This is a refreshing, down-to-earth devotional for those of us who have experienced pain, loss, and trauma in our lives (and who hasn’t?). The authors pull genuinely from their own experiences to craft gentle, encouraging messages.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I liked the easiness of reading this book. For busy days it helps you fit in a nugget of faith and motivation. Short chapters with many quotes that make stop and think.
Each chapter ends with a short blessing and a step to take.
It was a cosy read!

Honest and approachable. Each day of Good Enough includes a short reflection, a blessing, and a "good enough" step to take. Readers of Kate Bowler will enjoy her latest, but whether you've read her work before -- and especially if you are grieving, walking through loss or a difficult diagnosis, or overwhelmed -- this is an encouraging book that isn't quite essays nor a devo... while it's titled as a devotional, is does not lean heavily on Scripture.

I was fortunate enough to receive an #arc of this lovely book of devotional. I read one every day for the last 40 days and it was really great. It was not overly religious, which I was glad for, but was a great way for me to reflect and think each day. I look forward to having a physical copy that I can refer back to going forward.

Pub date: February 15, 2022

Thank you NetGalley and Convergent Books for the review copy.

I really enjoyed Kate Bowlers other books, so when I saw she wrote a devotional, I couldn’t wait to read it. All the books on my TBR took a backseat so that I could concentrate and get the most out of this devotional. With the busy holiday season, there were days that the only thing I was able to read, was this devotional.

In a society that focuses on perfection, it’s always been something I've battled and continually work on, so the title spoke to me! This book has features from her previous memoirs, but it is organized by theme. I love the short chapters and the “A Good Enough Step” at the end of each chapter to think and reflect upon and then act on if you so wish. It was set up to read one per day and it worked best for me to read it in the morning and then think about it throughout the day. The only problem I had, was that I found myself reading into the next day more than once.

I appreciated the honesty, transparency, rawness and sometimes wit that Bowler and Richie showed in each devotional. They remind us that we need to be kind and have patience with ourselves. Perfection is not the goal.

Did every devotional speak to me....no, but there were many that touch me very deeply and I am still thinking about them weeks after reading it. It will be a devotional that I will reread in the future.

If you embrace your imperfections (I’m trying), then you will enjoy this devotional as a reminder when you have a difficult day/week/month.

This is a perfect addition to any home library or nightstand. Kate and Jessica team up to deliver a great collection of 40 devotional style readings. Each of the segments contains a story/lesson, a blessing, and a simple yet practical way to react. The words are all very timely, and everyone can find a passage to relate to. I also liked that there is an appendix in the back, so you can look up specific blessings. I will definitely be purchasing a hard copy of this for my home personal use.

I received an advanced reading copy via NetGallry.

Sadly, this book was not for me. It was light and fun and did make some good points that could speak to other Christian women's lives. It just didn't speak to mine. Now, there could be all kinds of reasons for why this book didn't speak to me. Given that, I do not want to fault the authors of this book for something that just didn't work for me. The writing style was light and the authors did share a great deal about themselves throughout. It might be that I want my devotionals to prompt more introspection than what I got from this book. That said, I could see it being a great gift for others, especially as one looks to the holidays.

It will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Kate Bowler's work that this is not your grandmother's devotional. It's raw, honest, and unafraid to tackle the hard parts of life. The blessings and prayers are beautiful, poignant, and comforting. And the next steps are practical, realistic, and actually helpful.

Beautiful and inspirational, transparent and honest. Kate Bowler's writing always speaks to me. I especially love the blessings.

I love Kate Bowler’s voice and lens through which she views the world and faith. It’s so refreshing with a perfect mix of wit, truth, and self deprecation. It’s been a while since I felt like I was in a place where I was interested in a traditional “devotional” but these short essays, paired with a blessing and a “good enough step”, were really refreshing, I think they work best skipping around and reading as they apply to where you are or what you need most (rather than reading chronologically).

Thanks to Convergent Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own,

This book takes an empathetic approach and gives bite size approaches and allows you to have kindness and patience with yourself when dealing with life. This is so necessary for everyone to read in life. Highly recommend. Especially loved the reflection to true life to humanize my feelings and relate. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for its release so I can read it again.

“After all, what is idolatry except beautiful things that do not transform us?”

I think this line alone is worth reading the book for. I have not been able to get it out of my head.
However, I am also quite sure if you choose to read this book, there will be many other lines that jump out and speak to your heart.

This book is such a gift to the world. There were actually many, many things that spoke to me as I read these devotionals, and I am truly grateful to have read this book. The prayers included in each chapter, were incredibly heartfelt and honest, I appreciated them so much.

I loved the writings about the working out of faith in the everyday parts of life that are the focus of the devotionals/chapters. Many were encouraging and relatable and practical, or some combination of the three. I broke this book down over many days, as it is designed to be read as a devotional. I felt it would have done the authors and myself a disservice by trying to read it too quickly. The parts early on specifically about Grief and Mourning touched some deep places on my spirit and I am grateful. The entire book is full of beautiful writing, deep thinking and challenges to grow.

79% in and I read this…”our culture is so obsessed with boundaries that it pretends we can be untouched by pain and have lives of profound meaning. “. Oh my. So true.

I will definitely be purchasing this book when it releases as I know I will want to re-read these devotionals again.

(While I connected with almost all of the book, there was one teeny little bit that felt a bit off for me. This is just my opinion, of course, but when I am reading a non-fiction book, I find a little background in the beginning on the author(s) to be helpful, which wasn’t really included here. I think part of the problem for me was with the two authors and having to hear “this happened to Jessica”, or “this happened to Kate”, when I didn’t really know either of them and there was never really much info about who either of them are. I am sure many readers will be familiar with them from their podcast, which I will only know be starting to listen to.)

My thanks to Net Galley and Convergent Books for the opportunity to read this advance copy of Good Enough.

I was not expecting to love this one so much. I am on another read through and really trying to meditate on the words and thoughts in this book. I laughed, I cried, I pondered and I was blown away. The thoughts are deep and honest which is much needed in this genre. I really loved the prayer component and found myself coming back to them over and over again.

Many thanks NetGalley!!

I wasn't sure about reading a Christian self-help book, but I'm a fan of Kate Bowler's other books, and I really loved this one, as well. This book has aspects of her other memoirs, yet it's organized very differently, around a theme (grief, loss, letting go, lots of difficult things) with three sections to each short chapter. First there's the narrative about the theme, then a blessing, then "A Good Enough Step," kind of the workbook/homework section, giving you just a little something to think about and act on. I didn't care for the blessing section of each chapter, I ended up just skimming those, but I really appreciated the first and last sections, as well as how short the chapters are. She treats them as daily devotionals, and that would be a good way to read them, just one per day so you have the whole day to think about it. I, however, kept getting sucked in and reading more than one a day. I particularly liked Chapter 10, "When you are exhausted." She talks a lot about grief ("Grief is a long story," amen to that), pain, and grace, and it's kind of hard to read sometimes because there are a lot of emotions, but she also leaves you feeling comforted and hopeful when she is honest enough to say "yes, it sucks right now, but here's your next step." Sometimes that's a great thing to hear. I like how practical she is, for example, when she says, "Empathy and action. That's all you need." I find that's great advice for when you don't know what to say or do, but you want to show up and be there for someone. It is an overtly Christian book, but not in a saccharine or inaccessible way, and even though it brought up a lot of emotions (again, good idea to only read one chapter a day), I'll read it again.

This delightfully written book will encourage Christians of all kinds in times of difficulty, worry, and distress. While it does not make light of problems, it encourages us to look at troubles in the light of Christ.

"Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection" is a Bible devotional book by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie. Each chapter included a devotional, a blessing to pray over your life, and a "Good Enough Step" to transform your life. I enjoyed the transparency and honesty that Bowler and RIchie included in each chapter, and their insistence that perfection is not the goal. As someone who is a perfectionist, this was a nice change. Overall, this was a good book and I can imagine that women will probably enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will forever love posting books
because given that there are so many of them, I hope my smallish flashlight will guide others to maybe pick up what I am currently loving. Sundays are great for sharing those which fall in my faith lane. Kate Bowler is a kindred spirit &
her insights inspire me to think deeper but not in a way which is exhausting but where I find myself exhaling. This book is full of many exhales & I laughed in places too. Don't worry about life not being perfect or what you see in others posts on Instagram, #goodenough really is all we
need!! Thank you Kate Bowler & Jess Richie for this inspiring reminder!!

A thoughtful but also fun look at spirituality and the sacred. The alternating essay and prayer sections work very well and add to the richness and complexity of the book.

Back when I had just received a cancer diagnosis, I found Kate Bowler’s book Everything Happens For A Reason to be entertaining, inspiring, comforting– all the things you want from a book at a time like that! Recently, I read her follow-up book, No Cure For Being Human, in which she addressed the fact that we really have no control over our lives, being human and all, but that life can still be beautiful. So I was happy to receive a copy of Good Enough (subtitled 40-ish devotionals for a life of imperfection) from Convergent Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

OK, I KNEW going in that she is a divinity school professor, focusing on the prosperity gospel and all. And I understand that her aim is to help people who want to stop feeling guilty about not living their “best life” now…but seriously, it’s kinda challenging when you are dealing with cancer, right? But– I digress.

So the real question is: just what was I THINKING? I am not even Christian, so I am not sure why I thought this book of”Christian daily reflections” would be something I’d enjoy. OK, TBH there are times when I WISH I could just be a “person of faith” and believe that there is a plan or a reason. Or, barring that, be someone who accepts that striving for whatever is possible today (living in the moment and all) is the way to find acceptance, comfort, solace, whatever you want to call it.

But that isn’t me. So I tried to look at this as if I were a believer, at least enough to think these “devotionals” were applicable to my life. And I even imagined I was among the people I know whose lives are lived with a huge focus on their relationship with God/Jesus/Whomever. And it still wasn’t for me, but I did appreciate the writing and the positivity. And I will continue to recommend Kate Bowler to people — she is terrific, and I know she has helped many many people. I’m giving this one four stars with all the caveats listed above.

THIS BOOK! It has been a balm for my soul. These past couple years have been wrought with questions, and challenges. Bowler brings beauty out of the mundane, and the daily difficulties we have. Love this and will keep coming back to it.