I’m not sure I was supposed to read this book. Apparently, it is for women, but the publisher was kind enough to send me a copy and I’m really glad I read it.
The subtitle Conversations with friends on faith, life, and culture shows the heart of this helpful little book. I think this would be a great book for catalysing a book club in a church or Christian Union context – offering 11 different angles on the three themes of ‘Being Thoughtful’, ‘Listening Well’, and ‘Speaking Well’. Each of those are things that Christians, male and female alike, need to be better at!
Beautifully Distinct is nicely designed, nicely laid out, and well written. It was a joy to read, and packed with nuggets of wisdom that I’ll be using in different contexts. Standout chapters for me were ‘When Food Becomes a False Gospel’ by Kelly Needham, ‘The Value of Literature’ by Karen Swallow Prior, and ‘Conversations onRace’ by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson and Lilly Park.
This is a slim book – around 140 pages – that, as I write, would be a great catalyst for further reading and discussion. I’d warmly recommend it to anyone wanting a discussion-starter (for solo or group use!) on the topics noted, and the others in the book. Below, I’d recommend a few books that might be good ‘ways on’ from Beautifully Distinct.
Karen Swallow Prior’s On Reading Well was one of my books of 2019 – and is a brilliant book that does what it says on the tin, beautifully.
Anything by Jen Wilkin is likely to be a good followup!
MORE: Truth by Kristi Mair is a great little primer for thinking about truth in our current cultural quagmire.
Nancy Pearcey’s Love Thy Body is a longer, superb book that covers a multitude of issues that come up in Beautifully Distinct.
Rebecca McLaughlin’s Confronting Christianity would seem to me to be a good example of the three values explored in this book.
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