#COLLABOREADS: What Women Fear

I am link-up up with #COLLABOREADS today, which is a fun monthly online book club. Each month, there is a theme and participants choose any book they'd like within that theme. They read it and then use the acronym R.E.A.D.S to share about the book for other book lovers. 

This month, the theme was A Book For A Better You. I chose Angie Smith's What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms. She writes with vulnerability and honesty about her own life-long battle with anxiety and tackles specific fears with truth from the Bible. Each chapter focused on a different fear, including fear of failure, fear of not being significant, fear of rejection and betrayal. I have dealt with anxiety, fear, and worrying, so I felt this would be very applicable and remind me that God is bigger than my fears. 

Riveting: What part of the book could you NOT get enough of?

Angie Smith did a phenomenal job weaving together Biblical narratives, her own personal experience with anxiety, and personal application/ encouragement to deal with certain types of fear. Each chapter had a dose of all three of these elements. My favorite element was the application/encouragement she shared towards the end of every chapter where she brought it all together and allowed the reader to apply to their own lives the Biblical truths about each type of fear.

Elements: How did you relate to/care for the characters? 

I really appreciated how raw and honest Angie Smith was throughout the book as she recounted various memories when anxiety and fear immobilized her. She did not shy away from the fact that she has dealt with this struggle her whole life, which is something that Christians sometimes have trouble talking about because in response they typically receive advice that often makes them feel alienated or that they are sinning because they are anxious.

Associate: What other books are like this one? 

Angie Smith's book, Mended, was also a very special book that was filled with stories of how God mended her broken heart after the death of her newborn. She was very honest and real in that book as well, and it made me respect her and want to read more by her.

Design: What did you think of it? 

The cover has a woman walking on train tracks. Uhh, dangerous and fear-inducing, if you ask me. 

Stars: How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend? 

I give it 5/5 stars and I would definitely recommend it to a friend, especially if they are dealing with fear, worry, and anxiety.