Awake by Anjuli Paschall

 

Awake by Anjuli Paschall is her 2nd book. I enjoyed Stay and looked forward to this one. Her writing style is more like a series of memoir-style essays compiled together with a thread that links one to the other to make up the book. She is one of those authors that I feel like I have gotten to know over cups of tea. . .and by the end of this book, in a sense I have.

Awake is Paschall's thoughts on living a full life for God by "staying awake."Throughout the book, she shares her personal stories and spiritual reflections, with some Bible verses, on living awake, rather than chasing after more and better. She talks about staying awake by seeing all the little things in a day--as well as being there for each other. She is down-to-earth and so very real that I feel like I know her and I am ready to move in to her wonderful neighborhood so I can join in to one of her fun traditions. She is also real enough to share the hard things she has gone through and how to be awake even through those difficult things like her grandma passing away and her father-in-law leaving the family. She doesn't shy away from some of the struggles we have all faced through the pandemic either.

Besides the glimpse into Paschall's life, Awake encouraged me to reflect on my own life. Paschall is introspective and her prose is somewhat deep, I think. I like good books that cause me to think about how to live my own life better, as well as learning about other people. I couldn't read Awake fast, I had to stop and ponder a bit as I read. In the back of the book there are questions to go along with each chapter. This book would be good to journal through. It would also make a good discussion book for book clubs or Bible studies besides personal use.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.