Permission to Speak Freely: Essays and Art on Fear, Confession, and Grace by ‘Anne Jackson’

Permission to Speak Freely is a subtle yet powerful narrative from a pastor’s kid, Anne Jackson. Being a daughter of a Southern Baptist Church Pastor, she begins her story from childhood. From there, the treatment gets suave and naïve by the author to make us feel and realize her roller-coaster journey.

The book is not a magical formula book that promises us to deliver from our bondages.  Instead, Anne tries to connect to the readers on a psychological level. She shares her story of personal abuse, depression, addiction, fear and the struggles she faced to overcome the same.

The revelations are blunt and frank. They make us wonder about the niceties and perfectionism of the church. The book has a good mix of poems, graffiti, art and colorful confessions.

Permission to Speak Freely is a beautiful book dealing with confession, fear and grace (as the title suggests.) That confession is a beginning – not an end for us; it is the beginning of our personal and spiritual transformation. The importance of the Cross for everyone’s salvation is uniquely told. She promises that we have a God who is faithful to give us exactly what we need. She tells how we need to be the hope for the hurting world.

The impressive part in this book is the story of the prodigal son expounded by Anne. She relates how she and many others are lost and re-found in Christ. And, more importantly, she discusses about the ‘Gift of Going Second’; and, the importance of going first and giving the ‘Gift of Going Second’.

Permission to Speak Freely will create primitive spiritual awakening in the minds of the readers. Although the book may not be suitable for the kids, this book is for anyone who is broken, hurt, disappointed or isolated. Remember, we have a God who is a God of Second Chance!

To know more about the book, visit  http://www.permissiontospeakfreely.com/

Seeds of Turmoil: The Biblical Roots of the Inevitable Crisis in the Middle East by ‘Bryant Wright’

Finally a book on the Middle East conflict which rocks the entire world and hits the news headlines every day. As the name suggests, a biblical treat to the subject is intended; and, Bryant Wright succeeds to a certain extent in this objective. Aiming to provide a detailed account of the origin of this conflict, Bryant begins from the story of Abraham and Sarah and then rides seamlessly. Seeds of Turmoil is high on biblical perspective and low on historical perspective. In other words, it is high on intent but low on content. Hence, it cannot be claimed as a masterpiece of scholarly research on Middle East. Rather, I think any Bible believing Christians will be able to enjoy this work.

This book is a good embarking place for any believer who wants to have the basic knowledge on the Middle East conflict. True, “Seeds of Turmoil" contains certain repetitive information and delves into sermonizing tone in certain places (as Bryant himself is a pastor and a preacher).

Bryant concludes by saying that when the Lord returns, there will be peace in the Middle East. His personal prejudice for Israel was evident throughout the book. Objective treatment of history has taken a back seat as Bryant interprets the ‘Word’ in some fluky style. He tells what he wants to tell rather that what it is.

When it is told that the biblical roots contribute to the Middle East conflict, I believe it is immature to assert that they are the one and only reason. I feel that the readers will find it difficult to get a holistic/comprehensive picture on the subject through such treatment.

Overall, this book is strictly for Bible believing Christians alone. It is a good work but may not be the great one. Language is lucid and easy to comprehend. I give it three and a half out of five stars.

Please note that I received this book from Book Sneeze in exchange for an honest review.