Uninvited
Uninvited
Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out and Lonely
By: Lysa TerKeurst
I picked this book up after a conference in Omaha. My primary genre of choice is definitely fiction, and typically something in the fantasy realm… but I was challenged to pick up some more non-fiction. Which has never been something I particularly enjoyed, despite writing a blog that is ALL non-fiction.
So after this conference, I felt convicted to expand my horizons. I bought this book and a handful of other books (not sure why I didn’t do a book haul post then, because it would be nice to reference and see the other books I picked out!). I think that most of them, if not all of them, were non-fiction, with quite a few of them being by C.S. Lewis.
The cover and title of this book drew me in.
The posture of the girl is familiar to me.
I have felt less than.
I have felt left out.
I have felt lonely.
I’m glad I tucked this book into the crook of my arm and took it home with.
This book has been in my “things to do” bag for a long time, several months. Most of a year. It’s one that I’ve been slowly mulling over and through. It took me a long time to read, not because it wasn’t good, but because it was so good.
TerKeurst has challenged the way I think about my past experiences and the way I think about myself. She’s given me some better perspective on why certain things hurt as much as they did—all while she pointed me back to Christ. She has a masterful way of acknowledging the pains of this world while also presenting God’s grace.
The book clearly has a bent towards relationships (or the lack thereof) and romantic relationships to boot. However, I would recommend this book to any one who has felt some kind of rejection—whether from a friend or a job or a child or whatever. Because that pain of rejection doesn’t just come when we’re in a romantic relationship, it can come from all kinds of places.
This book has gone to the hair salon with me on several occasions. I read it with a pen in hand because I love underlying pertinent information or lines that really resonate with me. While I was sitting under the dryer this last time, one of the other stylists asked me, “Anna, are you reading or studying?” And I wanted to say that I was doing both! But I smiled and said, “I’m reading with a pen in hand!” I do this with works of fiction too. But it puts me in the space of thinking about how this book can add to my life—what can I learn and glean from it?
It also went with me to Texas. I read it in the Dallas Fort Worth Airport while I waited for my flight. It went with me to Iowa and Michigan, just in case I had time in the car.
It’s well traveled.
Uninvited is definitely on my “to be re-read” list. I’ll be curious to see what things stood out to me the first time, and if they still ring true on the second and third readings.
It’s hard to review non-fiction because there isn’t a storyline and characters to follow. However, you can review the clarity of vision and the way the message is conveyed. I would say that TerKeurst does and excellent job conveying exactly what she means to, and she does it with a good balance of scriptural reference and personal anecdote.
I’ve already picked up some of TerKeurst’s other books, and I can’t wait to dig into them as well!
