In this revised and updated version of what was once published as "7 Experiments Against Excess," author Hatmaker shares some new thoughts on living sustainably and eliminating excess possessions.

This version invites the reader to acknowledge the changes that have happened since the book was first released, reminding them that there are many ways to live without too much stuff while still leading a fulfilled and happy life.

Life changes, new perspectives and reminders of some of the same truths as "7," this book will challenge you to view the items that you allow in your home, life and mind as tools. Not every tool is meant for every season of life, and that's ok! You are able to release and add new items as you feel is necessary. However, that means being alright with letting go and inviting in.

I enjoyed this refresh and look forward to sharing with others. I was an early reader, thanks to the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This book was perfect for Spring Cleaning. I read through the book but plan to go back and spend some time on each of the 7 areas. I love Jen Hatmakers use of humor and real life examples. It feels like a friend is sharing this journey to reduce my stuff.

I love Jen Hatmaker. And I love the premise of this book. I did not read the original but I think I would prefer it to this version. I found the updates distracting in this format and I think they could have been better incorporated into the narrative.

Hatmaker revisits a book she authored a decade earlier and provides commentary on her thoughts from her earlier self. The book was taken off the shelves when she aligned herself with the LGBTQ community against her evangelical roots. Seven is the magic number as each month revolves around a different plan ie only eating seven foods or wearing seven articles of clothing to be more godly. My favorite is the gardening stories. Note: Hatmaker is working on a cookbook!

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I am not normally one for self-help, and self-help with a Christian bent? Forget it. However, I really enjoy following Jen Hatmaker on social media and have enjoyed a couple of her other books, so I decided to give this one a shot and I’m glad I did! I really liked that it wasn’t a framework but more a deep dive into an idea and a place to start conversations. Everything they did wouldn’t work for me, but it made me think a lot about what would work for me, which was the point. I also really appreciated the inserts she puts in now (since this is a reprint of a book published about ten years ago) about how she’s learned and grown as a person.

Thank you to NetGalley and Convergent Books for the review copy.

I love the idea in this book of revisiting previous ideas and adding to them with your developed thoughts and ideas in brackets, rather than simply erasing those precious ideas and showing how you’ve learned and grown. That part of this retooling of Seven was amazing. I felt like the book still fell really short in Hatmaker’s addressing her incredibly privileged lifestyle and the dissonance between what she writes in Simple and Free and how she lives. I also thought Hatmaker’s tone was also incredibly condescending for someone who does reality TV shows based on home choices most in the world could not afford and who goes on lavish vacations. The life she posts about and the principles in the book just did not mesh to me. I think Hatmaker has a wealth of life insights to offer and has walked a difficult road this past year with incredible grace and strength. This book just didn’t not resonate.

There is no other author who could make this idea fun and appealing. Jen Hatmaker is a delight to read! Even when she is trying to convince you that giving up some of your favorite things for the greater good, is something you actually want to do. I’m not in a place at the moment to start the Simple & Free “journey”, but she makes it seem like something EVERYONE must do as soon as able ... and I’m surprisingly in!

I have been spending this year focusing on living more intentionally and having a more minimalist life for my family and me. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. There were some helpful tidbits throughout this book that helped me on my path. Some of the advice was the same sort you read everywhere, but there was enough prospective that was helpful that I am glad I took the time to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Convergent books for the ARC of Simple and Free by Jen Hatmaker. Originally published under the title 7, Simple and Free contains observations and insights by the author now, ten years later.

Simple and Free details the journey that Jen Hatmaker and her family made as they attempted to fast from excess in seven areas: food, clothing, spending, media, possessions, waste and stress. Supported by faith, friends and family, Jen takes us along for this adventure- in parts humbling, humorous and hard! Reading this book during Lent gave me ample opportunity to ponder what fasting means and how many ways we can fast in our lives today. The author includes ample scripture and beautiful prayers which made this indeed my Lenten devotional for the year.
At the end of each chapter, Jen reflects on the changes ten years has brought to her faith, world view and mission. These observations show us all how the world has changed and encourages us to make adjustments in our viewpoints as well.

Dear Fellow Readers,

I know that most people think of January 1st as the day to make changes in their lives. During the pandemic, lots of people found the need to do some cleaning out and/or took the time to learn something new.

Some of us just existed. And that is fine too.

So far in this new year, I have been doing a lot of reading about eating and nutrition. It has been interesting and overwhelming. Funny, I haven’t read anything that tells me that I should eat steaks and butter. Why is that?

Seven years ago, Jen Hatmaker decided that she needed to make some changes. To accomplish this, she decided that for seven months during one year she would try to make changes in her families lives. She also had a group of friends that would support her during this time by either joining in or modifying the program for themselves.


The book about their experiences came out seven years ago. Now that time has passed, she is publishing an update of the first book with comments from where she is today.

“It is simply an imperfect social experiment to help us find God in an overcrowded, overindulged, overscheduled life. And it did.”

So, here is the thing. I really don’t know much about the face of the Southern Baptist Church. A more honest description would be that I don’t know much about Christian churches. If you didn’t catch this previously, I do not normally read “Christian books”. Why I decided to read this one is a bit of a mystery but there was something in the description that caught my attention. Okay, not that I got the book free for review (which I did) but I am behind in my reading so there had to be something there to catch my attention. Anyway…

The seven areas that are covered in the book are Food, Clothes, Possessions, Media, Waste, Spending, Stress. In the months that she tackles each topic, she picks seven things to keep and use but is prohibited more than those seven items. For example, during the Food month, she eats only chicken, eggs, whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados, and apples. During the month about clothes, she picks 7 items of clothing that she will wear for the month.

I found the book interesting. It reaffirms a lot of my reading about our place in this world and how we should be better stewards of our surroundings. I felt that the tone of the book is friendly and easy to identify with. Okay, I did skip over some of the Bible lessons which seemed to get lengthier as the book went on.

I think one of the things that I liked is that she was learning while she was going. It is certainly easier to learn from someone who is just learning themselves and is enthusiastic than some of the dry books out of the subjects.

Yes, I would recommend this book. I would say that you should go in with your eyes open as to what the book is about. You may or may not be interested in the subject matter. I was interested in what she did and how it went.

Not being part of the Christian Church scene, I had never heard of Jen Hatmaker before. Also, she had a show on HGTV which must have been on after I cut the cord. She also indicates that she has had some problems with traditional Christianity prior to the first publishing of the book and in the intervening years. It is hinted that part of her problems with the Church come from her support of the LGBTQ community. I liked her writing and approach to the issues. Her openness improved the book in my estimation.

Thanks for reading.

This is a raw look at how much more enriching life could be if we would edit it in specific areas to get to a simpler version of it. Hatmaker is bluntly honest about the impacts on different levels and even if some of the commitments seem extreme, she makes so many points that it would be difficult to not rethink something in your life that could be more by being less.

Thank you to Convergent Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have had 7 on my TBR list for a few years now, so when I was given the opportunity to read Simple and Free, I jumped on it. To me, this book felt like typical Jen Hatmaker writing. It gave me some things to think about, challenged me at times, and made me laugh. Some of it did feel dated because I know about the author’s evolving beliefs, but I appreciated being able to see her comments on how her beliefs have changed in this book. She left the original content from 7 and added comments and updates about what she thinks about what she wrote, where she is now, and how her life and thinking have changed since she wrote 7. All in all, I’m glad I took the time to read this book. I think that some of the themes in this book have become more commonly talked about than they were at the time of the original writing which does not make the book less impactful, but maybe not quite as revolutionary as it may have felt at the time of the original writing.

How many authors have the opportunity to go back and write notes and tips to a younger self? That's what Jen does here, and she opens it up for readers to view. For those who are new to the 7 experiment that kicked off Jen's career in a major way, the original text is here. What's new, for the rest of us, are notes on what stuck, what didn't work, and things they learned in real time.

This book appears to be a new revision to Jen Hatmaker’s 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess which was updated and revised in 2020. The premise remains the same: a laudable concept of fasting from excess and living as simply as possible with less, with the additions of the author’s reflective comments to the original text. New as I am to her work, I applaud the premise but not the way it is carried out. It’s too drastic to be possible for many.

Fasting from anything can be an extreme activity, and that’s how the 7 challenges here are executed, making them less relatable and sustainable than they might have been. The fasting described is from clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media and stress. As I’ve been simplifying my life for a while now, I can relate to the need to pare back, buy less and buy better, consume less altogether, and be more eco-aware. But not quite at the extreme level indicated here.

The writing style is like a confessional journal, resembling a string of haphazard blog posts joined together as one. I appreciated some of the humorous asides to start with before they began to pall and get in the way of the book’s important message. In the beginning, the author appears excitedly naive about her experiment, aided by her team of supportive friends and family. The story of their adoption of two Ethiopian children is a touching addition threading through the narrative.

She seems to mature later on, sensing more of their spiritual benefits the longer the challenges go on. I was more enamoured with her message when she cut back on attempts to be funny and focused more on what she and her family/friends were learning from this experiment, sharing deeper spiritual teaching and wiser insights. Thoughts on the Sabbath and prayer struck a chord, as did the mention of some of the contemplatives and activists that influenced her a lot. All in all, it’s a brave but unsustainable attempt to live counter-culturally, but not a great read for me.

Jen Hatmaker's Seven was a game changer for me. This revised version is even better. I think that the release is also coming a good time because as we start to reenter the world, people are letting things go. This guide on how to do it and its spiritual implications is amazing. I will absolutely recommend this to patrons, but am hesitant to suggest it for a book club since we mostly read fiction. A++ do recommend.

If I recall correctly, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, originally published in 2011, was the first Jen Hatmaker book that I read. A lot has happened in the last ten years, so I was excited when I saw that Hatmaker was releasing a revised and expanded version of the book. It was as funny and challenging and convicting this time around as it was when I first read it. And I really appreciated the additional commentary that Hatmaker has added and the change and growth reflected there.

This book is an updated version of Hatmaker's book "7" which focuses on seven areas for simplifying life and getting ready of excess (i.e. food clothing, etc). This edition contains new remarks and commentary from Hatmaker that were not included in the first version; and Hatmaker has had several significant life changes since the first book was published. The insights from the author and her family were quite interesting and challenge the reader to stop and reflect on the excess in their own lives.

“Simple & Free” by Jen Hatmaker revisits “7” ten years later. While the content is the same, Hatmaker annotates with updates and thoughts looking back on who she was and the things she said, so as to better help people. The book follows Hatmaker through seven months of fasting from various things like clothing, stuff, foods, and more. This refresh gives more clarity and perspective to the hard act of fasting.

This book was crazy-guilt-inducing for me. I’m looking at you, Jen Hatmaker. Just kidding. But it did make me question my shopping habits. I buy the things I want more than just things I need. You can see it in my closet, in my fridge, on my bookshelf… The idea of fasting from stuff makes a lot of sense, but it’s something that I haven’t thought much about it. And I recognize exactly how that sounds.

While I don’t think I could complete every month that Hatmaker partakes in, there were some things that I felt like I could do after finishing the book. I love the idea of recycling and try my best to sort out what I can. I want to eat more local produce, thankfully there are farmer markets all over. I have all the items to start a small garden (here’s hoping I can see it to producing anything before I have to move again…).

Overall, I gave this book 4 stars. I think that fasting is interesting and I loved seeing it done practically. I didn’t love the guilt I felt, but maybe every once in a while some good christian guilt is good for me, right? Hatmaker gave me real solutions to everyday problems that we face and will be facing in the years to come. I love a good real life solution. Any book that makes me think is well worth the time to read.

Thank you to Convergent Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was received as an ARC from Convergent Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I learned so much from Jen's story and it could not have come at a perfect time while researching new weight loss programs/lifestyles. Having a strong connection to God is essential for improving and growing yourself as a person and when you have less on your mind, the more you can live. I also loved how Jen got personal with her experience living this lifestyle and I felt like she was pouring her heart our while being encouraging and through that I felt a deep connection and felt her struggle with the process as well as receiving her wisdom as a result of the process. I will definitely explore the Simple and Free method more in depth and see what comes of it for me and if I learn more, I will definitely pass it on to our library community.

We will consider adding this title to our B Non-Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Convergent books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book has been on my reading list for while. I was drawn in by the concept of a book that details a social experiment and isn’t a ‘how-to’: these are the rules you must follow’ instruction manual. I’m so over those. She points that out from the outset and speaks brilliantly about being moved where you are and not being guilt-tripped.

I’m glad I didn’t get around to actually reading this until this new edition: the 10 year update. Jen has thoughtfully not deleted or rewritten any of the parts she now disagrees with, or finds uncomfortable. Rather, she inserts additional commentary on where she’s at now, the new lessons learnt and where she was just plain naive or offensive before. I appreciate this reflective process and that she can speak honestly and humbly about how much she didn’t know then about adoption, true equity and the bubble of the western church.

As soon as I started reading it, I couldn’t help by hear Jen’s voice in my head. If you follow on IG or listen to her podcasts, you’ll know what I mean! As a Brit, I did need to look up some of the references to understand a few sentences here and there.

I’m sad that this book in its original form was pulled off the shelf because Jen stands by the LGBTQ community. Thank you Convergent for putting it back out with these new lessons woven in. I know this is a book I’ll go back to.