A Great Book about Honor and Shame
Ken Shigematsu of Japanese origin is Senior Pastor in Vancouver, Canada, and author of two award-winning books. With "Now I Become Myself. How Deep Grace Heals Our Shame and Restores Our True Self" he presents his third book published by Zondervan Reflective. In his book he touches topics such as "The Fear of Not Being Good Enough", "Encountering the Love of God", "Overcoming Envy", or "Choosing Joy". Due to his background he is very knowledgeable about shame and gives an insight that can rarely be found in Western cultures. I really appreciated his honesty that starts already on the first page. He shows that also "accomplished" people are insecure and feel shame. Shigematsu uses quotes by people like Thomas Merton, Desmond Tutu, Craig Groeschel to introduce the topics of the chapters. Every chapter is concluded with a prayer exercise that includes a reflection and Study Guide Question (this are helpful for individual and group studies).
Shigematsu's goal for the book can be found in a quote from Brené Brown: "While a temporary state of shame can inspire life change and may have a social benefit, my focus in this book is to help us overcome our unhealthy trait shame—the feeling that we are fundamentally flawed and therefore unworthy" (p. 7). A statement by Shigematsu that touched me very much can be found at the end of the first chapter: "We will only know that we are enough when we experience the deep grace of God, which covers our shame, makes us whole, and calls forth our true self" (p. 13). This is not the only time that I have read this book. I highly recommend it to readers who deal with shame and those who want to have a deeper understanding of shame and God's answer to it.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#NowIBecomeMyself #Netgalley

Ken's newest book is deeply moving, personal, and pastoral. It's my favourite among the three he's written so far.. Drawing on biblical, psychological, and personal sources Ken shares about the impacts of shame and how we can be healed through God's grace and love. I appreciated how practical the book was as well. Gratitude, sabbath, embracing our limits, and prayer are among the practical ways we can enter more deeply into God's grace. Ken's book reveals an invitation to allow God to break through our shame, and enter into a life that joyful, unburdened, and deeply restorative.