person who uplifted marginalized voices who spoke about faith and in this book she also uplifts those marginalized voices in the Bible who made her faith whole. In other words she lived out her faith in theory and in practice. I loved that she shared the story about how she made origami out of hate mail. My biggest takeaway from this book is you don't have to know everything or be certain about everything to be a Christian. Thank you Rachel for your words and your ministry.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley, HarperOne, Rachel Held Evans and Jeff Chu, for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on November 2, 2021.
• 
  Cara

  I am so grateful for this book. Also, I can't stop crying.
• 
  Katherine

  As a lifelong reader of Rachel Held Evans' work, I was eager to pick up "Wholehearted Faith." Jeff Chu's introduction was particularly important in managing my expectations: he explained the book was a compendium of Rachel's talks, essays, and blog posts, and that the content might feel very familiar to readers. I did recognize quite a few anecdotes and passages. They are woven together to demonstrate the concept of "wholehearted faith," inspired by Brene Brown's concept of wholeheartedness. The book, in many ways, echoes to invitation that has always permeated Rachel's writing: don't be afraid, ask questions, bring your full self to the table. It feels like the perfect bookend to the author's legacy, a beautiful summary of what her life and teachings were about.
  
  Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
• 
  Richard Propes

  It's fair to say that when Rachel Held Evans passed away in 2019 at the age of 37, those of us who embrace a more progressive theology and those of us who'd wrestled with contemporary Christianity and the Church as a whole were devastated at the loss of such an intelligent, talented, and passionate soul at far too early an age.
  
  Held Evans, well, "held" space for those of us who'd been wounded by Christianity and offered safe and sacred spaces for questions, doubts, searching, and wondering.
  
  Yet, she also believed.
  
  "Wholehearted Faith" is, as we're told, the book that Rachel Held Evans was moving toward when she passed away in 2019. To call it a perfect book would be somewhat inaccurate. After all, it wasn't finished and it's clear in some of the writings that Held Evans herself was still wrestling with ideas, thoughts, essays, and sorting out her wonderings like she always encouraged us to do.
  
  Her close friend and author Jeff Chu has helped bring like to these writings while also adding her other unpublished writings into this collection called "Wholehearted Faith."
  
  Life is weird. We're given some seemingly random period of time in these physical bodies of ours. It will always seem weird to me that someone like Held Evans, a 37-year-old respected and and profound Christian author with a husband and children and a myriad of friends and followers, could be so seemingly healthy yet pass away at 37-years-old while someone like myself, a double-amputee/paraplegic with spina bifida who's lived with the label of "terminally ill" for 50+ years could unimaginably survive and thrive multiple life-threatening illnesses.
  
  It doesn't make sense. I'm not sure I want it to.
  
  I'd met Held Evans briefly at a conference I attended and, like most people, I was struck by her at-ease personality and naturalness. It was a brief yet memorable meeting that helped me give personality to her books (which I'd not yet read when I met her). This same feeling added a sense of melancholy to "Wholehearted Faith," an otherwise life-giving work filled with theological reflections and personal recollections. This was always the approach Held Evans took to her writings - immersion in both Scripture and in her own experience with it.
  
  There's an underlying power in "Wholehearted Faith" precisely because it's apparent that Held Evans wasn't yet done searching through her heart and mind with this material. It's an unfinished work and it feels unfinished. Chu has, of course, masterfully facilitated its presentation here. I in no way mean that it feels unsatisfying. It's incredibly satisfying. You can just feel Held Evans wrestling with this material as you read it and there are times you can't help but feel like there's an unfinished thought or idea. To Chu's massive credit, he doesn't try to finish it for her. While Chu's presence is undeniable here, "Wholehearted Faith" is undeniably the voice of Rachel Held Evans in all its power, glory, simplicity, and honesty.
  
  I loved every moment of "Wholehearted Faith." It's a book that makes you want Rachel Held Evans back. It's a book that reminds you of the preciousness of her voice and it's a book that holds space for those of us who long for spiritual wholeness and safety amidst a Church that often feels broken and leaves us feeling insecure.
  
  I can't even imagine what it's like for those who were truly close to Held Evans. For people like her husband, Dan, and her children and those peers, like Nadia Bolz Weber, who called her "friend," this book has to smack of incredible warm and fuzzies dipped in immense grief and even more wonderings.
  
  I loved "Wholehearted Faith," a modestly disjointed and occasionally incomplete spiritual exploration about living a wholehearted faith that is perfectly imperfect and gloriously intimate and also universal. It's Rachel Held Evans and everything we loved about her.
• 
  Rod Horncastle

  I’ve read 3 of her books - that’s time I’ll never get back. I could have gotten more theology and moral values while being encouraged to watch a glee marathon with my daughter. Yep, I can’t believe that anyone takes this leftist heretical Mommy-blogger-activist seriously. (nothing against great Mommy-bloggers. It's just the heretical ones that deserve mockery)
  
  In this offering she proves that she’s Ill equipped to comprehend “faith” or much of anything “whole heartedly”. Well, except leftist activist socialist victimhood. Here, suburban mommy shares her doubts and hatred of biblical Christianity… but she does it under the pretence of “god is love." There's unity and diversity (as well as minorities) for EVERYONE: unless you are one of those sin-stained traditional Conservative Evangelicals that believe such historical theological filth as “the Fear of the Lord” or creation, or judgement and hell. In this book she shares her prayer requests that her feminist non-gender goddess will help her apply tolerance to these heathen scum - but at the same time she demands that Islamic terrorists like Saddam Hussein definitely enter heaven before the door is slammed on your homophobic “GLBTQ$” hating soul. How dare you - somehow you are personally to blame for climate change.
  
  I did learn why she’s so theologically messed up: apparently she was raised in a Pentecostally insane church then she quickly skittered over Reformation Truth and directly into the abyss of Episcopalian uncertainty. Now all her friends applaud her doubt and hatred of Systematic biblical reliance. How dare the Bible be all about Jesus… who does God think He is? That simply doesn’t conform to every emotional activist value that spins about in Rachel Held Evans heart. God really should have checked with her first (*typical male).
  
  Am I being too harsh? Well, Rachel boasted that she is simply telling Her Truth. Her god admires that. That’s how her faith plays out. Fair enough, my turn then. (comically: you've probably already learned that those on the liberal left throw pouty rants when you use their sense of fair play and equality against them. Yep, these rules are only meant for the moments THEY are incharge.)
  I'm happy to say: I've figured out how to beat this political insanity and abuse of democracy ----- we need to make 2 countries, or continents, or legal cultures.
  1) For the liberal and theologically left to 100% have their own kingdom, rules, and justice.
  2) For the conservative and theologically right to 100% have their own kingdon, etc...
  
  It's easy to see that if you get 10 Rachel Held Evans and Sarah Besseys and Peter Enns type leftists. Put them in a room (or group), simply take away their common enemy (anyone biblically traditional) for a few months --- then sit back while they devour and exterminate each other. Their systems of thought and logic simply don't function for any length of time in the real world --- neither did Marxism or Communism, or Socialism, or liberalism... these people hate each other as much as they hate the Biblical God. So the solution --- gather them together any chance you get, and simply remove yourself. Their depression and rebellious misery will soon appear and feed on the souls of their comrades.
  
  But on the other side:
  Get a bunch of Right Wing Conservative bible believing Christians together and watch them build hospitals, schools, towns and cities, and functional economies - as well as mostly happy and prosperous families (sadly, there's always a leftist waiting to be born and spoon fed).
  
  And that is the problem with all of Rachel's thoughts and babblings: she needs to come from a christian culture or "tradition" to even begin applying her attacks and mockings. From the safety of a conservative values culture she is free to pretend to be a Christian and warp the truth for the applause of thousands of confused liberals. You'll notice there's not a lot of Communist Liberals spouting that they're really Jesus following Episcopalians. That crap only works when firmly inplanted in a previous conservative society.
  
  Anyway,
  To prove her biblical scholarship she tosses out John 3:16. Yes, for "her" god so loved the world. The end. That’s it. Just love and tolerance and diversity.
  As always: the cherry picking liberal failed to mention John 3:17…18…19…20…21.
  And most of the 30,000 OTHER Bible verses that disagree with her narrative. It's bewildering why she continually insists she’s some sort of christian?! She's weirdly not afraid to quote numerous verses from the Bible to justify her diversity and confusion - but always stops short of actually dealing with any FULL Biblical paragraphs. No surprise: every progressive liberal christian I come across does this repeatedly. They'll quote scripture - but then mock all the verses before and after the one they dare to embrace. Their brain and sin nature allows them to do this. I guess that's the joy of not believing in a Biblical heaven or hell or judgement or even atonement.
  
  In this batch of scribbles she amusingly mentions the numerous times people call her Jezebel, heretic, snake, blasphemer... but she laughs it off and fails to notice how accurate these rebukes actually are. A laugh and wave of the hand doesn't make them go away - this bimbo has a lot of sins to answer for. The bible is incredibly clear: it's just that she's found simple ways for her conscience to dismiss the historic word of god (all progressives have this lack of discernment).
  
  The annoying issue with this book is her use of the term "Faith". She has invented a definition for herself that means: What god must be like based on my questing current desires and immediate concerns. She underlines the word "QUEST". to a progressive spiritist: as long as you are on a journey -- then it must be some sort of faith.
  I - of course - fully disagree. I believe the bible shows that faith is a gift from God himself. It is a tool to use to find HIS TRUTH that will always draw you to HIS SON. We are all given a measure of faith, but disturbingly, most abuse or dismantle theirs and replace it with lust or greed or Rachel's big problem: PRIDE.
  Yep, she even acknowledges that Saints often accuse her of this. But she dismisses it as words from a racist or hatemonger or even worse "Evangelical". How dare someone disagree with her fluid emotions.
  To be clear: faith isn't something we humans "whip up a batch of" whenever a theological doubt crawls out of the shadows. Faith guides us to "Saving Faith" if we are a child of the Father to be the future Bride of Christ. I believe Jesus actually saw the amount of faith that the Father had given to people. He didn't simply observe their actions and make an assumption. He knew.
  
  Matthew 8
  The Faith of the Centurion
  …9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.” 10When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
  
  Ephesians 2
  . ..8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
  
  Ephesians 6
  13Therefore take up the whole armor of God... 14having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
  
  Faith is something Rachel discarded long ago. As is the Word of God.
  
  Am I a big meanie for pointing out the obvious? Hmmm.
  Again, she mentions how she’s very fond of interrogating the religious thoughts of others. “You absolutely must be skeptical of anything that dares question or denounce liberal lust and secular desire.” (I’m paraphrasing of course. Leftist hate getting caught in their truth) so princess - I’m fond of skeptically interrogating unbiblical heretical false-gospel propaganda. So to her legion of fans I say: “hang on and enjoy the ride”. I'm not much different from Paul or Peter or Stephen or even Jesus - Heretics simply must be called out and removed from the church. Hey, we all make mistakes but there's a point where your god or goddess is no longer even slightly resembling the Trinitarian deity of the bible (duh!). It's God's job to judge and condemn, but it's ours to evaluate and hold to truth. There's a belt of truth for a reason. I do love the Sword of the Spirit --- that's the Word of God that Rachel has spent decades confusing and mocking.
  
  So indeed, if the majority of people are easily applauding your efforts --- then you're probably selling them a false belief or a shiny golden calf based on your own self-righteousness. sorry Rachel, but you're going to have to stand before God on judgement day and give account of your writings and blogs and conferences that defied the biblical God's demands. Thank you for being a lesson to us all.
• 
  Josh Olds

  I’m convinced that everyone loved Rachel Held Evans, even those that hated her. Her winsome personality, passionate living, and way with words; her honesty, vulnerability, and transparency; her poignant insights, deep questions, and unbridled love—so many young Christians resonated with Rachel, her journey, and her willingness to call those in power to account while wrestling with the tension and contradiction of a faith that did not always seem to live up to its ideals.
  
  She was taken from us far too soon, so suddenly, for a such a senseless reason. She had so much left to give. And in a way, her death personified the deep struggle with God that she’d written about so eloquently. Where’s the justice in this? Is there a God who cares? How could this happen? The strain of Christianity that Evans fought against offered pat answers to these questions. God is sovereign. He works all things together for the good. She’s in a better place. This world is not our home. Even in death, Rachel exposed the inadequacy and hollowness of these answers, inviting her fellow followers of Jesus to hold onto the nuance and tension, the grief and the anger, and grow in their relationship with a God deeper and wider than even the Sunday School song.
  
  But this not a eulogy. Two and a half years after her death, Rachel Held Evans exists again in the form of a new book—one taken from a partially-completed first draft and other writings, published and unpublished—worked together and massaged into a cohesive whole by her friend and excellent writer himself, Jeff Chu. Wholehearted Faith is Rachel to the core. Her tone and vision shine through as she explores a faith that’s so much freer, bolder, and full of love than we’ve come to believe. If you read Rachel’s books in their order of publication, you can see her movement to this place of faith. What were seeds in Evolving in Monkey Town (2010), were in full and beautiful bloom by Wholehearted Faith. It wasn’t intended to be an end, but as an end—if only it didn’t mean her demise—it is satisfying.
  
  In some ways, Wholehearted Faith is closure. You read this book knowing they are her last words, even though she herself didn’t know it at the time. Chu, and the team designing this book, have done a great job reflecting that. The early part of the book reads like a tribute to Evans as Chu explains how the book came to be. It’s maybe a bit lengthy, some readers will be pushing to get to Evans’ words, but it is a compelling introduction that is completely transparent about what the book is, what it is not, and why it is being published.
  
  The second part of the book is Evans’ unfinished manuscript—about ten thousand words—carefully and lovingly edited by Chu into a cohesive message. This is the meat of the book and I don’t want to say anything about it other than it is Rachel all the way through. It’s perhaps not quite as polished as it might otherwise be, but the importance of letting Rachel’s actual words shine through outweighs any sleekness that might be missing. The latter parts of the book pull from other writings she had on the topic, edited and formatted to fit the book. Chu, again, ties everything together so well. If you didn’t know that it was cobbled from various sources, you wouldn’t notice.
  
  The Evans family and HarperCollins could have rushed this to publication shortly after her death. It would have sold. It would have been a NYT best-seller. Waiting so long after her death to publish this, to allow the family time to grieve, to allow the book time to take shape, really shows how this the goal was to honor Rachel and her legacy. Wholehearted Faith does that exquisitely. Her last words to a people in need of them, Wholehearted Faith encourages readers to take up Rachel’s mantle and live full, vibrant lives of faith. Thank you, Rachel. You didn’t know it when you wrote it. So much as happened since you’ve passed. You would have had so much to say. But I’ll content myself with this. Bold and unrelenting, unwavering and encouraging—it’s exactly what we needed to hear.
• 
  Brooke

  I do not recommend this book.
  
  My overall experience reading this book was one of sadness. Not only is it sad that she died at such an early age, but even more, it was sad to read the unbiblical views she had come to believe and then communicated to her followers and readers.
  
  This book did not communicate “wholehearted faith” but instead uncertainty, wandering, and confusion, along with misapplication and misquoting of scripture, and taking isolated phrases of scripture out of context time and time again to serve her purposes.
  
  For example, in the last chapter of her book, she took one of the clearest verses in scripture, John 3:16, and decided she would only quote the first 6 words…for God so loved the world…and then add on her list of many things she claims about God. The rest of that verse (“that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”) is crucial to the gospel, and yet she chose to omit it.
  
  It saddens me that so many have been influenced by Evans and her writings, when she clearly was not following or teaching biblical Christian values as communicated by Jesus himself in his own words.
• 
  Mindy Christianson

  What a gift we have been given in this posthumous release. Good luck not crying near the end when Rachel writes of their new home and their kids playing in the yard… progressive Christianity lost a strong voice and leader when RHE left us. It was an honor to read her final work.
  Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
• 
  Leanne

  I miss her voice.
• 
  Jillian B

  As a long-time fan of Rachel Held Evans’ blog, I remember the shock and sadness I felt when I learned she’d died. Her writing made an impact on so many people as they disentangled the teachings of Christ from toxic Christian culture. Her final book, finished by her friend Jeff Chu, showcases the beautiful prose and deep wisdom that made Rachel’s writing so special. I especially resonated with her thoughts about Calvinism. I listened to the audiobook and found it especially moving, because Rachel’s friends took turns reading the chapters. This book is a testament to a life filled with love and grace.
• 
  David

  Who Should Read This Book - Readers who may be disillusioned with faith or are simply seeking a more beautiful picture of God and community.
  
  What’s the Big Takeaway - God adores God’s creation.
  
  And a Quote - “What if God’s love were right there for us this whole time? But rather than recognizing what has been prepared for us, rather than falling wholeheartedly into what is already ours, we spend so much of our time and energy trying to earn it. We act as if we can perform our way to absolution of our sins. We think we need to wow the Almighty into wanting our company. We believe we can dazzle God into loving us. Could God really be so gullible? Is the Divine so easily impressed?I’ve come to believe that the only thing we’re actually accomplishing is exhausting ourselves. In doing so, we distract ourselves from the beautiful truth and gorgeous reality: God already loves us” -
  
  Rachel Held Evans was working on this book when she died in 2019 and her good friend Jeff Chu finished and edited it at the request of Evans’ husband Dan. Like so many, I was deeply moved and challenged and encouraged by Rachel’s writings. I am thankful this book got to be published. As I read the last couple pages, and the conclusion by another friend, Nadia Bolz-Weber, I teared up a little.
  
  I was thinking of all the books Rachel never got to write. Her talent, goodness and, well, wholeheartedness, shine through in this book. Rather than being sad for what she did not write, we can be thankful for what she left us.
  
  As I read, I was reminded that what made Rachel so popular was the way she put words to what so many of us were feeling. From reflecting on experiences growing up in church to sharing her doubts about God to realizing the absurdity of eternal conscious torment, I resonate deeply with her work.
  
  If you’re someone who struggles with doubt and is often saddened by the failures of the church, yet you find the church compelling and cannot give up on God, then this book (and all of Rachel’s books) should be on your list.
• 
  Amy Hauptman

  There are few books that I finish that I want to immediately read again. Rachel's perspective on life, the Bible, faith, love, and God are truly one of the most real and honest things I have ever read. This book is truly a beautiful sequel to "Searching for Sunday" and what I imagine what Rachel would say if she wanted to have the "final word". Hearing each chapter read by a friend or family member on Audible was a beautiful tribute to her life. All I can say is that Rachel's work profoundly rescued me when I was deeply hurting, afraid, and doubting. I am a Christian because RHE said yes....
• 
  Cathryn Conroy

  Do you believe in God? Even if you say YES with a loud, enthusiastic voice, I’m guessing that deep down you sometimes (often?) have doubts. Is God real? Christian writer Rachel Held Evans, who grew up in a conservative, know-all-the-answers evangelical community and then questioned it all as an adult, has written a refreshingly honest series of essays on what it means to have a “wholehearted faith”—forgiveness, Sabbath, doubt, loving your enemies, living in the wilderness--all of which is peppered with her deep-seated questions about the Christian faith that most of us want to be answered, too.
  
  Tragically, Evans died suddenly in 2019 at age 37, leaving a husband and two very young children. This is the book she was writing at the time of her death. She wasn’t quite finished with it, but her dear friend Jeff Chu and her beloved husband, Dan Evans, polished and edited what she had written and published it.
  
  This gem of a book is a spiritual gift to believers and non-believers. It is raw and honest. It made me laugh, and it made me weep. Most of all, it made me think about my own questions of faith. This is a book with wisdom and wit to be savored and reread and liberally marked up and read aloud to others.
  
  Goodbye, Rachel. You gave us all so much of yourself and your soul. Thank you. You will be greatly missed. And as our Jewish friends say so eloquently, “May her memory be a blessing.” Indeed. It is.
  
• 
  Cara Meredith

  Jeff Chu absolutely nailed it. And the chapter, “Jonathan Edwards isn’t my Homeboy,” is 💯 going in my next book. Rachel, we desperately miss you.
• 
  Ben

  Touching book.
  
  Very honest and nice and kind.
  
  I do have to address the issue I had with the book though.
  
  So this was a "discovered" unfinished and scrapped manuscript on RHE's computer after her death.
  It definitely does feel unfinished. And it was pieced together after her passing.
  It was well done enough, as it does feel like a cohesive book. It just wasn't exactly "her words" 100% of the time. So some parts feel a little... terse.
  
  This was still a great read. I preferred
  Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church and
  Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again more, but this was still a great read!
  
  3.8/5
• 
  Traci Rhoades

  As a faith writer I can clearly see Rachel sitting down to her computer and praying, Lord let me say this clearly. Help me to choose the right words to share my heart. Then, when we tragically lost Rachel, and Jeff Chu took on the task of finishing her manuscript, I can see him praying, let me honor God and Rachel with this work.
  
  It's quite a book y'all, when you know the back story. And then Rachel unpacks her thoughts on the Shema, and Jonathan Edwards, and the creation (perhaps my favorite part) her faith was simply contagious. Great references and logical insight.
  
  Like so many of you, I miss her.
• 
  Andi M.

  It's no surprise I loved this book. I spent longer with it than expected because I just didn't want it to be over. So much of this particular book were things I needed to read and that I continually work to internalize: God's unconditional love, grace freely given, loving our enemies. RHE's work has been so dear to me, and I'm grateful to Jeff Chu for working to complete this book. He did a marvelous job.
• 
  Kari

  You know what I liked about it is that so many of her books were trying to argue a point or prove something, and I liked that a lot, but this one was more like hanging out with a friend who was sharing her thoughts on her maturing faith. She had already proven herself. Though I wish it wasn’t the end, it is a fitting end to her work.
• 
  Laura Wanczyk

  I love RHE. I think everyone is better for reading her. I don't even always agree with her thoughts or questions but it's a great practice to sit and examine my own theology with her writings.
  
  This book is also just sad. The sadness of her death lingers between the pages. As a posthumous text, maybe I look at it differently than I would if she were still alive. Nonetheless, a worthwhile read.
• 
  Collette

  This book, Wholehearted Faith, is my first introduction to Rachel Held Evans, which made reading it more emotional, as I knew she’d passed away at age 37, the manuscript still unfinished. Yet her loving husband, close friend and writer Jeff Chu, and friend and fellow woman of valor Nadia Bolz-Weber wrapped themselves in and around her these beautiful essays, making the work feel whole.
  
  Held Evans opens the door for the doubt and uncertainty we feel as humans wrestling with ideas of faith and Christianity and makes us feel safe to explore what’s inside. You don’t have the answers? You don’t believe others’ answers? You’ve been told your answers are wrong? That’s okay. You are welcome here. She writes, “ most of the openhearted wanderers I’ve encountered are looking not for a bulletproof belief system but for a community of friends, not for a spiritual encyclopedia that contains every answer but for a gathering of loved ones in which they can ask the hard questions.”
  
  As I travel on in this life and see the world around me grow increasingly divisive and people drawn like iron filings to opposite sides, I feel like it’s lonely in the middle. As the Christianity that is dubbed mainstream becomes increasingly white, patriarchal, evangelical and conservative, I am finding the work of women like Brene Brown and Held Evans incredibly healing and validating. Held Evans explores the drawbacks to her own evangelical upbringing and how the Calvinistic view of God’s wrath and judgment of humans as evil-hearted sinners (in her amazing essay “Jonathan Edwards is Not My Homeboy”) has damaged so many members and seekers in the Christian faith. She also acknowledges the other side and how far-left Progressives can misuse science and their own agendas to do the same.
  
  Instead, her journey has led her to what she calls wholehearted faith, centered around a God who loves us all. “Wholeheartedness means that we can ask bold questions, knowing that God loves us not just in spite of them but also because of them - and because of the searching, seeking spirits that inspire us to want to know God more deeply.” She points to women of faith in the Bible who have paved the way for her own journey, often overlooked but possessing great courage, which only can be fueled by God’s love.
  
  She writes about what it looks like to love our enemies, and how we can often be our own worst. In a beautiful essay, “Loving our Enemies,” she describes how she learned the art of origami, printed out the hate emails she’d received because of her poking the evangelical bear, and made cranes and pigeons that gave “flight” to her hurt and served as tangible reminders of the struggle to love and forgive. “Something tells me that we might all be a bit more careful, a bit more gentle, if we knew how our words can travel through another's ear and linger for a long time in their soul.” Her acute insights and honest humor invite us to believe in the goodness that can be found in choosing to love the entire book, margins and all, instead of throwing it at those who don’t fit in our box.
  
  I listened to the audio version of this book and am going to buy the ebook so I can read it again and make notes and highlights. It is too packed full of beauty and wisdom to take in during one listening. I am also definitely adding her other books to my TBR shelf. I just wish a voice and a life like hers wasn’t cut off at such a young age, as it is obvious she had so much still to give, and share, and experience.
• 
  Jodi

  I read this in a group to discuss her viewpoint and compare it with scripture. This is not an endorsement or recommendation.
  
  I do not rejoice in her death and am sad at the trajectory of her life and beliefs.
  
  She spoke of her childhood and all her old experiences and viewpoints. While many of her experiences were similar to mine (raised in church, AWANA…), she seemed to have missed the whole point which led her to remake a “god” as SHE would have him to be, not as how God has revealed Himself. She was going through the external motions and competing to be the best “Christian,” but never had a heart surrendered to Him and in relationship with Him. No wonder this led to disillusionment.
  
  The god of her own making was no better. She admitted that by repeatedly talking about “on the days I believe.” What she and many progressives like her seem to be unwilling to admit is that God is orchestrating things on a grander scale that we can understand. True “wholehearted faith” is humbly trusting Him and taking Him at His word even when we don’t see it.
  
  The themes in this book go back to the Garden of Eden…
  “Did God really say…?” It’s making ourselves the authority. Picking and choosing. Redefining love and sin into something totally other.
  
  My prayer is that all would know that truth and reality exist. It’s not in ourselves, but in the Creator of all things - outside of our limited view. He’s revealed Himself in creation and by His Word. He desires communion with us, but on His terms: humble repentance, a turning away of our pride - being our own gods, acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.
  
  True love and compassion are sharing the eternal perspective of Life regardless of the circumstances. Define love and sin as He does, as our Creator who knows how things should work. These boundaries are for our good. We are not our own anchors. He is.
• 
  Michelle Tucker

  “On the days when I believe, I feel enfolded in a story so much greater than my own. It’s a story that knits together a thousand generations of saints—which is to say, folks like you and me who wrestle with their questions and their doubts, who interrogate the systems and structures of the society around them, who search for a way to make sense of it all, and who wonder whether they belong and whether they’re loved.”
  
  It took me a long time to start this, and then a long time to finish it. I think I just didn’t want it to be over because it seems like the final page of the story of this remarkable woman that meant so much to me and so many. Grateful for her and for the friends and family that finished this for her.
• 
  Pamela

  I am sorry to finish this book because there will never be another Rachel Held-Evans book. But I know I can read it again… and I will. Jeff Chu did an amazing job knitting this together keeping her voice. It is fantastic and a blessing.
• 
  April

  I can't put into words all that I felt as I read this book. The best I can say is that this book was a balm to my weary soul, even as the tears formed in my eyes as I read it.
• 
  Lizzie Davis

  So grateful for this surprising book, which is truly a gift of love and grace. I know I’ll revisit passages from it in years to come.
• 
  Ali Sanders

  I’m sure RHE was very devoted but her understanding of God is entirely flawed and unbiblical. Read with caution.
• 
  Emily

  This books is a beautiful collection of Evans’ theological musings as she has grown and expanded her theological perspective of Christianity to embrace ALL. Truly, all. Rachel is so inspiring, and her words speak to my soul. We are so blessed as a society to have her writings and legacy left for us to ponder and carry on.
• 
  Alison Channita

  It will never not be sad that this is the last work of Rachel Held Evans we will ever receive.
  
  You can clearly hear Rachel’s voice throughout. TBH, I haven’t been captivated by Rachel’s work since Searching for Sunday, but this was comforting—classic Rachel with her questioning of the Bible and taking down of the patriarchy. One of my favorite lines from her from over the years is “On the days when I believe…” I appreciate her honesty when it comes to how challenging it is navigating faith. She was one of the first writers I read who gave me permission to stop, think, and sit with (as well as welcome!) my doubts and I will always be grateful for her example.
• 
  Angie Miale

  Perhaps my least favorite Rachel held Evans book, it is still a good read. This is made of many of her essays that were unfinished at the time of her untimely death. I will miss her and her vision of what the world in the kingdom of God could Be.