Ten, twenty, thirty years ago… you weren’t consulted [about your hurt]. But because of the grace of free will, now you are. Now you get a chance to speak up and to lean in. It’s scared-sacred work: after all this time and all these layers and all those strategies, to move away the stones that entomb us in ourselves, to let the too-tight skins be removed, to be awakened, to begin again.

Leeana Tankersley

When I came across the book Begin Again by Leeana Tankersley in an email, I immediately knew it was a book I wanted to read. First of all the bright, beautiful cover caught my eye, but it was the book’s subtitle, The Brave Practice of Releasing Hurt & Receiving Rest, that hooked me. I have been through several seasons where I have been deeply wounded, lived hurt, and have desired to release the hurts to receive rest, freedom, and healing. In fact, I’m there now, living hurt but with desperation to release it — but that’s always easier said than done, right?

What I found upon reading this book was that Leeana successfully delivers the message in her subtitle to her reader. It is a book even richer and deeper than I had imagined, and I believe this is the result of having an author who has gone deep within herself, opened her heart, and allowed space for God to work. This book generously shares that space with the reader and helps the reader create her own.

As I read, I found myself right in the middle of Leeana’s message, having learned many similar practices and lessons and in the perfect place to receive this message of beginning again. With great appreciation and a highlighter in hand, I absorbed the wisdom she acquired and shares and marked up my book in fluorescent yellow.

Even with a deeply rooted faith and trust in God, like Leeana, I still seem prone to quitting and growing weary over dealing with hurts and struggles. But Leeana writes about and unpacks the book’s idea inspired by St. Benedict’s words, “Always we begin again,” in an incredibly invigorating and refreshing way.

It was a pep talk my soul needed, but it goes deeper into healing than that. After each chapter, feelings of perpetual and long-lasting defeat began to slide off me, and hope, with the fresh starts that come with always beginning again, filled me.

This book has helped me release hurts, especially those deep wounds carried for years, even those from childhood. It has been the sweetest, unexpected gift.

Opening Leaana’s book was like opening the window to a suffocating soul and inviting in a gentle breeze of fresh air (this experience feels similar to an experience she describes in chapter one “Opening Up”). Her writing, even though she shares broadly about some of her struggles, is vulnerable and humble and encouraging and real. Most of all her words are tender and soft, which made me feel safe to journey with her. Her writing style combined with her personal bravery, vulnerability, and humility will make you feel less alone and expectant.

Leeana clearly has done deep soul work in her life and with the Lord, and I’m so grateful she’s invited us in. The stories, messages, and practical methods shared in this book are replacing my wounded spirit with a brave one that’s able to begin again. I will forever be grateful to Leeana for bravely writing this book.

I can’t recommend this book enough to anyone who has been hurt in life and is tired of feeling held captive or stuck by that hurt.

This book is for anyone who longs to release their hurts and live a wholehearted life. It’s possible! And it’s a practice! And it’s one we begin again and again! This book will help you learn how to do this. And it’s one I think I will continue to pick up and reread and then read again.

Lastly, one of my favorite parts of this book is the section at the end in which Leanna shares practical practices and ways to release hurt and receive rest – it is so helpful!

We return—in what becomes a scared connection—to the mundane task, to the moment. And then we do it again. Over and over. Again. This is the raw material of our living. This is not insanity or hilarity or nuisance or idiocy. This is the task of humanity. To return. To reinvest. To breathe. To begin again. The focus is on the process, the participation, not the product. Ever.

Leeana Tankersley

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Please note: I am part of Revell Reads blogger review program and received a free copy of this title in exchange for my honest review. Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.