This was stunning and captivating. It was open, honest, raw, and vulnerable. I highly recommend this incredible memoir. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Writer/podcaster Jen Hatmaker tells her story of her Baptist upbringing, her marriage to a Baptist preacher, her divorce from the Baptist preacher, and her long road to leaving behind the heavy legalism of her Church, and recovering to be the woman she is today. In Awake, she takes us back and forth in time to draw a picture of who she was and who she is now. She highlights wisdom from her therapist, incredible love and loyalty from her friends, and her ultimate decision to forgive and live a full and wonderful life.

I knew of Jen years ago while attending one of the Churches she mentions in the book, and have followed her on social media for a long time. And so I was fairly familiar with her story before reading Awake. This memoir is fun to read, with short chapters, and makes a great book for vacation reading. I read it in record time. I wish her all the best as she continues to live her life to the fullest!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really really enjoyed this honest and very introspective memoir. I’ve read a few other Hatmaker books but I’m not a super close follower of hers. I admittedly was interested in reading this book for the juicy details of her divorce, and she definitely delivered those. This book is so much deeper than just that though, and I was surprised by the way in which she was able to connect with me personally, someone who shares very little life experience with her. It was very honest and moving and gave me lots to think and talk about with friends.

What do you do on the worst day of your life? And the day after that? And the day after that? This book is a testimony to Jen Hatmaker's process for exactly that.

If you've followed Jen for any length of time and identified with her as an author, speaker, and pastor, you've seen her at her highest and lowest. When she was the ministry "it" girl, when she was canceled, and when haters took delight in the demise of her marriage. This is the authentic story of her deconstruction and comeback. Tasteful. Helpful. Genuine. With compassion for her own healing heart and for those in the fallout zone of the story.

If you are a woman of a certain age, "Awake" is a story for you. Your circumstance and story may be different, but at the heart, we are part of a larger community that needs voices just like Jen's.

Jen Hatmaker drops the snark and the sales pitches for a compelling examination of her life. She writes with excoriating honesty about her very public fall from evangelical grace and equally public high profile divorce. Told in non-linear chapters, Hatmaker's memoir explores her evangelical childhood, young marriage, early pastoral roles and later prominent church leadership . It all goes south, eventually. How do you pick up the pieces of your life when they've been blasted to smithereens? Jen Hatmaker makes the case for sheer desperation and a close inner circle. "Awake" is a valuable road map to one woman's grief journey.

As a Christian who grew up in a Southern Baptist church (although fortunately one that isn't as extreme as some others) and struggles with the evangelical right, this book felt therapeutic to read. She manages to focus on Christ, truth, and trying to love people well over forced adherence to tradition or harmful beliefs of some denominations. Hatmaker is honest about her marriage and it's unraveling as well as life moments throughout. Despite the grief and tragedy, she manages to infuse hopefulness and even laughter in her memoir. If you liked Glennon Doyle's "Untamed," you'll likely love this memoir as well.

I so enjoy Jen Hatmaker’s witty, honest and engaging writing. The timeline of this book jumps around a bit from events from her childhood to her more recent discovery of her husband’s affair and subsequent divorce. Her stories are raw and vulnerable, hilarious and relatable. They also speak to a journey of introspection and finding herself again. Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the eARC.

Well, this is the good stuff right here. I don't know how she did it, but Jen Hatmaker somehow managed to take the worst, most gut-wrenching year of her life and turn it into something tender and nourishing for the rest of us. She doesn't shy away from the messy bits but along the way she teaches us how to treat ourselves kindly, how to love every imperfect version of us that we've ever been (and ever will be), and how to offer that same grace to others who are hurting.

Since I apparently live under a rock, I was unfamiliar with her work (although I had heard her name mentioned recently in a context that I can't remember to save my life) but I have already subscribed to her podcast and her IG page. Can't wait to hear more from her (and to buy this book for several friends who will enjoy it as much as I did).

What a gift.

I sincerely appreciate NetGalley, the publisher, and Ms. Hatmaker for access to a digital ARC. My honest review is my own opinion.

I've followed Jen's work for over a decade now, and very rarely has her writing or online presence exuded the amount of raw authenticity as this memoir. (This is the downside of having to hustle to make ends meet when your husband destroys your career, but I digress). The vignette-like chapters told in the active present allow the ready to feel the chaos, despair, and fear of this time in her life and career. I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone, but I do feel that when Christian ministry women break free (or, are PUSHED free) of the constraints of politeness and quiet spirits, we are all the better for it.

Jen Hatmaker's finest work yet. Having been a longtime fan of Jen and her literary works, this memoir is exceptional--to say the least. Her candor, vulnerability, humility, while all the while maintaining her moxie and becoming a newer version of herself is spellbinding. Jen tells the story of the last several years of her life (the dissolution of her marriage, the deconstruction of her traditional faith views, etc) with such a beautiful lens you can't help but turn page after page, wondering what she will say next. I have loved Jen from the beginning, but Jen's new beginning is captivating to say the least.

This book was everything you'd expect from Jen Hatmaker: honest, raw, beautiful, funny, open, and well worth your time. The way she examines a difficult time in her life and lets the reader into what she was feeling is incredible. We all gain from her experience, her insights.

I don't always agree with everything Jen Hatmaker says but I read this book in one day. The short chapters are interesting. Some are funny; some are serious; all our meaningful and give good advice to learn from.

This book is so beautifully written. It was like walking a mile in Jen’s shoes. When she triumphed, so did I. When she struggled, I felt the depths of her. This book reads like a narrative but with self help undertones. To walk a mile in her shoes and see the arc she went through after her divorce is such an inspiration and I am so grateful for her articulate and jovial accounts of her rally back to herself.

I give this book 3.75 stars out of 5. Jen Hatmaker is relatable and this memoir is an easy read. It is centered around her divorce from her husband and what came before and since.

A part of me didn’t love the way the timeline jumped backward and forward with no real pattern, but another part of me enjoyed it- it’s very much the way we talk to people in real life, so it felt like a conversation with a friend.

I think this book would be a good read whether a person knows or follows Jen, or have never even heard of her. I have known of her for years, but don’t follow her closely.

Thanks to Jen Hatmaker and Avid Reader Press for providing this digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I've been a longtime fan of Jen Hatmaker - I was beyond thrilled to be able to read this book before its official release, and it did not at all disappoint. This is some of her greatest work so far - it's incredibly vulnerable, honest, and insightful. Her voice and her wisdom are a gift to us all, and I'm so glad she was brave enough to share her story with all of us. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I opened my Advanced Reader Copy of this book thinking I was just going to skim the first chapter, but was immediately drawn in and ended up reading the whole book in 24 hours! I went to the same undergrad as Jen Hatmaker (though I did not meet my spouse there) so I especially felt myself nodding along as I related to her college experience and how it shaped her and her young marriage.

I’ve been reading Jen Hatmaker’s writing and following her career for many years so I knew a lot of the story she’s here to tell in this memoir, but certainly not all of it. She handled a difficult subject with her trademark wit, hard-won wisdom and insight, and lots and lots of grace.

I know I will return to this book again later, this time to savor it more slowly, and let Hatmaker’s story continue to teach me about my own.

Admittedly I don't know much about Jen Hatmaker. She has randomly appeared in my newsfeed on social media a couple of times. When I was offered an ARC of this book I decided to grab it and see what she was all about.

This isn't a traditional memoir. It is a book about her divorce with other random things thrown in. I thought the book was a bit all over the place with her life post-split from husband, their time together, and random bits and pieces from her childhood. I thought I might end up with whiplash the way she was so sporadic in her storytelling. All we really know about her divorce is that her husband was cheating on her. Do we need to know more? No, it's not really our business but if you are promoting a book about your divorce and life after then most people expect to know more detail. She mentions her kids but doesn't delve too much into their life post-divorce and that is ok because we don't need to know how they handled it unless they want us to know. We are taken through her thoughts and despair after the end of her marriage and some of her discoveries through therapy.

This book is 320 pages but is a quick read. The chapters are very short and the author has a way of writing that keeps the reader engaged. While this book is about life after divorce it wasn't a heavy read in any way. It was more like sitting down and sharing a cup of coffee while someone told you their story.

If you are a fan of Jen Hatmaker I'm sure you will enjoy this book. If you are like me and don't know who she is you may find this book enjoyable. I didn't find it a fascinating read but it wasn't all that bad.

Jen Hatmaker weaves her story with threads of humor, self-effacement, empowerment, and grace. This was a homerun book for me and will be for my customers, too.

I loved this book. I have followed Jen for years and have read a few of her books. As always, Jen was candid and funny in this memoir filled with memories, hopes, and inspiration. The chapters were short making this a speedy read.

This book is beautiful and emotional and honest and relatable and all the things you hope a memoir will be. Putting your life out into the world like this requires vulnerability, especially when it involves sharing pain. I'm so glad this book exists and can give voice to these feelings and experiences. While it does have pain, it also has reflection and joy, too, and it's just a spectacular read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the look at this September 2025 release.