I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley, this review is my own personal opinion.


Kate Merrick, with an honest and fresh way of writing she open to us on her own personal journey of being present in the now. With unusual names for each chapter, this book no doubt is hard to forget. This book really took me by surprise, I laugh and cry while I was reading it I was packing to leave my hometown and I must say for months struggling with dissatisfaction due to many factors, however, I am grateful for this book because it helps me see several things: God wants to have a real and deep relationship with me, but that is my decision. My life for maybe boring that seems, I need to praise God for my now and must of all enjoy my family, to be intentional, to slow down when necessary, to put aside all the can take my focus on what really matters. To be open, too vulnerable, to take chances, to open to new opportunity and the freedom that comes within and how His grace helps us look life from a new perspective on gite my whole self to God on my present, because like Kate Merrick say, we each one of us are we are supposed to be. Before I read this book I was already treating my social media accounts with more care and to really examine my motives behind my post and others. So thank you to Kate Merrick to open her heart and shared what God has shown us and to be a blessing to many.

Here, Now was nothing like I expected and yet everything I needed in the moment. Kate takes you through the heart wrenching story of how she learned to be present in the here and now while losing her daughter to cancer. It was much deeper than expected and not happy go lucky but instead vulnerable, deep, and messy much like life and it invited you to go there and fully live and experience the present in your own life.

“God will use these days.” What a powerful reminder this is, no matter what stage of life we’re in. Kate has a gentle and practical way of encouraging readers to think beyond themselves and their own circumstances, and look at their life in view of God’s glory and God’s purpose. Things may look different than expected, but things also look different savoring the “here, now.”

I read Merrick's Book "And Still She Laughs" last year after losing my best friend and that book was so life-giving to me and such a blessing, I was hesitant to read another by her. What if it was just a grieving fluke? What if her last book was just something I cringed too in the face of grief but like, it wasn't all that great in reality? I'm a tad dramatic, this I know, I know.

NOPE. Kate is a master with words. She is raw, real, funny, and so incredibly good at reaching out to you through the pages (sometimes a hug, sometimes to shake ya a little).

Here, Now wholly convicted me of mine and my families screen time/internet usage. She used the term "overcrowded life" and I just wanted to throw the book across the room because YES KATE. Yes.

I don't want to say more or give away any spoilers because this is really a must-read. I'm a forever fan of Mrs. Merrick's for sure.

In "Here, Now" we are reminded to remain purposefully present in each and every day we are given. The overarching theme of our lives should be, "How can God use me right now, right where I am?" This was a quick book with many practical truths.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Here, Now: Unearthing Peace and Presence in an Overconnected World by Kate Merrick

4 stars

“We are here, now.”

Kate Merrick’s story picks up with her family leaving their small California surfing town for Israel to find a curable treatment for her daughter, Daisy’s cancer. Here, Now looks at the family’s time in Israel becoming completely unplugged from media and learning to connect to those around them as well as God. This novel offers the challenging question of what does it mean for us to become unplugged and find peace and the presence of God in a world that encourages you to be connected superficially but not genuinely connected to those in your present life. This novel has some incredibly touching moments especially the moments about Daisy and her son as well as Phi, their daughter who God gave them a year after Daisy’s passing. I loved the family aspect of this novel. It was sweet and it was interesting to follow a family’s experience in Israel and connecting to the people. I loved the conversations about the Sabbath (which is important) and her commentary on Mary of Bethany (who has become one of my favorite women of the Bible in this season of my life). This novel really dives into how Mary of Bethany choose to bask in the presence of Jesus in contrast to her sister Martha who chooses to clamor about the house and worry over worldly expectations. Merrick tackles this scripture beautifully and I loved its inclusion to the central idea that being unplugged is a good thing and can help us put being present with God over having a presence on the Internet. I wasn’t always the biggest fan of Merrick’s writing. Often times I found myself getting pulled out and at times I loved how she chose to wove words together. I think the thing I noticed was that there is a tendency for two types of prose in her style overly polished and completely chaotic (which is on par with valley girl writing). Neither of these are bad styles, but I wish that there was a more cohesive flow. This book didn’t always blow me away but it did inspire to lay off of Facebook and Instagram during finals week at the beginning of May and I was much more present in the world with my friends and had more intimate time with God. I do recommend this one and I think many people will be challenge and convicted by its themes on rest, partaking in the Sabbath, trusting in the beauty of God through the decay of the world, and checking baggage and ourselves. This novel offers some important commentary on a world that is too obsessed with being plugged in by an author who has no problem unplugging completely.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 3.75

Plotastic Scale: 4.25

Cover Thoughts: I love and adore this cover. The striking yellow cursive with the white background. It’s beautiful.

Thank you, Netgalley and Thomas Nelson, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I love this lady's essence, her zest for life, her surfer/hippy-girl heart and passion for those she loves and what she loves. I'm convinced her little family could very easily transition into the Aussie laidback lifestyle and fit perfectly into any number of the beach communities along the east coast of NSW.

This is Kate's second book. The first was rawer expressing the season of grief and recovery over her dearly loved Daisy's death. I prayed for her little girl for most of her cancer journey and whenever I put on the "Daisy Love" tee-shirt I'm taken back to those 2012-2013 praying days. I always wondered what happened to the Merricks (having followed husband Britt's books and social media) as they went off the grid immediately after Daisy's passing. And stayed off it.

Until recently. Kate with her 2 books has stepped back ever so gently with very little fanfare and a low key approach. Here Now tells us what the family discovered going off the grid. Perhaps a little surprisingly, it tells us there is so much more to be gained on the other side of busyness, of keeping up with the Joneses, of switching off from technology. They don't have an internet connection at home. Man, that's serious switching off.

Here Now shows us the beauty, wonder and faithfulness of a life lived within a small tribe, one's local community whether in Israel where they loved for 3 months seeking a healing for their daughter, or in the one they returned to on the West Coast of California. It's a life of being present, of smelling the roses, savouring the many new tastes (some good, some not so good) of a new country and culture, of being able to clearly hear the word of God because there's minimal clutter that distracts.

Kate writes as she talks I suspect - she's funny, sometimes a little irreverent, sassy and courageous. This book has you laughing and crying on the one page and crying and laughing on the next one. I suspect Kate would be a great friend because she loves hard and has learnt through the hardest way that every moment is to be cherished whether it's riding a barrel at her local break, or doing the laundry.

If you're finding yourself a little overwhelmed by the busyness of life or struggling because of the noise of social media, technology and news, go buy this little book. You'll meet a beautiful woman with a big heart who will invite you into her home and share what she's discovered by getting off the grid and learning that life is to be cherished one moment at a time.

I was able to read Here, Now by Kate Merrick for free from Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was full of adventures. Kate shows us how we are living and consumed with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) where we lose sight of our true blessings. She gives her life lessons to point out the beauty of life. We are reminded that we are created for a reason and to not only look for our creator but appreciate him.

This kindle advance reading copy sounded intriguing, and I couldn't wait to read it. While the book seems to be worth more than casually reading it one time and adding it to a finished stack, the way they put together this copy made it very difficult to read. Quite often the words: DUPLICATE MATERIAL DO NOT DUPLICATE show up in the middle of pages and then the book picks back up in a different location. There were times I could skip back and forth, piecing together sentences, at other times I couldn't. Out of frustration, I gave up on this.

Maybe this is a five star book. I couldn't tell.

Kate Merrick knows how precious each moment, each minute can be. She learned this while her daughter went through cancer treatments and her family sought ways to be more present in each other’s lives. During a trip to Israel for a last hope cancer treatment, Kate and her family disconnected from online platforms and social media and focused on each moment with each other instead. In the process, they learned the value of being more present with each other and with God, with the place and people immediately around them instead of someone’s meal pictures from thousands of miles away. She shares what they learned through the process and challenges readers to be more present wherever they are and make each moment matter.

Don’t get the message of the book wrong. The author is not dictating that everyone needs to shut down all their social media accounts and go completely off-line. She just challenges readers to double check that you’re still the master of your time and that you’re not being mastered by your social media accounts, emails, and messages. She challenges you to make sure that that latest alert on your phone isn’t stealing time that may be better spent on a real person right in the same room with you. It’s an invitation to pause and take inventory. She grants that there is a time and place for online activities and that they can be very useful. But she realized in her own life that such things were stealing time from her family, and she didn’t know how much until they all unplugged. I don’t feel any need to shut down my social media accounts after reading her book, but I am more determined to make sure that meals and times with others remain phone-free times. The stories of the fight for her daughter Daisy’s life are touching and add another element to the book. So do the stories of being temporary expats in Israel for several months and the things that those experiences taught them. Her stories range from heart-rending to humorous, and everywhere in between, and she always relates them back to what God taught her and her family through them. They keep you thinking while also providing an engaging read. Recommended to people who enjoy Christian memoirs, and those looking for a read to remind themselves that each moment is precious.

No content issues.

<i>I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>