This was swallowed whole within a day. I have a knack for memoirs and love seeing glimpses of other people's lives. Awake was no exception. I didn't know anything about Jen Hatmaker before but feel pretty comfortable with her now. She describes with ease her grief, trauma, and reawakening after her divorce. She learns more about who she is as a person and I can feel that through her writing. I love the back and forth between her childhood and the present and learning about her family growing up and her chosen family as an adult with children and friends. I heavily enjoyed this memoir and would recommend it to others.

Thank you to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for the eArc copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a long term fan of Jen, I wasn't sure what to expect with this memoir. Obviously everyone wants the nitty gritty details of what ended her marriage, but the way she wrote about it felt so classy and respectful. I loved seeing her grow through this incredibly challenging time of her life and reading what is essentially a love letter to her support system. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially people who've experienced hard times.

Jen Hatmaker's AWAKE is a raw, powerful memoir told in bite-sized snippets, making it perfect for those days when you need a quick reminder that life is hard for all of us, and hope is always there. I loved how honest yet kind her writing is, and I'm grateful to have been able to read her story.

Wow, what can I say about this book. I was lucky enough to have received an advance copy. I went through all of the emotions while reading Jen Hatmakers newest book Awake. As a Jen Hatmaker enthusiast I was pretty sure I was going to like it but wasn’t sure how much. I felt like I was with her through so many of the moments in the book and I have gone through some very similar issues as she has so it brought up so many emotions for me. It starts off with a bang, her waking up to hearing her husband telling someone that he can’t quit them at 2:30 AM and her waking up to hear it. My heart broke with hers but I could also feel my heart heal as I went through her healing process with her. I love her style of writing and it feels like just listening to a friend. I would highly recommend you preorder this book today.

Thank you NetGalley, Avid Reader Press, and Jen Hatmaker for the copy of this book. All my thoughts are my own.
I have never connected with a book more than I did with this one. It's raw. It's real. It will make you laugh and cry and feel all the emotions of your own story all over again if you have been through divorce with children.

Awake by Jen Hatmaker was everything I wanted it to be and more. Jen is known for being so open and honest and this was her most honest work yet. The way Jen tells the story of her divorce and the rebuilding of her life left me in awe. I love how raw and real she is and the voice she writes with makes you feel like she is sitting across the table from you at your favorite coffee shop. This book is strong and kind, just like Jen.

I have followed Jen Hatmaker on her blog and social media for about twelve years, since I first read her book "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess." I have helped launch her books "For the Love," "Of Mess and Moxie," "Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire," and her cookbook "Feed These People."

In the years following the release of these books, I have watched Jen reshape her faith, her faith practice, her views on controversial (and often polarizing) topics, and be more and more open about her views concerning God, faith, the church, and of course in the years following her divorce, dating and relationships. I realize that my story is different from Jen's, and that's fine. I'm older, I am still married, and I've approached middle age in different ways.

I say all of that to say this: I don't think I can recommend this book in good conscience to very many people. Not without several caveats.

(Side note: If you have not read Jen's NYT interview, then the opinions below might be construed as "spoilers;" however, since more than this has been revealed both in that interview, by Jen on her own multiple platforms, and in other reviews here on Goodreads, I don't think I'm revealing anything new here.)

First, if you are looking for gossip or "tea," you'll find some hints, but not a lot of details (rightly so, in my opinion, because she and her ex-husband have children who may be grown, but are still "the kids" in this scenario). Second, if you're looking for a traditional memoir in the sense that the story is told linearly or in chronological order, this is not it. It skips randomly around in time in the first half, without a clear path. Third, in many ways this is predictable in the sense that divorce has happened, new relationships on both sides have been formed, everyone is throwing away their purity culture rings and former standards, etc. Finally, I just don't agree with Jen's opinions on every topic.

The reason I would consider recommending this book to some people is the second half of the book. For me, that second half with the examination of codependency, family support, friendship, and getting older all resonated and were much more relatable than the first part of the book.

If you are a person who has had a cheating spouse, this book might not be for you if that is a trigger. If you are a person who is annoyed by the bashing of purity culture in the 80s and 90s, don't read the first part of the book. If you are in a ministry marriage, this book might not be for you either. But if you're a superfan of Jen Hatmaker, by all means order the book and attend an event and celebrate all the Awake you want to. I used to strongly relate with Jen, but I find now that I really don't. That's fine. I'm not bashing her, and I wish her all success with this new book. It just isn't for me.

Language rating :R. This is not one of her Bible studies.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance reading ebook for review. All thoughts are my own.

This is what a memoir should be! A glimpse behind the curtain, full of great stories, hard stories and wisdom from the journey. This book was the best companion to my cup of tea and quiet home while the baby naps. It felt like an authentic story with a dash of the preach. I’m forever a Jen fan!

I've followed Jen Hatmaker for since her divorce on Instagram, so I was familiar with her story (loosely). She has a definite talent for writing a moving, deep, complex memoir...so I'll give her that.
I just think recently I've been gravitating toward this type of book less and less. So, the book is great - you'll probably enjoy it and think about it even after finishing it. I just had a hard time enjoying it....I need a less emotional read at the moment.

I loved this so much more than I thought I would. Jen Hatmaker is an excellent writer, Her honesty and reflectiveness, her ability to put to words what often doesn’t have words. I flew through it. Had that same feeling I have after a good therapy session. Enthusiastic five stars.

Jen tells her story as only she could, in a way that I believe will draw in any reader, but especially us Gen X women. Her use of words and phrases is nothing short of magical, divine, and earthly all at once. This isn't your typical "I got divorced and found myself and now I'm much better" memoir. It is so much more than that. Jen doesn't leave us with phoenix rising from the ashes b.s. Instead, she takes us on a journey to ackowledge emotions and encourages us to love ourselves first, always and forever.

If you have ever experienced infidelity, know that this book may be triggering.

This is an inspiring read despite being about what is traditionally a negative life event. It was emotional and heartbreaking for sure, but showed a resilience that is a reminder to keep moving forward. Although I am not in a marriage that is on the rocks, I still appreciated how real Hatmaker is in detailing the breakdown of the marriage and the subsequent divorce. I appreciate that she didn't totally villainize her ex-husband even though she could have, particularly due to the circumstances that led to their demise. Her circumspect approach to analyzing her feelings and her processing of them was much more useful to herself and to the readers to better understand the inner workings of what someone goes through mentally. This is also what makes it a meaningful read, even for the reader not going through a breakup. I am interested in pursuing other offerings from the author, such as her podcast, to see what her perspective is on other things.

I binged most of this book in a day, then woke up early and finished it through tears with my morning coffee. I have followed Jen Hatmaker through all her iterations (tried to figure out how long, but FB won’t tell me). We are about the same age, and at first her stories (especially with young kids) entertained me. I read her book 7 along with seemingly everyone in my world. In 2016-ish, when she lost most of her base due to her public stance on both anti-racism and affirmation of LGBTQ people, I leaned in because she voiced a lot of the same things I had been feeling. Like many, I worried about what she was going through with that cryptic “pray for us” post in 2020.

This book was a beautifully written memoir of the end of Jen’s marriage and the rebuilding of her life into something even better. It intersperses stories of her childhood with the narrative that began in July 2020 and it all just felt so real. I was engaged, entertained, and emotionally invested. The words about loving your body and the deprogramming of unhealthy patterns inspired me. Highly recommend.

The ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Comes out 9/23/25

“Awake” is bestselling Christian author Jen Hatmaker’s memoir about the end of her marriage and how she survived the months afterward.

I’m a Christian and I love memoirs about tough women, but this story did not resonate with me. Perhaps because I didn’t grow up in the same conservative faith background that Hatmaker did.

But I think this book will be a hit for fans of Hatmaker’s (this was the first book of hers that I read) or Glennon Doyle, those with similar faith backgrounds, or people who have experienced similar divorces.

Jen is woken up at 2:30am to the sound of her husband voice texting another woman. In this memoir, she shares so many of the things (both good and bad) that brought her to that point and so many of the parts of her grieving process.

Reading this book is like a chat with a big sister. Our lives haven’t been the same, but so many of the things she talks about are things so many women deal with - body issues, challenges with the church, learning to be healthier as we relate to others. Even though this was a memoir, I found this book hard to put down.

I have loosely followed Jen Hatmaker on social media for many years. She has always been engaging & I appreciated her stance on the BLM movement as well as a champion for LGBTQIA+ communities. I have never read any of her books. This memoir blew me away. I read it in less than a week (in 5-10 minute increments). She writes clearly and you can feel her trauma at having her marriage upended. Writing about her child’ren with care as well as describing her own panic attack that led to her Me camp was the best part of the week.
This is a wonderful book & I am grateful to the publisher, author, & NetGalley for the opportunity to read it early!

I’m not a very religious person or one for the more self-help styled books, but I’ve been a fan of Jen Hatmaker’s social media for a number of years and have read and enjoyed some of her previous books, so I was excited to get an early copy of her new memoir. And I am so glad I did, because I could not put it down. Although she and I have lived vastly different lives, I could relate to so much within the story. Her voice is raw, real, and often witty, and I so admire her ability to self-reflect and be vulnerable. I truly feel there’s a message here for everyone, and I would highly recommend picking this book up!

Thank you to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

Pub date: September 23, 2025

Like a conversation with a friend, over a few glasses of wine. Sometimes stream of consciousness, sometimes a flashback to her church camp days, sometimes a soliloquy on organized religion and the state of it in our nation. I have casually followed Jen on social media, but wasn’t truly aware of her stories. This memoir, with its jarring start that toppled the tower, and the subsequent rebuilding of her life and that of her children, made me a bigger fan. Her appreciation of relationships, with family, friends, and very deeply with herself, is a story to behold in itself.

Jen Hatmaker’s Awake is a raw and empowering memoir that chronicles her journey through the unraveling of a 26-year marriage and the subsequent process of self-discovery and reinvention. The book offers an intimate look at Hatmaker's life, spanning four decades and delving into themes of faith, identity, and personal growth.

Really connected with this for several reasons: she is really good at this; I can't resist a divorce memoir; purity culture fascinates me.