Book Review: Of Mess and Moxie, Jen Hatmaker

Moxie?

You what? 

New to me. I just assumed it was a made up word. I read the whole book before looking it up on my Kindle dictionary and turns out it is an actual (informal) word. I guess you have to be North American to have a clue but it means ‘force of character, determination or nerve.’ 

And there is a whole lot of character in these pages.

If it hadn’t been for the seatbelt I was wearing at the time I may have fallen down laughing as I read. You will laugh... A LOT and that alone is reason enough to pick up this book. 

However, interspersed between the humour laden tales of grocery shopping, (who doesn’t hate it when your grocery buying path means being trapped in the ‘socially awkward prison of repetitive small talk’ with the person matching your trolley route) and Netflix binge watching and exercise and family shenanigans, Jen talks a lot of common sense and cheers us all on as we go about our ordinary, everyday, trying to have faith, lives. 

You are given permission to set down that big ugly bag of guilt you are carrying around with you pretty much everywhere. Set it down says this book, you will hurt yourself! In her own words, Jen is an ‘honest friend in the trenches’ with her readers, encouraging us all to listen to truth, push back fear, live in community and as the book’s subtitle says, wrangle ‘delight out of this wild and glorious life’. 

This is my first Jen Hatmaker book (I kept meaning to read ‘For the Love’ but never got around to it) and it was a pleasure. I would recommend it especially if you’re feeling a little down or a lot down. It’s a pick me up, a real tonic, no gin required, although you could have that too if you liked, book in one hand glass in the other but be warned, you might spill it! 

PS you have full permission and freedom to skip out chapter 16 completely, it is about ‘football’ and you will miss nothing. 

Thanks to #NetGalley for the review copy of this book.