Review: "Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire" by Jen Hatmaker

Five years ago, I was on the launch team for Jen Hatmaker's For the Love. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the book changed my life. (See my review here.) In the time since she wrote For the Love, Hatmaker went through a very public (and very painful) shift in some of her beliefs, which moved her out of the conservative Evangelical sphere where I still reside. I think it's very healthy to hear from voices different from our own, so I was eager to read Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire—knowing that I wouldn't agree with 100% of Hatmaker's words but hoping to understand a different perspective and find myself challenged.

best books of 2015: top ten

Yesterday, I posted my "honorable mention" list of books I read in 2015, and today it's time for the main event: my top ten favorite reads of 2015! (Remember, these are books I read in 2015; a few were released in previous years.)

10. The Imposter by Suzanne Woods Fisher (my review)

Amish novels don't often make my list of favorite reads, but this latest release from Suzanne Woods Fisher is simply spectacular. Full of humor, romance, and intriguing characters, The Imposter also deals with problems within the leadership of an Amish church district, making it unusual and fascinating.

9. The Inn at Ocean's Edge by Colleen Coble (my review)

Colleen Coble is at the top of her game with The Inn at Ocean's Edge. I find that often romantic suspense falters on either the "romantic" or "suspense" part—but The Inn at Ocean's Edge has both romance and suspense in spades. It's easily the best book I read in the genre in 2015.

8. The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson (my review)

Hands down my favorite YA read of the year, The Golden Braid is a wholly entertaining retelling of Rapunzel. It's one of those books you could hand off to your preteen daughter with no concern, yet you'll fully enjoy yourself. I can't wait to read more from Dickerson!

7. The Lost Garden by Katharine Swartz (my review)

Easily my favorite book cover of 2015, The Lost Garden is beautiful and literary and gently romantic. I had never heard of Katharine Swartz before picking up this novel, but I'll definitely be watching for her work now!

6. For the Love by Jen Hatmaker (my review)

The only non-fiction book on my list, For the Love was truly life changing, in more ways than one. The content of the book caused me to reevaluate several things in my life; the community that sprung out of the book's launch team also changed me. I'm ever so grateful for this book!

5. A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade (my review)

It's no surprise to find a Becky Wade book on this list: I have yet to come across something she wrote that I didn't love. In A Love Like Ours, she gives readers two romances for the price of one: Lyndie & Jake and Amber & Will. Both are charming.

4. The Wonder of You by Susan May Warren (my review)

Another year, another Christiansen family entry in my top ten list. (It could just as easily be Always on My Mind, Casper Christiansen's story, on this list, but I decided long ago to only include one book per author on my top ten lists!) The Wonder of You tells Amelia Christiansen's story, and it also checks back in on Max and Grace, whose story began in It Had to Be You, which made my top ten list last year. I have loved this series so much, and I'm sad that it's nearing its end.

3. Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin (my review)

Sarah Sundin kicked off her new Waves of Freedom series with Through Waters Deep, a novel just as engaging as all of her previous ones. While I usually gravitate toward contemporary fiction, I have a soft spot for the World War II time period, and I don't think there's anyone who writes better World War II fiction than Sundin. The characters, romance, and plot of Through Waters Deep are all top notch, and I eagerly await the next book in the series!

2. The Bound Heart by Dawn Crandall (my review)

I read the first three novels in The Everstone Chronicles in 2015, and while I enjoyed them all, I loved, loved, loved The Bound Heart. Lawry and Meredyth's romance is sweet, frustrating, and passionate. I started reading The Bound Heart one evening and stayed up way too late so I could finish it. Easily my favorite romance of 2015!

1. A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert (my review)

I don't even have the words to describe how much I loved this novel! Though it's marketed as a romance, I didn't find it that romantic, at least in the conventional way. Instead, it felt like a romance between God and His children. One of the themes of the novel is forging ahead with faith when life doesn't turn out as planned—something I think we all can identify with! I know I haven't done an adequate job of describing just why this novel is special, but take my word for it: you want to read A Broken Kind of Beautiful.

So there's my list. What about yours? If you posted a top books list this year, please leave a link in the comments so we can all check it out. And if you didn't, you could just list your favorites in a comment. I'd love to know if we loved any of the same books!

See my lists from 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.


Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"for the love" by jen hatmaker

Let me start by saying that this review is going to be unlike most of my other reviews because the subject has impacted me so personally. Last March, I was chosen to be on a 500-member launch team for Jen Hatmaker's For the Love, which released today. I honestly have no idea why, out of the 5000 applicants, I was one of the 500 chosen. I wasn't a Jen Hatmaker super fan. Sure, I knew she was funny, and I liked her HGTV show, and I read her blog on a semi-regular basis, but I'd never read any of her books. I have no idea what I put in my application ... but I'm convinced that God gave me the necessary words because He knew I needed the community I'd find on this team and the freedom I'd find in the message contained in Jen's book.

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Best-selling author Jen Hatmaker is convinced life can be lovely and fun and courageous and kind. She knows how the squeeze of this life can make us competitive and judgmental, how we can lose love for others and then for ourselves. She reveals how to:

• Break free of guilt and shame by dismantling the unattainable Pinterest life.
• Learn to engage our culture’s controversial issues with a grace-first approach.
• Be liberated to love and release the burden of always being right. 
• Identify the tools you already have to develop real-life, all-in, know-my-junk-but-love-me-anyway friendships.
• Escape our impossible standards for parenting and marriage by accepting the standard of “mostly good.”
• Laugh your butt off.

In this raucous ride to freedom for modern women, Jen Hatmaker bares the refreshing wisdom, wry humor, no-nonsense faith, liberating insight, and fearless honesty that have made her beloved by women worldwide.

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Rather than speak about the whole book (which, by the way, is fantastic—you should read it!), I'm going to focus on the part that—I'm not kidding—changed my life.

First of all, check out my endorsement for the book (which wasn't selected for print but shows up on the endorsement page of the book's website), and then I'll expound: 

You often hear people say, “This book will change your life!” I usually scoff at such endorsements; after all, how often does a book actually stick with you after you’ve turned the final page? Well, it didn’t take even ten pages for “For the Love” to change my life. Jen’s words about figuring out which things in your life are necessary and which can be set aside were so freeing and, yes, life changing. I’ll be chanting “off the beam” for the rest of my days.
~ Becky; Blogger, Editor, Cat Wrangler, Hallmark Movie Lover, Latte Enthusiast. Central City, NE

The first chapter of the book is called "Worst Beam Ever." In it, Jen (and I must call her "Jen"—I feel like we're friends now!) talks about how we women have a tendency to try to do everything and do it well—because we feel we must—and that's completely ridiculous.

I journaled my way through the beginning of the book (then life happened, and I just read ...), and this is the very first thing I wrote: I knew Jen "got me" when I read this: "We need to quit trying to be awesome and instead be wise."

Graphic: Brianna George

Be wise. That's something I'm slowly learning as I deal with Hashimoto's and its impact on my daily life, so this message is quite timely. As I kept reading, Jen's words continued to ring true. "You have permission to examine all the tricks and decide what should stay. What parts do you love? What are you good at? What brings you life?" Wow. Just wow.

Graphic: Jenny Garwood

I found this whole chapter so freeing! I ended up having several conversations with close friends about what should and should not be on my beam, and I'm making appropriate changes.

Church choir? Off the beam.
Focusing on health? On the beam.
Speech? On the beam for one more year, and then it's off.

Here's my big takeaway from this chapter: I need to stop feeling pressure to do just because I'm single and childless. I still need to take care of myself, especially now when my health is iffy. It's OK to say no, and it's OK to take things off my beam.

So that's why I said what I said in my endorsement. I'm absolutely not kidding when I say that this book was life changing for me ... and it might be for you, too. At the very least, you'll be left with much to consider. And you'll probably laugh quite a bit, too! (With gems like this, how can you not?)

Graphic: Tricia Klein

Seriously, read this book. While I don't have a copy to give away, several bloggers are giving away one or more copies. You can see posts on the official blog linkup and enter giveaways here. 5 stars.

See what others are saying.
Buy the book.
Visit the website.

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Jen Hatmaker is a mom to five children, a pastor’s wife, sought-after speaker, best-selling author and star of the popular series My Big Family Renovation on HGTV.  She is best known for her books 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess and Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity. For more information, visit JenHatmaker.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."