Book Review: Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson

Anne Jackson asked of her blog readers, “What is one thing you feel you can’t say in the church?”  Hundreds of comments and two years later, Permission to Speak Freely was born.

If you read Pete Wilson’s Plan B or read Jon Acuff’s, Stuff Christians Like, you might remember the phrase, “The Gift of Going Second”.  In a nutshell, it is when one person confesses to a struggle and then another feels the freedom to share their same struggle as well.  It’s a gift.  In fact, after I read Plan B, I posted Me Too.   If you take that concept and blow it out into a full book, I think that’s what Permission to Speak Freely is getting at.  Many times we keep our struggles and sin hidden for fear of anything from a disapproving look to a job or marriage loss.  And many times the fear is not unfounded, particularly in Christian circles.  However, the freeing benefits of confession can far outweigh any risks involved.

In the first half of Permission to Speak Freely, Anne covers her personal struggles and finding her way to confession with others and help herself and others to unload their burdens.  The last half covers the confessions of Adam and Eve and the Prodigal Son and then on to the Gift of Going Second.  I read the first half with rapt attention, excited to see where it was going.  While moving into the scriptural tiebacks, I was nodding my head.  She finished with the gift of going second and maybe because it was not a new concept to me, I felt like it dragged on a bit.  I wholeheartedly believe in it, but felt like it was drawn out, possibly a little stuffed for word count.

I also don’t think the book ever tackled the answer of the original question.  Or at least not head on.  I feel that she tackled confession on a personal level, not public, which is what my expectations from her original question were.  Many of her examples were confession between two people but didn’t address church members openly discussing taboo questions or struggles.  I felt like maybe there was just one more chapter that needed to be written.  And maybe that’s what we’re supposed to go off and write on our own.  What does speaking freely look like to us?  Or maybe my expectations were a bit misguided.

The book is absolutely gorgeous. I  love the size, the graphics, the artwork both in and outside the book.  It’s a book you want to pick up and read simply from the aesthetics.  I believe the confessions given in the book are worth the book itself.

All in all, I walked away with a better understanding of Anne, whom I respect so much.  More importantly I’m walking away with another ounce of courage to always be authentic and share my struggles, questions and even hope.

I have two copies of this book and would love to give one away.  If you’d like to receive a copy, please leave a comment below.  For extra entries, you can tweet it.  Please come back here and let me know you did!