Fierce Free & Full of Fire•Jen Hatmaker
⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (2/5)
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“You haven’t gone anywhere you’ve ever gone without her. She has served you well.”
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👍🏼Thumbs Up:
A few funny stories (though not nearly enough to keep my attention, and way less than her previous books), some thought provoking content and a few chapters that resonated while reminding women to be empowered.
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👎🏻Thumbs Down:
Oh, how I was disappointed in this book. Having read and enjoyed Jen’s previous books for their hilarious content and life lessons, I expected more from this book. This felt like a rewrite of other things I’ve heard from her or other authors with far too much of the real content quoted from other writers. While she speaks of Jesus and her Christian faith, I found the messaging to be lacking and would call this more of a “self empowerment” book than anything else.
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🤓For readers WHO:
-Are fans of Hatmaker
-Enjoy self help books
-Appreciate author “cheerleading”
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👉🏼This is what’s WHAT:
Jen goes through 12 chapters teaching women about why they sleep on their inner truth and how they can empower themselves in different arenas. She touches on self awareness, social justice, body image, friendship and family.
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⏳WHEN I read this book:
I immediately wondered what others thought about it, and if I’m the only one who didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
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🚨WHERE you should watch out:
No triggers.
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📍WHY you shouldn’t read this book:
In all honesty, I’d skip this one in favor of one of Hatmaker’s earlier books instead.
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📚HOW I read it:
eARC from NetGalley and NelsonBooks

As a part of a huge launch team for this book, I have seen support for Jen Hatmaker from a variety of women - all ages, stages, personalities, sexualities, affirming, allies - you get the idea.

So many of these launch team members and JHat fans are finding life and affirmation in every page of this book. For me, however, it has been a different journey. Pandemic aside, this is not an easy read. While I felt very seen and affirmed by some of the chapters in this book, other chapters were too much for me. And yes, one of her main messages is that women should feel free and fierce and take up all their space. During the time in which I read this book, though, I watched one of my daughters have to deal with some friends of hers who take up so much of their space that they inadvertently took up some of hers as well, invading her margins and causing her pain in their criticism. I was taken backward in time almost twenty years ago, when I dealt with similar issues within a church setting, and it has been an emotional few weeks. And while I want to say yes to all things Jen, that would not be an honest response. My experience and personality says otherwise.

More than any of her other books to date, this book is not just for the church-going Christian woman. It is for all women. I would hand this book to any friend who says she is struggling to find where she fits in the world, or if she even does. To that question I offer this from the last page of the book:

“Let us know the real, whole you. Own it, embrace it, declare it all. Step up and out in truth; we are waiting. We need you. Every molecule of who you are, every experience you have ever had, ever dream you were made to chase, every place you were designed to serve--we are all out here waiting for you with open arms. Without question:
You are fierce.
You are free.
You are full of fire” (218).

All that to say, I do recommend this book. It is honest, well-organized, well-researched, and truthful. I would recommend it for many of my friends, but not all of them. My most conservative friends will probably not touch this book with the proverbial ten-foot pole, and there would also be some pearl-clutching at the decidedly PG language that occasionally crops up. That is okay; we are free to choose our own reading material.

As for me, I will continue to, as Jen says, “do the work.” I may not ever describe myself with the words of the title, but I will continue to find my place of service, and I will continue to do the work that God has given to me to do. I may not agree with everything in this book, but that is okay. I’m still here.

I am blown away. Jen is leading us on this journey in only a way that she can. Jen's books are always rereads for me, meaning I need to read them multiple times because there are just so many good nuggets in them. I grew up in a moderately Christian home, maybe. We went to church every Sunday and I went to a Christian school 3rd grade-12th. I was pretty active in my church growing up, you know on the church board in high school, regular stuff. In college I was active in christian groups and went to church most Sundays. But, I was told by multiple, better christians that my United Methodist Church wasn't good enough because it wasn't strict. I was told by better christians that going to the sunday evening young adult church, bible study, and a weekly praise/workship session wasn't actually going to church. So, once I had a full-time job, I stopped. I stopped doing things like go to church because I didn't want to get up another morning because I should or was supposed to. In the last 20 years we've gone as a family on Christmas, had our kids baptized, and were married in a church, but going to church is not part of our weekly routine. Guess what. Our kids have faith, they believe that God sent his son to die on the cross, so that they can go to heaven. They know about Noah, they believe that God created the heavens and the earth, even if they might also describe it like the big bang, because maybe that's how he created it, we don't know how he did, we just know that he did. All this to say, I am eager to go on this journey with Jen and to learn how she has paved the way for me to be myself and to be a Christian without the shoulds, without the judgement, and without the this is the way it's always been done mentalities.

WOW! Thank you Jen for this book. I marked so many passages that have spoken to me; Jen writes in such a way that it makes you stop, think and at times gives you the kick in the pants that you may need. I have cried, laughed and sat in silence while reading this book. This book is one that I have told so many women about and it will be a book that I purchase as gifts for the amazing women in my tribe.

So much TRUTH! Every chapter had so many moments that hit me right in the heart, made me feel like I'd had a life chat with my friend Jen, and challenged me to do better and bring other women along with me! Such a great book and I recommend it to everyone!

I was very excited to receive the advanced e-copy of this book! I am about half way thru as I wanted this one to last a little longer than usual to allow Jen's message to sink in. I love Jen's teaching and have not been disappointed in this book. She brings her whole self and gives the real deal story. Period. Women are fed so many things everywhere we turn - we need more truth tellers like Jen to listen to and learn from!

I flew through this book in two days. My expectations were lowered because I dislike the title and cover, but I was pleasantly overjoyed to find the same writing that I have loved in her past books. I love Jen's openness and honesty, as well as her faithfulness to what is true and good.

I love reading. It is one of life’s great pleasures. I especially love reading non fiction, and if a book gives you pause and makes you think, it is, in my opinion a good book and reading it was time well spent. Since I’m a huge Jen Hatmaker fan, and have read every one of her books, I’ve spent many hours ‘well’ devouring her words. This one doesn’t disappoint- in fact I’d go as far as to say it tops everything.

When a book sets your mind and heart on fire and makes you want to share it with the world, when you want to highlight the pages and get the book into the hands of every woman you know and love, when you want to meet the author and be her friend, when the whole world goes through a pandemic after you’ve finished the book and you decide to read it again and it feeds your soul and lights your fire again, that is a great book!

I was incredibly lucky to be on the launch team for this book. Jen Hatmaker is funny, insightful and speaks truth and life into what so often become topics of great frustration and pain and self doubt.

Perceptions and expectations have made such a huge impression on most women, and we’ve come to believe so many things that do not serve us at all - it helps to have a voice in the wilderness leading the way and it is especially great in uncertain times such as these.

Fierce, Free and Full of Fire is an inspirational self help book about finding (or rediscovering) your true self.

I wanted to read this book because the description was very appealing. I tend to be a people-pleaser and liked that this book addresses that. I also liked the emphasis on choosing your own path.

Fierce, Free and Full of Fire is divided into five sections:

Who I Am
What I Need
What I Want
What I Believe
How I Connect

The book starts out with an instantly relateable sentence: "I grew up around well-behaved women." The author then goes on to explain how being well behaved and people pleasing often subverts our own goals and plans. She writes:

"Understanding and embracing who we are, how we've been created, is the launching pad for living a fearlessly genuine life, where we're no longer pretending or trying to be something other than what we are on the inside" (Kindle location 133).

She talks about labels that we all have -- sometimes from parents, or teachers, or even from ourselves in the past. I found this a very eye opening discussion. I think we all (and most especially women) have some of these labels.

I found the idea of seeking our authentic self and doing what we really want to - our goals, our plans - very exciting and liberating.

I especially loved some of her writing about dealing with other people. "I Want To Connect Without Drama" was something I really related to and appreciated.

I recommend Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire to anyone who is looking for a fresh, unique Christian self help book about living an authentic life and choosing your own dream.

The author has a fresh, sassy voice. This is my first book by Jen Hatfield, but she has a unique style that makes for a compelling, thoughtful, and fun read!

Great book that covers 5 areas of our lives: Who I am, What I Need, What I Want, What I Believe, and How I Connect and how we can learn to be Fierce, Free and Full of Fire in them.
I feel like there is a chapter in this book that everybody can relate to. The writer is really open and honest and tells the story in a fun relatable way.

I love reading Jen’s books—it’s as though we are getting together over a cup of coffee and having a heart to heart between friends.
This book has transformed the way I think about my life-who I am and who God created me to be, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Most importantly, Jen has reminded me that I am not bound by my past or my circumstances or by others’ expectations. I’m FREE to be me

I was so happy and honored to be on Jen Hatmaker's launch team for Fierce, Free and Full of Fire. This is a book that not only have we always needed but never more so than right now. Jen talks about how to live to the full of what God made you to be. How can you bring out the fire that we all, but especially women, have deep in our souls but have been told by others to keep pushed down. Those of us that have been told we are "too much", "not enough", "too bold", "too bossy", etc. God made us in his image so none of this is wrong. I read this first on the digital version but have the hardback copy now that I will be going back and re reading. This is the important book of the year!

In Jen Hatmakers newest book she goes over 5 areas of our lives: Who I am, What I Need, What I Want, What I Believe, and How I Connect and how we can learn to be Fierce, Free and Full of Fire in them. Not every chapter is going to be for everyone. Personally I sped through a couple of them but others I had to reread and keep going back because it hit so hard. What I love about her writing is how real she is but also how funny!! Honestly you learn so much and are so entertained at the same time.

Where do I begin?...I am blown away! As usual, Jen brings humor and insight to the issues that touch our hearts and lives. Her introduction feel like sitting on a comfortable sofa (or porch swing) and chatting with a dear friend. I immediately wanted MORE! I ugly cried my way through Chapter 3 and have vowed NEVER again to take my body for granted or under appreciate what SHE has done, is doing, and will do in the way of service to the Lord, my family, my community and my own well-being. If you have ever felt guilty for (or passionate about) questioning, dissecting, or even re-building your faith......THIS BOOK (and Chapter 9) IS FOR YOU! You may not align yourself with every one of Jen's thoughts, but her observations and honest truth INSPIRES me to be more HONEST and INTENTIONAL during this amazingly complicated journey of life and faith that we are all on together!

I thoroughly enjoyed Fierce, Free and Full of Fire. It helped me focus on being those three F’s, which I aspire to be. I have been a Christian for almost 30 years and, like the author, I’ve come to the realization that “any ‘obedience to God’ that results in dehumanization could not possibly be holy.” I’ve felt a growing dis-ease in the western church culture as I’ve re-examined my faith in the last few years and de-constructed my faith of things that don’t seem to support the overall message of what Jesus represented. I’m now in the re-construction phase of my faith and am thankful to have found a new progressive Christian church that looks at scripture in its ancient context to see the implied meaning, which had much to do with the culture of the time it was written in. I’m less interested in making everything literal in meaning and trying to hear what the authors were trying to teach us about this God of the Bible. I loved her mother-in-laws quote: “Original texts in the original languages do not say what we’re reading and interpreting within our our context in our culture.”

So it was refreshing to hear someone else share the insights I’ve been coming to. I’ve been a fan of Jen Hatmaker for awhile now, listening to her podcasts, so I already knew her book would include a lot of humor, it’s one of her trademarks, but also her sincerity and passion. I resonated with her story of her own tribe and reminding me “deep calls to deep”, when referring to the power of one or two deeply authentic relationships being needed to feel connected and grounded in this currently very divisive and scary world. “Developing eyes to see loneliness and hands to reach out is one of the greatest gifts to the world...Creating safe spaces for others to be seen and loved and known and celebrated is the height of goodness and the solution to so much sadness.” We all struggle with loneliness at times, whether you are a single mom like me, married, college student, professional or otherwise. We need each other, we need connections and safe places to connect.
On the chapter on “I Am Exactly Enough”, she writes how our culture is rabid to tell women how much oxygen they can use, space they can take, tables they can join, opinions they are allowed.....It is hard to put a price on being seen and valued as you are. When you don’t have to ratchet down or falsely inflate but are welcomed with your contents exactly intact, this is where we thrive....When the command aimed at women is “be less”, the tactics include insulting, condescending, bullying, and manipulating.” All these things can silence our voices, and I can so relate as my voice felt silenced, muffled for a very long time. “Some responses that don’t require your dancing like a monkey for approval: I am enough here. I am content with who I am. I am content with what I have. I am content with how I live....We need more women comfortable in their own skin. The constant scurrying up and down the scales to hit some imaginary target is exhausting. Know who you are, know how you thrive, know your own volume, and live unapologetically in that lane.....don’t be a glutton for your own punishment.”

On the chapter of our bodies, I laughed out loud when she talked about body ideals are a trend, but not real. She writes: “They are invented, then exploited by billion dollar industries that profit from our self-loathing to abuse our bodies into shapes and sizes they were never designed to be. I have bad news for the women who purchased butt implants recently: the next trend will probably be Second-Grade Boy/Alien and your new butts will need to be vacuumed out and repurposed into feet implants.....So hear, grab my hand. Let’s walk away from our screens and cover models and chemical peels and A-listers and go outside. Let’s sit on the porch where sanity lives and talk about what is real.” This next part is one of my favorite long quotes from her book, which she also shared with her Instagram followers: “Your body walked with you all the way through childhood- climbed the trees and rode the bikes and walked you into the first day of high school. ....How else would you have learned to love the smell of brownies, toasted bagels, onions and garlic sizzling in olive oil? Your body perfectly delivered the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Bon Jovi right into your memories. She gave you your first kiss, which you felt you felt on your lips and in your stomach, a coordinated body venture....She watched Steel Magnolias and knew right when to let the tears fall. ...Your body might have incubated, nourished, and delivered a whole human life, maybe even two or three. She is how you cherish the smell of those babies, the feel of their cheeks, the sound of them calling your name. How else are you going to taste deep-dish pizza and French onion soup? You have your body to thank for every good thing you have ever experienced. She has been so good to you. And to others. ...Your body delivered you to people who needed you the exact moment you showed up. She kissed away little tears and patched up skinned knees. Your body nurtures minds and souls with her presence. With her lovely eyes, she looks deliberately at people who so deeply need to be seen. Sat with sad, sick, and suffering friends. Her face has been a comfort,. Her hands will be remembered fondly - how they looked, how they loved. Her voice is the sound of home....You May hate her, but no one else does.....Maybe it’s time to stop hating her and just love her back.”

I love how she encouraged me in “If you have a secret dream, a private desire, and you are refusing to bring it into the light of day, we actually need you.” What if I let fear and disapproval keep me side-lined? I felt like I was being cheer-leaded on to continue to search to use my gifts and talents in a fulfilling way that the world needed. Pursue your dreams, purposes, and desires, she says. For me, it encouraged me to do it for myself, to live a fulfilling life with no regrets. Do it for my boys, who are watching, for my community, for Jesus, for the people my work will serve, encourage, inspire, and include. Do it for justice, beauty, truth, or freedom on the other side.

The chapter on Truth also hit home. “More relationships drift into in-difference than capsize from conflict. Truth is the epicenter of everything good. From it flows courage, kindness, maturity, humility, and happiness. It leaves nothing on the table and thus purges our lives of regret, or just as bad, resentment. It dethrones toxic trends from reigning in our relationships: pretending, faking, lying-the most terrible enemies of flourishing lives. Trust truth....God can do immeasurable work with your honesty......Truth is a faithful defender against the lies meant to break us; it is ever on our side....Truth values every human equally, it favors no hierarchies.”

Jen Hatmaker makes me want to dance, laugh, give canoers champagne and take the world by the storm. I LOVE THIS WOMAN. Someone find her so I can give her a hug.

"Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire." Fearless, feminist and fervent. And pretty freaking funny. This book is one of the best self-help book I have ever read, and I am slightly obsessed with this genre. As we read, Jen becomes our best friend and mentor who is not afraid to speak her truth about how to be unapologetically ourselves. She helps us articulate who we are, what we need, what we want, what we believe and how we connect. This involves tackling such difficult topics are self-esteem, body image, compassion, human connections, asking for help and asking questions about our faith.

The best part about this book is that Jen is so relatable. She is a female Christian leader and talks about loving Jesus a lot, which was very important to me; however, this book definitely isn't just for Christians.

Also, people, please do yourselves a favor and get the audiobook! We literally hear Jen laugh, chuckle, cry and make silly side jokes throughout this thing which can't be read with your eyeballs. She is so random, God bless her.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An absolute must read! Jen is so inspiring, gets to the truth of what matters in life. This book is a must-read for women, share it with your loved ones! Full of self-reflectiion in these categories—who I am, what I need, what I want, what I believe, and how I connect.

I was so inspired by this I gifted 4 copies to my small group of mentor friends. Added bonus if you do the audiobook, lots of extra commentary from Jen herself!

In both the opening and closing of Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire, Hatmaker states that most readers will find some of the chapters to be exactly what they need, while others won't apply at all. That pretty well sums up my experience with this book. Some chapters really hit me. Like, how on earth could she speak to exactly some of the things I'm struggling with at work? Other parts (literally all of the marriage and mom stuff) did not apply in the least. And some parts felt very familiar, like they came out of some of her other books.

I very much appreciated that she champions all women and encourages them to be their best selves. The body image chapter is on point, and the chapter on friendship/connection should be required reading. But there's a balance that's missing in this book—amid all the calls to be your authentic self and pursue your passions, I kept thinking, "But what if my passions are sinful?" There is zero mention of sin or our fallen nature or our need for God's grace in this book. For a self-help book, that's fine, but for a book that's supposed to be about Christian living (the category listed on the back cover), it's missing something.

The best way to read this book would be chapter by chapter, discussing with a friend or book club as you go along. Probably the worst way is the way I read it, all in one afternoon. The perspective that would come from discussion with other people would be very valuable in informing how you ultimately perceive this book and how it challenges you. In the end, this book is one that I feel "meh" about: parts were great, parts were boring, and parts I could've done without.

This book spoke to the inner parts of me. Just like the author said there were some chapters that hit harder snd connected more than others, but all of them were good. Jen's writing is down to earth, fierce, honest, vulnerable, and in your face. Run to your nearest bookstore and get a copy it will have a huge impact on your life if you actually do the work.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the advanced copy and the opportunity to read and review this book!

Fierce, Free and Full of Fire is Jen Hatmaker doing what she does best. Hatmaker is honest to a fault and despite the serious content, she's seriously funny. Like the world's best therapist this book will make you laugh while you work through your stuff. The book is loosely organized into sections designed to help women in "five self-reflective areas: who I am, what I need, what I want, what I believe, and how I connect" (Hatmaker). Dividing the work into areas may make parts of the book less relevant to you personally, but please take my advice and read the whole thing. The parts that don't specifically apply to you will almost certainly apply to someone you know. By helping us all address the areas where we struggle and identify the areas where we're strong Hatmaker is equipping us to be the strong women the world needs today and to raise the strong women the world will need in the future.