Synopsis:

Whether we want to admit it or not, unmade decisions can cause a lot of turmoil and stress in our lives. In The Next Right Thing, Emily does her readers a great service by giving them practical ways to practice being better decision makers. A few chapter titles from the book include: "Know What You Want More," "Make a Most Important List," and "Be Where You Are." Each chapter begins with a brief story and/or guide post and ends with a prayer and a tip to actually put the aforementioned idea into practice. Within the book, Emily often repeats the phrase, "Do The Next Right Thing In Love" and encouragers her readers to make space for their souls to breathe.

My Thoughts:

I picked up this book thinking that I didn't really need it because I'm actually not too horrible at making decisions. I was aware that I do often get "decision fatigue" and I figured Emily would probably address that within the book's pages. I've been listening to Emily's podcast (also named The Next Right Thing) for a while now and it always helps me to take a much needed deep breath. I also have the privilege of attending church with Emily and getting to hear her read scripture which is like an opportunity to slow down and be present as well. So, all that to say, I decided that this book might be a good thing for me and I started reading.

I'm not exaggerating (something I tend to do just a little) when I say that I completely underestimated the truths that I would find within the pages of this book. As I read, it was almost as if Emily were speaking directly to me and helping me to see some things that I had pushed under the rug and refused to name.

These past few years have brought a lot of changes into my life. Typically, I'm pretty good with change, but there were A LOT of changes to navigate this time around. Here are some of the major ones:

I quit my job as a school librarian to become a stay-at-home mom. We bought our first home. My husband started his own business. I started my own business. My dad died. We had our second child. My husband's business grew a lot. My business grew a lot. My oldest became a very strong-willed 4 year old. My kids have been sick for what now feels like an eternity.

Even after I list them out, there is a battle going on in my mind about how much change that actually is. The dialogue goes something like, "Oh, that's not too bad. Some other people have way more stressors than that." What Emily helped me to realize is that naming things for what they are is really important. I failed to name these changes as hard things and was continuing on as I always had; trying to do all the things as I always have. I have learned so much about myself during these years of big changes and one of those things is that I feel responsibility for many things, some of which are not mine to be responsible for. I'm a stay-home-mom who has transitioned into having a business that I mostly run by myself (I did hire part-time help this year, praise). Emily shares a similar story about being a stay-at-home mom who is also a work-from-home writer and as I read the words on the page it was like a light bulb turned on and helped me see some of the things I had been ignoring, one being: I am no longer a stay-at-home mom. I am a mom who loves her kids dearly and wants to have a more flexible job so that I can be with them more, but I have a business that is a full time work-from-home gig. Y'all. This is huge. Just naming this truth has freed me up to see that my responsibilities have to change. I have added new things to my plate and therefore I must also take some things away. I can not, in fact, do all the things.

I could go on for pages about these aha moments that I experienced reading The Next Right Thing. I flew through the pages on my Kindle because I couldn't wait to see what Emily was going to say next. I am incredibly excited to get a hard copy on release day (April 2nd) so that I can sit down for a while with this beauty of a book and underline and mark up all the goodness found within its pages. Do yourself a favor and reserve a copy for yourself.

This book was excellent. I’ve always loved listening to the podcast because Emily always does such an amazing job directing us to the right place to make good God choices and the book is no different!

Emily P. Freeman's latest book, The Next Right Thing, brims with relevance, rhythm, and real hope.
Not merely for observing or ingesting, the message of this book calls the reader to enter, engage, and "do the next right thing in love" in the most personal, practical and sustainable ways.

As a committed listener to her podcast by the same name, I wondered if the stories would feel redundant.
They did not. In fact, while I recognized some as familiar, I felt like my own soul received them more thoughtfully … in my own pace. And even let them sink into a reflective space that honored my own desire to warm beyond a momentary awe to reign in my own rhythm to reflect my Hope more steadily, readily and sincerely in my every day world with my every day people.

The seamless pattern of each chapter - rich with relatability and a calling-onward - makes this an easy read alone, but also begs to be paired with a small circle of dear soul friends ready to sip, to share and to sing the fresh rhythm together.

Picking up The Next Right Thing is your next right thing. Emily is a trusted voice for both practical wisdom and heart-felt encouragement. If you're overwhelmed by a decision that needs to be made or you simply need a reminder on a soul-level that peace is possible, Emily's words are for you.

This book is not only for the chronically hesitant but also the anxious, the second guessers, and the questioners. Emily Freeman writes with such warmth and understanding, with gentle pushes and motherly wisdom. This book feels like having coffee with a friend. I will come back to this book again and again as decisions and choices arise.

For the past year I have been working through Emily P. Freeman's podcast. I was thrilled when I learned she would be coming out with a book on the same topic. I have often complained of decision fatigue and so her message really hits home for me. Emily has such a gift for helping to break down decision making into understandable pieces. I used to think of myself as capable of making quick decisions but lately, I've found myself wrestling with certain types of decision making situations. Some days, I'm just weary of the constant decision making of this stage of life! Emily's words were so soothing and comforting and exactly what I needed to hear. Her short chapters, everyday examples and relate-able style made me see the whys behind some of those areas that I was wrestling wit. I also love her prayers for each chapter and found her tasks doable. Half of me wanted to devour the entire book in one sitting and the other half of me wanted to savor a chapter a week because there is so much there to mull over. I have a feeling this will be a book I go back to often.

Even thought I am only about half way through the book, I loved it so much that I wanted to share an update so friends can take advantage of her pre-order specials. I don't make any commission on those sales but I do think think this is a book worth owning! I received an advance copy of this manuscript as part of the launch team, and was thrilled to start reading it before my own pre-ordered book was available. This is my own honest review of the materials.

Being an Enneagram 1, I have a very loud inner critic. I call her my inner hag. My inner hag uses a megaphone to remind me that my biggest weaknesses revolve around fear: fear of failure, fear of doing the wrong thing, fear of not being good enough, and fear of making the wrong decision.

In Emily P. Freeman’s latest book, she writes about how she was in an Uber with her bestie, and the driver told started to tell her a story about a difficult passenger she had driven. But instead of telling the two women about this passenger she said, “But we’re not going to give her words, ‘cause that’s exactly what she wants.’”

Each time I have tried to decide what my next right steps are, my inner hag bellows out all the reasons I’m choosing wrong: all the ways I can fail, all the things that might go wrong, and all the ways I’m going to disappoint not only myself but all those around me. It’s crippling and it keeps me from moving forward.

Emily’s book offers gentle and compassionate ways for you to consider what’s keeping you from making your next right step (and I resonate with almost all of them), as well as practical steps to help you to move forward.

This book came at a perfect time. I’m in a period of transition in my life, and my husband is getting ready to make a big decision that will impact our family in many ways. This is a book I will be reading again. Next time I’m going to go slower and take more notes. I highly recommend it.

I am just so excited to read Emily’s words of wisdom in her new book The Next Right Thing because this season of life I’m in had been full of decisions that seem hard for me to make, my mind feels cluttered and my soul feels stifled. Just listening to Emily’s podcast has helped me so much. I just knew when she announced this book that I had to have it, not so much for a self help book but for a soul care book, a book with gentle reminders that I’m not alone and there is a way to be guided back to healthy decision making.

Emily offers hope, she allows grace, she helps create space for our souls to breathe. She has done the work, walked the walk, wrote the words, but is still on the journey with the rest of us. I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy compliments of Netgalley and I believe with all my heart this is a book that we can all glean wisdom from.

I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher. I loved this book and am looking forward to reading it again. Emily is such a gentle soul and it comes through in her writing. I think my favorite chapters are finding a no mentor and waiting with hope. This book is well outlined and each chapter builds upon her framework for figuring out your next right thing. If you are looking for a better framework for making decisions, this is the book for you!

Emily P. Freeman's The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions are like words floating in your ear, whispering to your heart, asking you to trust yourself and to be your truest self as you make YOUR next right decision. As I read this book, it was as if Emily somehow had a window into my life and the patience to sit with me as I churned through all the thoughts in my head over and over again. This book couldn't have come at a more serendipitous time in my life -- and I know it will be a book I will be coming back to over and over again. Emily and her words are a gift to us all.

This is a wonderful book, and I think I will be reading it over and over and over again.

It's perfect for someone who has a hard time making decisions, or even someone who just gets a lot of anxiety when it comes to making decisions.

It's perfect for just about everyone, really.

It's full of practical advice, encouragement, and focus.

Just like her podcast with the same name, Emily P. Freeman has a way with her words that get right to the heart of the matter.

It was easy to see what I was using as excuses and what I was really feeling about things when it came to looking at some decisions based on her thoughts.

I'm still processing all of this and I know I'll keep referring back to this book. It's just one of those that I will keep on hand for whenever I feel anxiety about a decision or I don't know how to figure out what I want to decide.

Whether you have a looming major decision or everyday life can just feel a little overwhelming, Emily P. Freeman's The Next Right Thing is the perfect way to create a little space. Each beautiful short chapter of this book felt like an existential exhale. Emily's words are so relatable and yet uniquely poignant. Without an obvious, huge decision on the horizon, I wasn't sure this book would be for me, but I absolutely adored every page.

There is something special about this book that makes you want to shove it into the hands of friends and look into their tired eyes and say this...this is your next right thing. Read it tonight. Emily has a distinct way of pulling you in, allowing you to see yourself clearly, and then gently turning you around in the right direction. The guidance inside will help you through tough decisions, for sure, but it will give you that motivation for your every day life as well. I love this book.

I received this book as part of a launch team. Review is my own.

Taking the time to pause and read Emily's latest book, The Next Right Thing, will be the best decision you make this year. She has a unique way of writing that whispers directly to your soul and this book is no exception. It's unputdownable-until-you're-finished-good.

I love the simplicity that Emily brings to the decision making table. She invites her readers back to the place where they can begin again without the overwhelm and teaches us to go there again and again until the process becomes as natural as breathing.

In her classic soothing and soulful style, Emily P. Freeman brings us this beautiful book offering direction for our decision making.

It is filled with wisdom, grace and blessing. It's as if you're sitting with the author sharing coffee and insightful conversation as she gently probes us to think things through and think deeper.

This book will teach and inspire the reader seeking to live more intentionally and prepare us to face decisions with more confidence and less overwhelm. Emily doesn't give us a how-to, step-by-step, one-size-fits-all. Rather she gently and calmly helps us learn to navigate the decision making process well.

I love how each chapter ends with a prayer followed by a practice section. The prayers are beautiful and the practice section offers suggestions and practical, yet powerful, actions for our lives pointing us to our next right thing.

I received a review copy and all opinions are completely my own.

This world is filled with decisions. And in a world where we have so many decisions to make we end up with decision overwhelm. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve been overwhelmed choosing what to watch on Netflix! This book, and the podcast it came from, helped me to see I’m not crazy. This book is an amazing gift to anyone searching for a better way to make decisions. A better way to make a life. A more peace-filled, Jesus centered, calm way to make decisions. It helped me see the simple and tangible steps to make that happen. Emily’s voice is that of a kind friend patiently sitting with you and sharing their wisdom.

In a chapter I particularly loved she wrote, “Knowing what you want builds confidence... it is a gift to the people you love, and can help you let go in peace.” She encourages a stable foundation of faith, routine, and self awareness in order to know what you want in your life before you have to make decisions big or small. I highly recommended this book - I have already preordered copies as gifts!

** I received an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review. I was honored and grateful for this opportunity as I have been a huge fan of Emily for years now. It was an honor to read her writing in advance and reviewing it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

(I received an advance copy of the book in exchange for my review).

To those who need a breath of fresh air in their life, who are tried of being told to do more, achieve more, be more, hustle more, I give you Emily's new book. It is the chance to sit with a cup of coffee and do more than strive moment to moment. It is a call back to what our souls are so hungry for - rest, space, calm, breath, God. In a million little ways it invites us to give God more than a fleeting, passing hello. Her books invites us to realizes the world will not stop if we do and that maybe the best thing we can do is show ourselves a bit of compassion and to ponder what our next right thing is.

We make thousands of decisions in our day, many without a second thought. And we are burned out. All the while we are letting the choices that matter slip beyond us. How can we decide what our next right this is if we don't even know where we are? And how can we know where we are if we never stop to notice?

With her usual style of grace-filled honesty, Emily invites us to ponder our next right thing with the God. She is candid, real and honest. Her book feels like a conversation with a good friend. Each chapter gives a prayer and some practical steps. Her podcast is my absolute fav and her book is now on my short-list of must reads.

Do yourself a favor, buy one for you, your mom, your sister and best friend! Stop and see how uncluttered, un-hectic, un-stressesful your life can become when you take time to figure out what is the next RIGHT thing and not just what can be done in the pressure of hustle.

Emily’s voice has a rhythm to it that just makes you think, yes! Yes! Exactly. My book is highlighted everywhere with decision making truths. Things to consider in making a decision like am I being pushed by fear or led by love? I loved the format of the book, especially the prayer and practice aspect at the end of each section. Highly recommend this book!

I received an ARC as part of Emily P. Freeman’s launch team. Reading this book is like having a personal counselor speaking into your life. It guides and points you in the direction of finding what your next right thing is. Each chapter contains a beautiful prayer and something you can do as you are discovering your next right thing. I highly recommend it!