Every time I read a book from Sarah Bessey, it feels like I’m reading something by an older sister, ahead of me in the faith, grappling with the same questions and uncertainties I do. I’m so thankful for the ways in which she puts those questions, doubts and other ideas into words.

A great book for anyone who is feeling lost or cold towards their Christian faith. The spiritual wilderness is real and Sarah provides a shoulder to lean on. No easy answers or “drive through” breakthroughs. But you have a companion in Sarah who is full of wisdom and insights.

Early in my journey of reconstructing my faith, I found voices in the wilderness to guide me. Rachel Held Evans. Jeff Chu. Kate Bowler. And Sarah Bessey. All spoke to the lost, confused, and floundering soul that needed to hear she wasn't alone, and somehow Sarah Bessey was the one who felt the most approachable. I have read and rejoiced in all of her work, but Field Notes for the Wilderness is something special.

Field Notes contains some of what her followers have been requesting for a long time. Do you stay or do you move on? What do you keep and what do you throw away? How exactly do you work out what you believe now? Make no mistake, Bessey doesn't have the answers, but she has processes. A self-confessed "expert at faithfully stumbling forward," Bessey shares multiple principles to use when living with an evolving faith like cultivating hope when it feels impossible, telling yourself the truth and learning to lament when you need to, going slowly on purpose cause it can be hard to wait for answers, and giving yourself permission to be happy. And most importantly, she's there to remind you that you can't escape God's love and that it is more beautiful, more expansive, and more beautiful than you ever knew.

So thankful for this book and for Sarah.

This is a book for so many of us.

"It’s hard to leave a faith that has raised us. Maybe it’s even harder to stay."

Sarah Bessey is the voice for those of us that know we believe, but not how we used to. Books like this need to be more prevalent and I'm so thankful for Bessey.

As a long-time reader of Bessey's words (many years as an email subscriber + I own nearly all her books), I have a hard time knowing how to review this title. In some ways, it summarizes much of Bessey's writings over the year.. It encourages curiosity, offers compassion, and provides a few tools. And yet... it felt like something was missing... like the book was 70-75% of the way there. Another reviewer wrote "I was waiting for just...a bit *more.* I didn't really feel like any point was groundbreaking." I'd agree with those words. Was it a Sarah Bessey title? Yes. You can hear her voice throughout. But it just wasn't quite there for me.

This was such a wonderful book, by a sensitive, kind, and needed author of this time. Sarah writes with such care and interest into everyone that she knows will be reading this book and I found it such a great book for those who are trying to figure out where they are in the wilderness.

The book was easy to read and felt like it was written by a friend.

Field Notes for the Wilderness is another beautifully written, honest, encouraging book by Sarah Bessey. She discusses how hard it is to leave behind the faith that we were raised in, and how to find a new, more honest version of faith. And she does it in such a compassionate and understanding way because she's been there too. She says, "Yes, I've changed. And I still belong. Yes, I have questions. And I still belong. Yes, I used to think one thing and now I live something different. And I still belong. Yes, my relationship with religion is best described as 'it's complicated' right now. And I still belong. Yes, I'm hurting and wounded and I have hurt and I have wounded. And I still belong. Yes, I am filled with doubt and disbelief and wonder at the same time. And I still belong. Yes, I don't know what I think about really any of this. And I still belong. Yes, I'm trying to figure out what it means to love God and love people well. And I still belong. Yes, I'm anxious and scared. Yes, I'm sad and I'm lonesome. And I still belong." What encouraging and compassionate words! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I've been following and reading Sarah Bessey for years now as someone I deeply respect and trust in the wilderness that is deconstructing and evolving faith, and her latest book has just cemented the fact that she has absolutely earned that. Sarah is not preachy, she's not giving you a list of steps to follow. She's mentoring, guiding, holding your hand as we all walk through this life. This was a book to savor, to read slowly, to take what you need and sit with. And it's one I will be coming back to over and over again to get more out of it.

I enjoyed reading this title and wish it was around for me about 5 years ago when I was really struggling. Now I can read it as confirmation that I am still not alone amd that others have found different paths inside, outside, and in between faith traditions. I appreciate the honesty, stories, amd encouragement. I hope this book finds others who need some hope for the wilderness.

There is no more gentle and wise guide through the wilderness of an evolving faith than Sarah Bessey. I've read a lot of deconstruction books lately, and many of them are steeped in anger and judgment and written by authors fresh from their own religious trauma and deconstruction experiences. Anger is a valid reaction, but it's not what I crave when I look for a teacher and guide through the lonely and disorienting journey of deconstruction.

Instead, Sarah provides the voice of an experienced teacher, decades after her own deconstruction. She tenderly takes our hand and presses into them the tools and practices that have aided her through the wilderness. Chapters focused on concepts like accepting change, cultivating hope and joy, lament and repentance, belonging, and peacemaking. I especially loved the advice to "nurture your own belonging", since belonging is the very thing most of us lost when we deconstructed from our former religious communities. I also loved her advice to "remember to be for, not just against", so that we are not just running away from toxic beliefs, but also running towards truth, love, and goodness in the wilderness.

Some critics of deconstruction question the validity of the faith of the person in the wilderness. But, as Sarah says, deconstruction really can lead to "a reconstruction of belief, resulting in a stronger, more robust, honest faith." Conservatives will disagree about some of Sarah's beliefs and positions, but when she talks about prayer and belief and blessing and grief--my goodness, her love for Jesus and for his people are just so evident in her tone and in her words. I felt the peace and presence of God through this book more than any apologetics or theology book.

I will press this book into the hands of my friends and clients who are going through deconstruction, to know they are not alone. As we "look for good teachers" on deconstruction, we will find none better than Sarah Bessey.

When our faith is in a season of wilderness, this book should automatically show up at your doorstep. It is loaded with nuggets of wisdom and understanding and grace. Without a doubt this is Sarah Bessey’s best work. She always speaks with great candour and honour and this book is no no different. This is one I will be adding to my collection personally, and my collection to hand out. Thank you Sarah, for meeting us where we’re at welcoming us alongside your journey, and into greater understanding of our faith.

I am a big fan of Sarah Bessey and how she makes it not only ok but a strength for us to be questioning and considering our faith and how the institutions align or don't align in meaningful ways for us. AND then so what do I do with how I'm feeling?

Her new book Field Notes for the Wilderness is a tool that you can use alone or with a spiritual director to give yourself time, space, permission, and even encouragement to ponder the questions that might be arising. The writing is accessible and I found this to be a very helpful book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Field Notes for the Wilderness is on sale now.

I was so excited when I go the email from the marketing team at Random house back in November saying I could read this book via @netgalley months before it came out.

I downloaded it the same day and dove in. And then realized this was a sipping book. I have been reading and pondering this book from then till now. This was not a book I was going to gulp down. I needed and wanted to take my time.

It is a balm for my heart and motivation to keep going. Keep trying. This was the book I didn’t know I needed. I will read this one again. Probably bouncing from chapter to chapter that speaks to my soul rather than from beginning to end.

Pick this one up. You won’t regret it. We went ahead and bought it in hardback to. I’ll be going back and annotating all through it. I’ll probably need the guided journal at some point too.

Sarah Bessey's book on finding God in the Wilderness is the reading I choose for Lent this year. Not that I choose this for Lent, its just that I so happened to want to read something Catholic and I got the copy to be read just in time for Lent.

This is almost an autobiography of Sarah, telling us about her evolving faith, which is similar to what I had been going through at the time I read it and it speaks to me. From being a Christian whose "prayer was a means of controlling outcomes", where " the bigger the faith, the bigger the blessing", to when she got disappointed by unanswered prayers, corruption in church. The resentment and grieve brought her to cross that threshold to the wilderness, where she find God in the cliffs and the wind, and reckon that "not all who wonder are lost", it is in fact a part on the map of our journey and even the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, eating quail and manna, for 40 years before they were led into the Promised Land by Joshua.

Sarah's book gave me a new perspective on how to pray and how to walk with God on a daily basis. How to let go of certainty and don't forget to journey forward to redemption, love and self-control. My only complain is the writing style can sometimes become lengthy with many rhetorical. But all in all it is an enjoyable read for Christians who wants a new breath of air into their faith journey.

Although I've long aimed to read authors I disagree with, Sarah Bessey is a good example of someone I would've written off as a heretic just a few years ago without even examining what she actually believes. Thank God for growth.

With that growth and curiosity has come an element of fear and grief for me. Anyone who can relate would likely find FIELD NOTES FOR THE WILDERNESS as helpful and transformative as I did. As I mentioned in a previous book review, I haven't gone through a "deconstruction" process (at least not yet), and I haven't left the Church; I've merely let my intellectual and spiritual curiosity compel me to ask bigger questions and seek good answers.

But this book is a blessing and the foremost guide for those deconstructing, reconstructing, or reconsidering their Christian faith. FIELD NOTES FOR THE WILDERNESS isn't a book of answers, though—it's a book that offers comfort, hope, belonging, acceptance, exhortation, and encouragement. It's filled with gentle nudges to be gentle with ourselves, invitations to consider what we're for now and not just what we're against, affirmations that the loving and sovereign God is with us on the journey, encouragement that faith evolutions are healthy and normal, and wisdom Bessey has gathered through her own experiences "wandering in the wilderness."

I got from this book what I thought I would get from her book OUT OF SORTS, which turned out to be more of a memoir. FIELD NOTES FOR THE WILDNERNESS is a guide, and exactly the type I needed at this time in my life. It's written with such clarity and grace. I'd recommend this to anyone who has ever struggled with the Church or wrestled with faith and anyone who'd like to understand the pain and predicament of those who have.

*This review is based on a digital ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

"Sometimes one of the greatest gifts God gives to us is losing our religion. We have to be committed to unlearning the unhelpful, broken, false, or incomplete things if we want to have space to relearn the goodness, joy, and embrace of God."

This book surprised me. I thought it would take a harsh or negative approach to faith and church. I was pleasantly surprised that it offered a gentler conversation about faith, challenging the reader to consider what they think, how they have evolved, and what that means for their faith. It felt like conversations with a friend instead of instruction from someone. There were parts that I did not connect with, but the premise of the book is that it is a guide to turn to when you need it, for what you need. Understanding that the book is a good resource. It does make certain assumptions about what to believe, but overall it offers kindness and understanding for people in hard faith journeys.

While I am a big fan of Sarah Bessey, this book didn't hit me the same way as some of her other books, and that's more because I don't think I'm the intended reader. I'm very grateful to have a faith and faith community that are very dear to me and don't currently find myself in "the wilderness". That being said, I think there are readers who will feel very "seen" in these pages and will take solace and comfort from her wise words. For anyone feeling alone and disengaged from the church, I think this book will provide a flicker of hope. I just finished the book and plan to pass it on to a friend right away. Thank you Convergent Books and Netgalley for providing me with a physical and digital copy.

I have loved ALL of Sarah’s books but this one is the best yet. So much hard won wisdom, so much

I think I first started reading Sarah’s blog back in 2011 or 2012. (But it might have been a few years before that! I’m pretty sure I found my way to her blog in the first place through Rachel Held Evans.

i felt like Rachel and Sarah were saying out loud/in writing, the many questions and doubts, anger and frustration that I had been afraid to admit. Their writings and sermons and podcasts helped me so much when I was really struggling “in the wilderness” of my own HUGE EXISTENTIAL SPIRITUAL FAITH CRISIS / DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL/ DECONSTRUCTION… whatever words you want to use to describe it. They helped me figure out how I could hold onto Jesus when so much of my theology and all of my certainty had “crumbled like sand ‘neath the waves” (yes that’s a Bible & Jennifer Knapp lyric reference.)

I finished listening to the audiobook while driving home from work today. (It is read by Sarah and I highly recommend it!) a word of caution though: if you are often moved to tears by beautiful, healing words of encouragement, blessings, and her benedictions, you probably shouldn’t be driving while listening to those parts! I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes so many times as I listened.

“So here, take this with you for the journey along with my love and hope. Sometimes when we don’t know what we think about anything, it’s nice to just rest in someone else’s faith for a while anyway, especially when we feel a bit out of sorts. Open your hands and receive whatever lands. Everywhere we are is already held in the love of God, even in those times when the night gathers and you are on your own.” (217)

“First, I pray for you to know, to believe, to make your home within the love of God. May you be stubbornly convinced of your own value and belovedness. May you know that you aren’t a problem to be solved, you never were.” (217)

“Receive the patience and kindness of the Spirit, offer it freely to everyone, including yourself. May that gentleness deliver you to an unforced rhythm of grace that reawakens you, recovers you, and restores you. May you receive losing your religion like the gift it will be to you in the end.” (218)

“May all of the meaning you find and create bring you comfort and peace.”(219)

I have more to say but you should really just go read her book!

10 stars out of 5 stars 😁

Sarah is the big sister who went first, and made it a little less scary. She walked into the wilderness ahead of us, so we ran into a few less brambles and took a few less spider webs to the face.

This book was a blessing that helped me feel less alone in a weird and confusing season. It didn't feel like a guidebook, and I mean that in the best way. It provided a lot of helpful tools for framing the experience of rethinking your faith. It helped put words to a lot of the feelings I didn't know how to put words to. And it was both gentle and challenging in all the right ways.

I highly recommend this book to anyone going through deconstruction, or anyone who is experiencing their faith in a new way. Sarah is a gift.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a longtime fan of Sarah Bessey, I knew I wanted to pick this one up as soon as it was announced. Intended to be a "field guide" of sorts for those of us re-examining our evolving faith without being prescriptive, Sarah gently shows us how to hold our discomfort and pain even as we cling to an expansive, loving God. Although not my favorite of hers, I would still highly recommend this to anyone who feels their faith shifting.