Wild and Free: A Hope-Filled Anthem for the Woman Who Feels She Is Both Too Much and Never Enough

Well written

Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan (authors of Wild and Free) dug into my brain, made me realize my thoughts are keeping me captive, and retold the Gospel story in a language my heart craves.Jess and Hayley put to words the feelings so many women have: being both too much and not enough. We have big feelings, big passions and big dreams. However, we fear getting the pious side eye from the Christian community if we let loose and put them on full display. At the same time, we want to be the model woman/wife/mother but always feel like we come up short.Each chapter of Wild and Free is chock full of wisdom. This is the first book I’ve read in a long time with highlighter in hand. I think half my book is yellow! Format-wise, the co-authors of the book alternate writing chapters. The end of each chapter offers a response from the other author and a prayer.I typically quickly skim through non-fiction books. Wild and Free will have none of that! I recommend a slow and methodical read. The Biblical truths laid out in each chapter are rich and require (at least for me) reflection to sink in.Some of my favorite quotes:"Feeling too much, feeling not enough – these are two sides of the same coin. They both limit us as women created to live wild and free.""He knows you are the most you when you’re living out the calling He has given you.""Living as a wild daughter of the King is not a level to achieve; it’s a freedom we all currently possess."I had the pleasure of meeting Jess and Hayley at their Influence Conference and hear them speak. These women’s hearts for commissioning a generation of women is so infectious and inspiring!After reading this book, I wish for all my friends and loved ones to read it. I want to sit in circles and talk about the barriers we place around ourselves. I want to call out the lies we tell ourselves about our worth and influence.I want to look into their eyes and tell them they are more than enough. They are created beautiful and with a purpose. They are given these passions by no accident. They don’t need permission to pursue what their hearts desire. It is right and it is good.As the authors say in the book, there is no need to call each other out. We need to call each other up!Note: I was provided with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. And I honestly loved it. #crossmyheart

Why I Chose This Book: I had just finished reading For the Love when I stumbled across this book (which I LOVED), and I assumed it would be very similar. Honestly, the subtitle caught my attention. I constantly feel restless and insecure, wondering why I am not living up to expectations (placed on myself, of course) of reaching the illusive image of success. I certainly wouldn’t consider myself wild, by any means–I never really have been. My “wild days” are quite tame–I’m an old soul in a young body. But freedom is something I am constantly seeking–freedom from the captivity of fear, freedom to truly be myself without worry of disappointing others. The role of women in Christianity (and society at large) is a point of contention for me. Finding a way to contribute without driving yourself insane trying to live up to expectations of others is difficult (and often times heartbreaking).What I Thought: Putting cohesive thoughts together for this one is a little difficult due to the expectations I had placed on it prior to reading. I wanted a lighthearted piece that would guide me on a journey of both self-acceptance and personal growth. While some of the chapters hit home (Chapter 9: The Danger of Staying Tame) and made me want to change some of my habits, I frequently felt I was in the middle of a graduate course on the multiple connotations of specific words. Interesting, sure. Inspiring? Not really.The two authors have very different personalities, so even if you don’t relate to one, you will most likely relate to the other. (I’m very much a Hayley personality–like I said earlier, wild isn’t my style. I get small in times of conflict, hoping to go unnoticed and not make waves, rather than large in hopes of intimidating the “threat.”) The authors alternate writing each chapter, with a comment from the other at the end of each chapter. The writing style rambled a bit too much for my taste. Personal anecdotes that should have been engaging just made me want to skim the pages for the next bit of meaty content.Overall, this book left me unsatisfied. I can’t pinpoint exactly what I would have wanted to see, (which is extremely frustrating, I’m sure). The authors wrote from the heart, attempted to connect to their readers, and provided factual information to back up their claims. I suppose, metaphorically, I felt like I received a Caesar salad when all I wanted was the prime rib. Still delicious, just unsatisfying.)

The thing I love about books like this one is the self evaluation I do while reading it, all those underlines and post it notes and such I want to share with you what I'm coming away from the book.I am a speed reader, I read books the size of this one in days. Usually 2 or 3, tops. But I can't read more than a chapter a day in this one, it's not that it's horribly written or I don't connect with the material. It's that I DO.I question a few theology points, but they are minor in the grand scheme of things are didn't really make me rethink my faith but what they did do is remind me of what I do know to be true. Remember this is published by Zondervan, which can lean a little on the conservative side of Christian theology. Another turn off for me was an endorser. It sounds silly but I really value who endorses the books I read, and there was one in particular person I was turned off by.This book is deep for me as I read a chapter each night, underlining as a I go and taking notes of the thoughts, feelings, and past experiences that made me who I am today. Everything about this book is personal for me, the experiences these women have been in or how they protect themselves from the world. Their fears of conflict, Hayley, and their love of the ugly cry, Jess.This book is still working on me, it's showing me how I am holding myself captive, instead of running wild & free like my God intends for me.I received this book for free in return for an honest opinion.

This beautiful book is a breath of fresh air. Even the title makes my spine tingle. It's the much needed message that we are wild and free, here and now. Already enough and never to much. Good because God made us and HE is good. I so need to hear as do so many of my sisters out there.

This book has been so uplifting to me daily! When I feel like tearing myself down for something (whether it seems fair or not), I find that I am reminded so much through this book that I don't need to live in the bondage of sin. I am freed my the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to live freely in forgiveness and grace. I love this book!

Honestly, I bought this book for the subtitle alone as it seemed so relevant to my own life. It took me a couple of chapters to get really invested in this book, but as Jess and Hayley's vision of wild + free living was expanded I began to see myself through God's eyes and was more evaluative about the way I was living and the words that I allowed to be spoken over me. I loved how honest this book was. It left me hopeful and confident in the woman God has created me to be.

This book challenges you to learn and grow and think outside the boxes that you have set up for God, yourself and the other godly women in your life. We are working through it as a care group study and it generates some great discussion.

I read this book in a season when it was exactly what I needed to find the bravery and compulsion I needed to step forward in my purpose - to be wild and free without fear or insecurity and to begin to share it with other women in my sphere of influence.