Almost There


Almost There: Searching for Home in a Life on the Move by Bekah DiFelice is a book about longing - longing to fit in, belong, feel at home. I moved away from my hometown when I got married at 18, and have now lived in my "new" town for 15 years, but I still don't necessarily feel completely "at home" here. So I thought I'd pick up Bekah's new book and see if it spoke to me. The book description says:

"Recipient of Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review!
On the move . . . again? Wondering when you will “arrive”?

Sometimes God leads people out of familiar territory so he can tell them who they are. That moment you depart, you experience reinvention, renewal, and freedom. You get a redo on the adjectives associated with your name.

Almost There is for those on the move and those who feel restless right where they are. It’s for those who struggle with not belonging, with feeling unsettled, with believing that home is out of their reach, at least for the moment. And Almost There is for those who find themselves in a transient lifestyle they didn’t expect—say, moving across the country for a new job or the military or an opportunity to begin again.

With imaginative storytelling and witty, relatable prose, Bekah DiFelice offers wisdom for those struggling to belong in a world where home is constantly shifting. When our hope of home is rooted in an unchangeable God, we are not uprooted, lost, or made homeless by change. We become found ones on the move."

Almost There is a very short book, just 191 pages, and each chapter is topical and written essay-style, so there isn't much of a beginning-and-ending flow to the book. This gave it a choppy feel at times, but it was still enjoyable. Bekah uses funny stories, spiritual insights, and object lessons to convey that we really need to be at home with Jesus in our hearts as opposed to attaching too much significance to where our earthly home is. The book was funny and relatable, but it was extremely military-heavy. I wasn't expecting this, and my family has no military experience, so I couldn't really relate to all of the military stories, moves, deployments, etc. However, it was still interesting and helpful and I enjoyed reading it. I'd especially recommend it to military wives, as I think they'd get a lot out of it.

I received a copy of this book from Tyndale in order to provide an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

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