Uninvited

Starred review from May 9, 2016
TerKeurst (Unglued), president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, addresses the darkly emotional issues of rejection and loneliness. Blending personal stories, a wry sense of humor, and biblical teachings, TerKeurst writes as though she’s chatting with a close friend. Many women will relate to her fears that the woman on the next elliptical hates her, or to her total panic when she walks into a room filled with people she doesn’t know. TerKeurst doesn’t just share empathetic anecdotes for readers in a rut; she focuses on digging down to the roots of anxiety and providing tools for overcoming self-doubt and handling the pain of rejection. TerKeurst is candid about how women allow rejection to define their worth and how too often they approach the world from a place of scarcity and emptiness. She encourages her readers to “live loved”—to abide, delight, and dwell in God and practice an abundance mentality. Accompanying Bible verses, takeaway lessons, and practical applications help the reader put TerKeurst’s words of advice into action.

December 5, 2016
TerKeurst’s books are known for speaking to Christian women in the deepest places, where rejection, anxiety, and insecurity threaten to derail faith and freedom. Yet TerKeurst does so in humorous ways, with self-deprecating anecdotes and wry observations about culture. Capturing this unusual blend of the wacky and the earnest creates a tall order for a narrator, but reader Welsh is up to the task. She has a rapid-fire delivery and a real flair for the dramatic in recounting the highs and lows in TerKeurst’s many stories. The sensibility of this performance is that of a friendly and intimate chat over coffee. Then the conversation turns more serious as each chapter ends in a prayer. Oddly, the combination works, mostly because Welsh’s performance feels so natural that talking to God at each chapter’s end is not all that different in tone from the chatty style throughout. A Thomas Nelson paperback.