Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear by Jinger Duggar Vuolo

Goodreads: Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear

Published: 2023

Genres: Christian non-fiction

Pages: 221

Format: Library, e-book

This is a well-timed, relevant book that has been on my want-to-read shelf for so long and I am so glad I finally read it. With growing numbers of young adults deconstructing their Christian faith, I was fascinated to read a memoir of someone who had critically examined their faith and remain committed. Vuolo doesn't shy away from hard things in this bold, powerful account of her personal faith journey.

In the opening chapter, Vuolo sets out her mission for the book:

"This is a book about me and my spiritual journey. It is the story of my faith and how I've had to figure out what I believe and why I believe it. This is my personal theological memoir."

And her execution of a writing theological memoir exceeded my expectations. Vuolo explains how she grew up under the teaching of Bill Gothard and critically examines his teaching against Scripture. I found her writing to be clear, succinct, and kind, as though she's writing to others struggling with their own crises of faith.

Other quotes:

"I've come to understand that in the Christianity of my childhood, elements of the true gospel of Jesus Christ we're tangled up with false teaching."

"My path involved tracing the threads of true Christianity away from the false version taught by one man..."

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for Christian memoirs, as Vuolo does an exceptional job of representing the love, grace, and mercy of Christ.

As an aside, I would love to read more theological memoirs! Are there more out there that I don't know about? (Probably!)