Book Review: Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson
I was thrilled to get Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson. Last year, I read her Mad Church Disease and have been a frequent reader of her blog and so it was with great anticipation, that I read the book I had heard about there.
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Anne pulls no punches, as was expected. If it’s one thing I’ve learned reading her blog is that she’s a straight-shooter.
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Truly, I was hoping to see myself in the pages of the book. I wondered if other people thought the same things I’ve thought and wanted to take someone by the shoulders and say, “What is wrong with this picture?! Grace is fully & freely given and that’s NOT JUST for the people sitting in our church right now!”
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There are some things I don’t feel can be said in church … like that. I’m not sure I’m ready to say them either, or in that way, but I think it’s important that Anne started this dialogue.
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She gave people permission on her blog, and through this project, to say whatever it was they felt they couldn’t anywhere else.
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That’s. Something.
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I would say I grew up rather sheltered and maybe am used to a “don’t rock the boat” mentality, so this book helped me gain perspective on what is being held back collectively. And, this is just a snippet.
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I’m serious when I say, I felt kind of like a rule-breaker just for reading it – like I was reading someone’s diary or a book that’s been taken off the library shelves. You can almost feel the weight of what is said.
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I loved the art, the openness of what was shared and the stories. I think Anne was brilliant in how she structured the book and I could tell she was very intentional about how deep each story would go.
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Sheila Walsh said, “Our brokenness is a better bridge to others than our pretend wholeness will ever be.” This quote has become my favorite because it so embodies what Christ would want us to realize and what our deepest desire is – as Anne puts it – “permission to go second.”
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We are so afraid to say something because we’ll be ridiculed, ostracized, thrown out and laughed at. The more I go about shedding layers of religiosity, I see that’s hogwash straight from Hell.
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Satan is afraid of us opening up because we’ll get closer to people, find community, grace and healing.
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We’ll get freedom in Christ and the very things Satan’s using to drag us down in guilt & shame, can actually help to lift someone else up.
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How ’bout them apples, Satan?!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com
