After reading The Grace of Enough, I'm now convinced that I need to read more Catholic writers, past and current. I very much enjoyed this book. It's simple, practical, and Stewart's ability to present her family's story as descriptive, rather than prescriptive is sadly all too rare in this type of book. As a single woman, I'm deeply appreciative of the repeated mention of unmarried people throughout the book and the dismissal of the idea that marriage is the ultimate goal. The thing that struck me most was the consistent reminder that the simple life she describes is not lived out solely for our own benefit, but for the benefit of our families, friends, neighbors, and communities. I'll be recommending this book regularly.

This book was such an encouragement to enjoy life NOW and not seek after temporary things to find joy. I loved Haley's words and how real she is when she talks.

This book is heavy on religion so if that's not your thing, this won't be a good fit. I wasn't familiar with the author prior to reading this book so I didn't quite know what to expect. There are some good ideas here and for those who are of the Catholic faith, I think this book will be a helpful guide for focusing on the most important things (not often things). For me, it was okay but not one I'll be recommending to friends.

Thank you to Ave Maria Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was looking forward to reading this book. After going through the momentous task of sorting through the boxes of possessions stored in my mom’s home, I wanted to eliminate some of my things, so my children won’t have to do that someday.

This book was much more than a book about material possessions. I appreciated her points about all the things in life that are important; at the top of the list will always be God. I also liked her suggestions for living with less and appreciating what we have in life more. The author has a husband and three children, so she chronicles how the changes they made affected them, mostly in a good way.

I appreciated how the author chose to share so many ways her family makes do with less and shares with others.

When Haley Stewart and her husband and children moved to a 650-square-foot apartment on a working farm with no flushing toilets in central Texas, many friends thought that they were mad. They were going a long way from friends and family, and they were leaving a house for a small apartment. Daniel was going to receive much lower pay. How would they cope?

However, life in the city was a struggle. Daniel was working long hours at a job he didn't like and didn't believe in, and Haley was working part-time while homeschooling. Daniel missed out on the children's bedtime, and Haley was considering increasing her working hours. In the end, they worked out that it was an expensive way to live, because they were eating out or getting fast food more often. Family time was declining.

Moving to the farm was the best thing they ever did. Haley combines the story of their move and how they regained what was essential in life with suggestions for readers in an interesting way. She has many lessons to share about the importance of simple things, such as eating with the family, involvement with the community, and sharing with others. This is about how to avoid the throwaway culture no matter where you live.

It is not just a decluttering book, and I must admit to being pleased that Haley and Daniel don't like the idea of parting with books!

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

The Grace of Enough by Haley Stewart is a wonderful call to live simply and deeply. Ms Stewart is a Catholic writer and explains her ideas in light of Catholic teachings. I am personally not Catholic but I still found her book very relevant to my faith and the way I want to live with my family. This book is a reminder of what is really important and what we really need. It does not take much for us to have enough. I highly recommend this book as one to keep and re-read often. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Lovely book on finding God in going small and living on less. She made me laugh and think about how to make better decisions on how to treat God's earth and his people.

This book was ok. I didn't hate but, but I didn't love it either. I felt like the story was slow and I didn't like the way the characters were fleshed out. I know it won't be ending up in my reread pile.

Part memoir, part meditation on modern consumer culture, this is a lovely book for readers, regardless of religion. Christians will be inspired by the author's family's decision to live more faithfully by making do with less. Anyone tired of the race to accumulate more things will take her messages of simplicity and family to heart.

A wonderful book; one that I am going to have a buy a hard copy of so that I can underline and make notes! It made me realise that Im not crazy to question our society's obsession with 'stuff'. A handbook for social change- highly recommended.

Thank you to @avemariapress for the free advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and and Living More in a Throwaway Culture by Haley Stewart
3/5 stars

This book is by female Catholic millennial Haley Stewart, and it is her own interpretation of Pope Francis' environmental encyclical Laudato Si'. By reflecting on her own family life and relationships she ponders what it might mean to live as a participant in "throwaway culture", and what it might look like to begin seeking freedom from a culture that wastes and treats people as waste, too.

Before I say more, I want to offer full disclosure: I am not a Roman Catholic, so I'm sure that this book fell differently on my ears than it would on those who are Roman Catholic. I am theologically educated and trained in the Lutheran church, so I have read Laudato Si' and all the other encyclicals that Stewart references in this book, though they hold a different conviction on my life because they are not the social teaching of my own denomination. This book makes assumptions about gender, sex, marriage, and family that were painful for me, and may be painful for you as well. Please be aware.

That being said, I think that Stewart does an earnest job of weaving Catholic social teaching into her own lived experience. She honestly examines where her family could do a better job of living their values, and shares that honesty with the reader in hopes of providing them with some guidance as well. She speaks well about the feeling of emptiness that many of us know in the midst of this busy, capitalist culture. It did seem like she was more eager to excuse her own vices than to make concessions for others, but she is a human being after all.

There were things Stewart said that made me nod in agreement, things that made me feel convicted, and things that made me adamantly shake my head in disagreement. It is good for a book to make us feel these things, I think.

Reading "The Grace of Enough" finally made me feel like I found another member of my tribe. In a highly commercial-oriented society like the U.S., deciding to opt out is a real countercultural decision. I liked the way the author described her decision-making process and some of the changes she and her family went through along the way. I also appreciated that reading the book challenged me to examine my own lifestyle but did not do so in a way that felt like I was being judged.

I also enjoyed the fact that you could clearly see how Catholic values informed their philosophies and decisions, but it wasn't heavy-handed or like it was trying to be a sermon. I would love to find more books like this -- and find more families like this in my area.

I thought this book was going to be a review of a year in the life of a family learning to live without certain things. Instead there was a lot of Catholic Dogma and Doctrine. I am not Catholic, it didn't make a lot of sense to me. I am sure if you are a practicing Catholic you will find this enjoyable.

Absolutely loved this book. I'm going to go back through it to take notes and write a more thorough review, but this book left me feeling an incredible amount of PEACE in this crazy world. It also left me inspired to think more about "throwaway culture" and how I can play my part both in the way I treat things and the way I treat people.

In "The Grace of Enough," Haley Stewart does a great job of connecting the current trend of minimalism with Christian ethics. She tells the story of moving out of a suburban house in Florida to truly minimalist digs on a farm in Texas (compost toilets included). Lots of references to Catholicism, but perfectly appropriate for folks of other faith traditions as well. Great for church book clubs or adult discussion groups.