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justwordsandink's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
flowersofquiethappiness's review
4.0
An honest, yet gentle look into the darkness that is part of this world and yet the hope and joy that Jesus brings to our everyday lives. This is a beautifully written memoir reminding us that God delights to draw us to Himself through the beauty of His creation. I loved that it has caused me to long to be extra aware of the details around me. What can seem mundane and ordinary requires only a change in perspective to realize its wonder! I want joy to continue to become an easier choice in my life day by day, and Ms Clarkson’s willingness to share her raw and tender experiences encouraged me as I read her story. (Of course it helped that I love her style of writing!) I recommend this one if you need a bit of reminding of the beauty that can come out of the ashes yourself.
**I received a copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
**I received a copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
tiny_traveller's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
Written beautifully. Took a chapter to get into it, but once I was it was wonderful. It has the essence of reading a book in a warm house by the fireside while the rain comes down, while at other times the feeling of standing in the warm rain outside.
lilyellyn's review
5.0
I read this slowly with a group of friends, discussing it along the way and I think that way of reading it really enhanced my experience. I have long wrestled with feeling like my love of the natural world and craving to experience beauty were at odds with my theology which taught me that the world is not my home and that I should always be longing for heaven rather than finding joy and contentment here on earth. This book's central argument is that Beauty is not only essential to our understanding of who God is, but it is his answer to the problem of evil and darkness. This was powerful for me, and I think this is a book I will come back to in future seasons of my life.
jessicamwhite's review
5.0
So good! It’s one of those that will reach deep into parts of you that you’ve pushed down because they were too hard or too ugly.
Sarah shares her own struggles with mental health, discussing its impact on her, as well as how God used the beauty of creation to minister to her in the darkness.
If you are someone who has ever struggled with mental health or the sheer darkness of this world, this is a truly wonderful (and timely) read.
Sarah shares her own struggles with mental health, discussing its impact on her, as well as how God used the beauty of creation to minister to her in the darkness.
If you are someone who has ever struggled with mental health or the sheer darkness of this world, this is a truly wonderful (and timely) read.
nataliealane's review
4.0
4.5/5 ⭐️
Throughout the last half of June I was reading This Beautiful Truth by Sarah Clarkson/@sarahwanders. In her spiritual memoir, Clarkson argues that the world can be a broken, ugly place, but it wasn’t created to be that way—-it was originally created as beautiful and good before the corruption of sin. And a beautiful and good world can only be made my a purely good and beautiful Good. Weaving in stories of her own experiences and grapples with doubt, faith, mental health, and her studies of theology and theodicy, Clarkson argues that beauty is a key way we can understand God: “Where suffering has made God abstract and distant to us, where brokenness leaves us with unanswerable questions, beauty allows us to taste and see God’s presence as he breaks into the circles of our inmost grief to remake the broken world.”
~
I picked up TBT because I loved her poetry and Psalm reading videos and because it explored mental illness from a Christian perspective. As a fellow Christian who has mental health issues, I’ve wanted more books, sermons, classes, etc. on this topic. However, I’ve usually found this area of ministry starkly lacking. Clarkson writes of it in a way that is real and vulnerable. The lush, meditative prose can occasionally be a bit too much. But if you’ve ever heard Sarah (I highly recommend her poetry recitation videos!) her writing style carries that same soft, intimate, but rich cadence.
~
I highly enjoyed the reader’s guide she created, with reflective questions and paintings, music, books, films, and poems that relate to the theme of each chapter. It encouraged me to make connections between the themes and artistic works I’ve encountered. Without the guide, I think my rating would be more of a true 4, but how the guide added to my reading experience, it boosted the star.
~
This Beautiful Truth is a memoir, which is itself very rooted in personal experience and reflection, but it left me wanting just a little bit more from its religious angle. It talks about spiritual experiences and truths, but I wish it it pointed back more often and more explicitly to Scripture. After all, the “Beautiful Truth” Clarkson continuously refers to is the truth found in the Bible. If more Scripture wasn’t included in the book itself, the reader’s guide would have been a great place for it. Overall, though, her book definitely added to my understanding of the Gospel and my relationship with God and mental illness,. This Beautiful Truth is indeed beautiful, and it was a joy to read.
Throughout the last half of June I was reading This Beautiful Truth by Sarah Clarkson/@sarahwanders. In her spiritual memoir, Clarkson argues that the world can be a broken, ugly place, but it wasn’t created to be that way—-it was originally created as beautiful and good before the corruption of sin. And a beautiful and good world can only be made my a purely good and beautiful Good. Weaving in stories of her own experiences and grapples with doubt, faith, mental health, and her studies of theology and theodicy, Clarkson argues that beauty is a key way we can understand God: “Where suffering has made God abstract and distant to us, where brokenness leaves us with unanswerable questions, beauty allows us to taste and see God’s presence as he breaks into the circles of our inmost grief to remake the broken world.”
~
I picked up TBT because I loved her poetry and Psalm reading videos and because it explored mental illness from a Christian perspective. As a fellow Christian who has mental health issues, I’ve wanted more books, sermons, classes, etc. on this topic. However, I’ve usually found this area of ministry starkly lacking. Clarkson writes of it in a way that is real and vulnerable. The lush, meditative prose can occasionally be a bit too much. But if you’ve ever heard Sarah (I highly recommend her poetry recitation videos!) her writing style carries that same soft, intimate, but rich cadence.
~
I highly enjoyed the reader’s guide she created, with reflective questions and paintings, music, books, films, and poems that relate to the theme of each chapter. It encouraged me to make connections between the themes and artistic works I’ve encountered. Without the guide, I think my rating would be more of a true 4, but how the guide added to my reading experience, it boosted the star.
~
This Beautiful Truth is a memoir, which is itself very rooted in personal experience and reflection, but it left me wanting just a little bit more from its religious angle. It talks about spiritual experiences and truths, but I wish it it pointed back more often and more explicitly to Scripture. After all, the “Beautiful Truth” Clarkson continuously refers to is the truth found in the Bible. If more Scripture wasn’t included in the book itself, the reader’s guide would have been a great place for it. Overall, though, her book definitely added to my understanding of the Gospel and my relationship with God and mental illness,. This Beautiful Truth is indeed beautiful, and it was a joy to read.
bcarbiener's review
What an absolutely beautiful book about mental illness, beauty, and redemption. I can never read words by Sarah not be deeply moved.
ddejong's review
4.0
3.5 stars - I have followed Sarah on Instagram and heard her on a decent number of podcasts, and I really enjoy her gentle tone, her literary sensibilities, and her love for beauty and wonder. This book was a nice opportunity to hear more of her story, particularly her experience of living with OCD. I struggled with the organization of the book—initially it seemed almost chronological as a memoir of her life but then did some zigging and zagging. I think ultimately it was supposed to be somewhat topical but the flow didn’t quite work for me. Sarah’s book has a thesis, and yet it’s decidedly not intended to be didactic or proof text-y. Her writing is very flowery and for me can feel cloying at times, but I also know from listening to Sarah that much of the language she is using in her writing is actually consistent with how she speaks as well. In all, a book I enjoyed but that might have benefited from some tightening up of both form and content.
lizwine's review
1.0
DNF. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.
As a mental health provider I was curious to read this as I always like to have resources to point clients toward.
I could not get into this book for several reasons. The author’s overuse of the term “mental illness” which is not person-first and is derived from the medical model, and is not strengths-based. There are many alternatives to this term such as mental health experiences, person experiencing OCD.
On page 20, I found her use of the word “cripple” to not be a great choice of words as well.
As a mental health provider I was curious to read this as I always like to have resources to point clients toward.
I could not get into this book for several reasons. The author’s overuse of the term “mental illness” which is not person-first and is derived from the medical model, and is not strengths-based. There are many alternatives to this term such as mental health experiences, person experiencing OCD.
On page 20, I found her use of the word “cripple” to not be a great choice of words as well.