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ryjb's review against another edition
4.0
I loved how this book was directed toward women in every stage of life and every type of loneliness. I also appreciated how the focus point was on God and trusting in his goodness instead of overcoming difficulties by mere self-will.
spacetrekgirl's review against another edition
4.0
It wasn't as easy of a read as I had hoped. A little dry. I liked that there were poems at the end of every chapter.
erin_smith's review against another edition
5.0
This book was empathetic, encouraging, and convicting in the best ways possible. Almost every page in my copy has something underlined or starred. She uniquely considers loneliness from every aspect of life, even ones I had never considered! And the book even has questions for each chapter to aid in studying the Word and searching the heart. The best books are the ones you feel compelled to return to, and I know I will return to the wisdom in this one soon.
jazin95's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
0.25
This was a book I read for my women’s group. Mostly, it’s pretty shallow at the beginning of the book. Making some very grandiose statements, I struggled to connect with the book meaningfully. It was shallow in its message and held ideas that felt wrong. There were chapters that talked about being inclusive of disability but also spoke of “there being a reason behind it… then Towards the latter half, it has some harmful and hurtful rhetoric about the LGBTQ community.
For a book that is meant to be aimed at women, it doesn’t feature many female-centred stories. It used the classic proof text method and honestly if you are looking for something uplifting look somewhere else.
For a book that is meant to be aimed at women, it doesn’t feature many female-centred stories. It used the classic proof text method and honestly if you are looking for something uplifting look somewhere else.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
literarystrawberry's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating: 2.5. It was fine. Nothing that really jumped out at me much either way. The chapter on singleness was probably the most helpful for where I am right now.
My one real complaint is that I assumed this was a general book on loneliness for anybody, but by around page 50 I realized she was really only addressing women (she was talking about the loneliness of night, and she mentioned three kinds of people who might dread nighttime: single women, women in a difficult marriage, and mothers of wayward and rebellious teens. And that was the end of the examples). Which, you know, is fine, if that's the intended purpose of the book-- I just wish it had been more obvious from the title/cover that it was specifically for women, because if I was a guy picking this up I think I'd feel a little alienated.
Or, better yet, I wish that it really /had/ been just a general book on loneliness for anybody who might be struggling. It didn't /have/ to be directed only to women-- I understand that maybe the author just felt more comfortable writing about what she has immediate experience with, but she said herself that she's always been single and she had a chapter on marriage, so if she can do the research to write about that surely she could throw in some examples of how guys can be lonely as well. I think it might mostly bother me because it didn't feel like an intentional choice to limit the audience-- it felt more like the author just assumed that women were the ones who would be reading it. But loneliness is not an exclusively female issue. In fact, arguments could be made that guys often struggle with it even more so. I just wish this book had reflected that.
Anyway, all that to say-- it wasn't a bad book. I just personally didn't find it that memorable or insightful for where I happen to be in life at the moment. But if this looks like something that would be helpful or interesting to you, and you either happen to be female or don't mind exclusively female examples throughout the book, feel free to give it a go!
My one real complaint is that I assumed this was a general book on loneliness for anybody, but by around page 50 I realized she was really only addressing women (she was talking about the loneliness of night, and she mentioned three kinds of people who might dread nighttime: single women, women in a difficult marriage, and mothers of wayward and rebellious teens. And that was the end of the examples). Which, you know, is fine, if that's the intended purpose of the book-- I just wish it had been more obvious from the title/cover that it was specifically for women, because if I was a guy picking this up I think I'd feel a little alienated.
Or, better yet, I wish that it really /had/ been just a general book on loneliness for anybody who might be struggling. It didn't /have/ to be directed only to women-- I understand that maybe the author just felt more comfortable writing about what she has immediate experience with, but she said herself that she's always been single and she had a chapter on marriage, so if she can do the research to write about that surely she could throw in some examples of how guys can be lonely as well. I think it might mostly bother me because it didn't feel like an intentional choice to limit the audience-- it felt more like the author just assumed that women were the ones who would be reading it. But loneliness is not an exclusively female issue. In fact, arguments could be made that guys often struggle with it even more so. I just wish this book had reflected that.
Anyway, all that to say-- it wasn't a bad book. I just personally didn't find it that memorable or insightful for where I happen to be in life at the moment. But if this looks like something that would be helpful or interesting to you, and you either happen to be female or don't mind exclusively female examples throughout the book, feel free to give it a go!
jamibalmet's review against another edition
5.0
This book is such a blessing!! She covered so many topics of loneliness - from single women to women desperately lonely in their marriage! This book is for all women and I encourage you to go get a copy NOW! One of my favorite books read all year 😍
I listened to this book on Scribd which was awesome! But I knew I wanted to be able to reference it (podcast on this topic coming soon) so halfway through the book I also ordered the physical copy 🙌
I listened to this book on Scribd which was awesome! But I knew I wanted to be able to reference it (podcast on this topic coming soon) so halfway through the book I also ordered the physical copy 🙌
saracorise's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe 2.5.
I don't really know what to say about this book, other than I think she should just have written about singleness and all the facets of that. I felt like a lot of the chapters were speaking to a woman's desire to be married and feeling lonely in that. I am confident she has a lot of say on that matter (the chapter on being unmarried was the longest in the whole book).
I was disappointed in this one, and I am not sure I will recommend it to anyone.
I don't really know what to say about this book, other than I think she should just have written about singleness and all the facets of that. I felt like a lot of the chapters were speaking to a woman's desire to be married and feeling lonely in that. I am confident she has a lot of say on that matter (the chapter on being unmarried was the longest in the whole book).
I was disappointed in this one, and I am not sure I will recommend it to anyone.
jjhanna's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book.
Brownback looks at how loneliness affects many walks of life, at each point she reminds that God is in the midst of it all. She has a conversational tone and she doesn't shy away from the hard topics.
Read my full review here: https://eclalibraries.org/2018/10/04/finding-god-in-my-loneliness/?fbclid=IwAR2gldQmRneklwMXbgNaNNFkcyHtAwiMMR3pVdhOXnXOiIiPi3ViEXpwf-s
Brownback looks at how loneliness affects many walks of life, at each point she reminds that God is in the midst of it all. She has a conversational tone and she doesn't shy away from the hard topics.
Read my full review here: https://eclalibraries.org/2018/10/04/finding-god-in-my-loneliness/?fbclid=IwAR2gldQmRneklwMXbgNaNNFkcyHtAwiMMR3pVdhOXnXOiIiPi3ViEXpwf-s
sanimes's review against another edition
3.0
An ambitious book that has much potential but under-delivers.
Apparently, a book written exclusively for women, I had thought that it was for a general population. Am I supposed to assume, since the author is female?
The author had many thoughts that were interspersed between the chapters; she jumps back and forth between many points, attached with far too many examples presented in snippets, but never really expounding those ideas in depth.
What frustrates me the most is that the examples she used were very contextual, which may not necessarily relate to all readers, leaving those hypothetical situations to speak for themselves as valid points to the discussed type of loneliness. It might have been better if she went with a more big-picture explanation of biblical truths to delve deep into each type of loneliness.
Nevertheless, there were some merits to the book, since it is catered to the Christian female population. It is simplistic in its literary content and I would recommend this book to new believers, and especially those in need of some spiritual perspective to a personal experience of loneliness. I would not recommend it to those who have stronger theological/biblical foundation.
Apparently, a book written exclusively for women, I had thought that it was for a general population. Am I supposed to assume, since the author is female?
The author had many thoughts that were interspersed between the chapters; she jumps back and forth between many points, attached with far too many examples presented in snippets, but never really expounding those ideas in depth.
What frustrates me the most is that the examples she used were very contextual, which may not necessarily relate to all readers, leaving those hypothetical situations to speak for themselves as valid points to the discussed type of loneliness. It might have been better if she went with a more big-picture explanation of biblical truths to delve deep into each type of loneliness.
Nevertheless, there were some merits to the book, since it is catered to the Christian female population. It is simplistic in its literary content and I would recommend this book to new believers, and especially those in need of some spiritual perspective to a personal experience of loneliness. I would not recommend it to those who have stronger theological/biblical foundation.