No More Faking Fine

Title: No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending

Author: Esther Fleece

Genre: Christian Nonfiction, Christian Living, Prayer

Publisher: Zondervan

Source: Own

My review:

How do you review a book that completely wrecks you? I have no idea, but I will attempt to give No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending by Esther Fleece my best shot.

"I had learned to fake fine by the time I was ten."

No one's story should start like that, yet Esther's did. It continues with a courtroom scene that will break your heart. I know it did mine. Esther gives us glimpses into her life as she explains what she has learned over the years.

The expectations of others, as well as the expectations we put on ourselves, can leave us with an incredible amount of pressure.

I have learned through the years that God does not want just our happy; He also really wants our sad. Everything is not fine, and God wants to hear about it.

I don't know what you know or think of lament. I understand what lamenting is, but I imagine like most of you, I do not practice it in the way it is intended. Esther's book completely wrecked me. While it taught me so much about lament, it also taught me so much about myself. I could relate to her story, and even in situations where I couldn't, I could still emphasize. 

Esther's story doesn't wrap up in a neat little bow. She is still living her story, just as we are still living our stories. Esther's story shows us there is beauty in the chaos. God can provide healing and hope, even when we are living our darkest nightmares. I want to know more about Esther's story. I appreciated her conversational style. I appreciated her candor. Most of all, I appreciated her sharing her story. I know it could not have been easy, but I have no doubt that God is going to do (and probably has done) great things through Esther's story!

If you struggle with faking fine and are ready to stop pretending, this book is for you. If you want to know more about lament and how it IS a prayer we should practice, this book is for you. If you want a book that will challenge you and make you think, this book is for you. I highly recommend it. I lost track of how many things I highlighted and starred. No More Faking Fine is one for the keeper shelf.

★★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads): 

For most of her life, Esther Fleece believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them altogether. She was known by all as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you’ve done the same. 

When life hurts hard, we often feel pressure—from others and ourselves—to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be.

Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with our raw emotions and an alternative to the coping methods that end up causing more pain. It's called lament—the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes.

“Lament," Esther says, "is a prayer woven throughout Scripture. But more than a prayer, it is the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God.”

No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament—to give voice to the hurt, frustration, and disappointment you’ve kept inside and silenced for too long. Drawing from deep reserves of biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God’s own language to draw closer to him as he leads us through any darkness into His marvelous light. Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives permission to everyone else to do the same.