Josh Morgan says:

This review first appeared on my blog, Jacob's Café.

This last week I had the privilege to listen to an audiobook version of the soon-to-be-released Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson courtesy of a complimentary copy from christianaudio's reviewers program.

The basic idea intrigued me: Jackson asked on her blog, "What is one thing you feel you can't say in church?" The book is an outgrowth of the responses she received from that and her own experiences.

This is definitely one of the absolute best books I have reviewed for christianaudio. It is also one of the best nonfiction Christian books I have ever read (or listened to). It very much coincides with the mission of this blog of encouraging people to be honest and authentic about their struggles and having the permission to speak freely about difficult matters.

Jackson does a beautiful job of describing the problem of restricted dialogue, not only in the institutional church, but also throughout society. It causes more damage than good.

The way she humanizes the struggles is phenomenal. It is the first book in a very long time that has brought tears to my eyes, not only from sadness of the pain we all cause others, but also because of the hope she reminds readers/listeners of.

Through her commentary on the core of problems that take our attention (like addictions to substances and sex), she also helped me remember why I entered the field of psychology and not give into the push to focus on symptom management. It reminded me to take a wider and deeper perspective with myself and others.

She states at the end of the book that she cannot give some nice, easy steps to solve the problems like most self-help books do. While it's true she does not provide a formula (which would have ruined the book), she did provide a solution: Relationships. Honest, authentic relationships where people can engage one another, challenge one another, and grow IS the solution.

It's not easy. And it takes a lot of courage. I loved her recognition of this in discussing giving the gift of going second (if you want to know more, read or listen to the book! :) ). If we can use this courage, though, the results are astounding.

However, we still have work on developing a culture, both inside and outside of the institutional church, where we can give people the permission to speak freely about anything. The church building should be a safe place, a sanctuary, where people can openly struggle. Instead, it's often turned into the exact opposite.

On a final note, I also love the fact that Jackson read the book herself. As I have said before, I prefer books read by the author, even if they are not all that polished. This book is intensely personal on many levels. It would have definitely lost some significant meaning if a professional narrator was hired. #

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Ricky St. Claire says:

"I'm doing fine."

This is the standard, expected answer when somebody asks the question, "How are you doing?", regardless of how true- or false- the answer actually is. Anne Jackson, in her book Permission to Speak Freely, argues that it shouldn't be like that. The world is full of broken, hurting people, who are forced to hide their hurts and brokenness because of fear and shame of what others would say... and this fear exists even within the church, which, in Anne's words, used to be a safe place for the broken, but is now made a safe place by excluding the broken.

Permission to Speak Freely is very much an autobiography. Anne takes the reader through several of the major trials and sins of her life, using her experiences to illustrate the need for more openness, the need for confession to bring healing and transformation, and leading others who have suffered into that same healing and transformation. We need to carry each other, and this is not a burden- it is a privilege.

It's a good message, and one I think the modern church needs to hear, but I felt there was too much emphasis on the role people play, and not enough emphasis on the role God plays. Anne does say some great things about God. For example, she refers to confession as "the beginning of transformation, acknowledging that you need the cross, that you need God's grace", and I really liked her description of the prodigal son's brother as working his way into God's blessing, instead of accepting God's love and serving out of that love. She affirms and emphasizes God's faithfulness, forgiveness, and love, and calls Him her Rescuer. She even quotes Tim Keller at one point. (Yes, I like Tim Keller.)

Those are some good insights, but the overall message of the book, from my understanding, is that healing and transformation only come when you are able to lean and rely on others. I don't believe that's really the right emphasis. God is the Healer. Jesus Christ is the One who said, "Come to Me, all you weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." As Christians, our first recourse when we are hurt, or when we sin, must be to turn to God, not turning to people who have shared our experiences. Sure, God will and does use people as a means of healing- and this is what Christians are called to do in building up and edifying the brethren and reaching out to the lost, which is why a book like this is necessary to remind us of that- but people are not the source of healing. Jesus Christ is. The book's message seems to confuse the means and the source.

The audiobook is read by the author herself, and I really like it when this happens, because you get to hear it as the author intended it to be read, and I think Anne does a great job reading her book. I must point out, though, that the printed book contains stories and comments from other people, presented in a scrapbook fashion. The audiobook (understandably, I suppose) ignores these portions completely.

This audiobook review of Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson was made possible by the christianaudio Reviewers Program.
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Dave Anthold says:

Anne Jackson is back! The author of the widely popular book on burnout entitled Mad Church Disease, is back with her latest release – Permission to Speak Freely: Essays and Art on Fear, Confession and Grace.

This book came across my inbox via christianaudio’s reviewer program and I snatched it up right away. I confess I had been waiting for this book to land in audio format after I heard she was writing another book. Anne has a unique way of collecting stories that hit you in your deepest core. This book hit me as I was right in the middle of some soul searching regarding some issues within my church family.

From her father’s forced resignation in a Southern Baptist church, to addiction of porn, alcohol and drugs – she shares her burden to tell the church things which we desperately want to say, but don’t necessarily have the courage to say.

Why does the church not show enough grace to the hurting? Why is the church supposed to be the one place we go for healing and then say that we aren’t good enough to be there? The church wants to help you with your addictions, but not that kind of addiction. She articulates the idea that we provide lip service to the public, but that the church doesn’t always back up its actions.

Through stories of hurt and finding healing through life decisions, relationships, and love – Anne shares her journey of hope, healing and grace.

Permission to Speak Freely is a book that isn’t meant to be bought and read only once. It is a book that is meant to be taken down off your bookshelf and peel back the pages for refreshment of hope. I have a feeling this book is going to get listened to multiple times in the near future. As an added bonus, it is read by Anne herself, which is always the best way to experience an audiobook. #

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