Title: Everyday Grace: Infusing All Your Relationships with the Love of Jesus

Author: Jessica Thompson

Publishing House/Publication Date: Bethany House/2015

Genres: Christian Living; Inspirational Non-Fiction; Relationships

Number of Pages: 208

You should read this book if… You are searching for wisdom to strengthen the relationships in your life with God-given grace.

Theme and Message: Ultimately, this book is a guide to giving and receiving grace through the most important relationship in the world – God’s with us. Highlighting various types of relationships between people, Jessica then points towards a better way of interacting through the filter of God’s association with us.

Writing Style and Voice: For me, the writing style of Jessica Thompson took a little getting used to… Her words, while truthful, are often rather blunt. At times the author’s voice feels detached, making it difficult to become engaged in the content. Additionally, her prolific use of lengthy, inset quotations from other authors continually draws away from her own words, lessening their impact.

Structure and Organization: The layout of this book is basic – twelve lengthy chapters precede a forward by the author’s mother, Elyse Fitzpatrick.

Questionable Content: Each person who reads this book will undoubtedly find different aspects they agree or disagree with, as every chapter is chock-full of various doctrines and theologies. Apart from this, the author makes controversial statements, such as her book being superior to the thousands of other Christian relationship books available today.

Conclusion: Overall, this book was difficult for me to get through. Perhaps the author’s unique approach to relationships, combined with an unusual writing style and numerous, debatable doctrines, simply did not resonate with me as a reader. On the flipside, this book may be exactly what certain people need in their relationships, and her words may provide light and healing to them. However, outside of voice and doctrine, some of her statements are a little over the top and presumptuous… Not to mention, they are not exactly an affirmation of grace.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.