Living Brave by Shannon Dingle is a searing memoir that chronicles the author's journey through loss, trauma, abuse, spiritual reawakening, and deep pain. Dingle, a writer and disability advocate, shares her experiences of surviving sexual abuse and trafficking as a child, which left her with lasting disabilities and PTSD. She also recounts the tragic day when her husband, Lee, was killed by a rogue wave while they were on vacation with their six children, four of whom are adopted and have special needs. She describes the aftermath of his death, the challenges of being a single parent and a widow, and the ways she coped with her grief and anger.

In addition, she explores her faith shifts that put her at odds with the evangelical church that had been her home for most of her life, and how she learned to embrace a more inclusive and progressive Christianity. She also discusses how she learned to use her voice, take a stand for justice, especially for marginalized communities, and honor the wisdom of her body, which had been violated and shamed by others. Living Brave is a powerful and inspiring book that gives women permission to wrestle with difficult topics, enact change from a place of strong faith, and find hope in a hopeless world.

I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of Living Brave: Lessons From Hurt, Lighting the Way to Hope. It's a powerful memoir where Shannon shares from her experiences of a survivor of sex trafficking, a young widow
and mother of 6, and a disabled woman. She doesn't preach from up on high but commiserates with us while she's in the
trenches, weaving wisdom and hope into a real and raw look at what it means to "live brave.
This wisdom about bravery applies to all humans, and she writes from a place that invited us all in, regardless of the type of depth of suffering we have experienced individually. She
discusses the bravery in surviving, choosing your voice, trusting, taking care of yourself, being in relationships, and perhaps hardest but most importantly of all, remaining hopeful.

I REALLY wanted to like this book. It was supposed to be a memoir, yet it was more preachy how to. I was a little shocked by some of the language and I struggled to keep up with the time line - it just sort of jumps all over the place and is at times, hard to follow. What I DID like about this book, was Shannon's honesty and openness in sharing her story - not just the loss of her husband, but other heartbreaking parts of her life. I was given this advanced reader copy of Living Brave by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Living Brave" by Shannon Dingle is a powerful, heart-wrenching, but also inspiring account of Shannon's abuse at the hands of her entire family, her experiences as a writer, disability advocate, wife, mother, and then dealing with her husband's sudden death, and how she has processed all of this.

I don't know how to say this appropriately, because I hate what happened to her, so I don't want to say I "enjoyed" it. But it's really very powerful and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it. Out of her horrific trauma, she's provided a light for others through the book, if nothing else but to say, "there's a light, I'm with you as you seek it, and it really is possible to find it and grab on." The book is also well written, will hold your attention and make you think.

I want to say one more thing for which I applaud Dingle's bravery. I'm a writer and have a past in publishing and am struggling with my future as a writer. Consumers and publishers alike often want stories that are filtered, put to rest, and tied up with a pretty bow after a lot of hindsight. I truly appreciate that this book is not that kind of cookie-cutter product. I don't know the backstory on how it made it into publishing, but I want to say a heartfelt "thank you" for not turning it into a glib, pollyanna, saccharin account. Real life doesn't always resolve with a pretty bow tied around it. I appreciate the fact that the author is grappling and writing. Struggling and writing. Continuing to live brave, and writing. That's authenticity, and it's leading the way for others who are going through their own difficult experiences as well.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Shannon shares her story with bravery, vulnerability, and unafraid honesty, I shed tears and laughed out loud. I felt like I was sitting with a friend, listening to her share her story and speak words of truth to me. I am grateful for her voice and the ways she stewards her story, the beautiful and broken parts!

If you're as tired of the toxic positivity in Christian spaces as I am, this is the book for you. Through social media and this book, Shannon Dingle has taught me so much about courage and grief. This book is raw and I'm so thankful that she was willing to talk about the hard things that are far too often ignored in our churches. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early social copy! I can't wait to add a physical copy to my shelf.

Heart wrenching, beautiful, inspiring, and well written. I was a bit intimidated to read this due to some of the subject matter, and while it was indeed difficult material, it was well worth reading. The author writes in a way that evokes ones empathy for others while challenging mindsets and how we interact with one another. One is left feeling hope for the future, even when grief is present.

Living Brave isn't just a title, it is Shannon Dingle's essence. Some people title their books with big, weighty words, and the pages that follow fall short. For Shannon, the opposite is true. What comes together in each chapter is a clear example of a life lived with bravery. This book is honest and vulnerable in the best of ways. It is also raw, in the way books containing trauma and grief rarely are.

I would have loved to read the book Shannon was writing, but I am grateful for the book that she has given us. This book is a gift to anyone who has lived life trying to overcome childhood trauma. It is also for anyone who has ever experienced grief.

This book is not easy to read, it is heavy and full of hurt. But if you dig in, you will see it is full of hope and healing. The kind of hope that is multiplied where shared. This book is the bravest thing you will read all year. In a year where we have all needed to be brave, you won't regret buying this one!

The publisher made a copy of this book available for review via Netgalley. This is my honest opinion.

Shannon Dingle has been through so much in her life. She was in the middle of writing a memoir of what she went through as a child and adolescent. Then her husband was killed in a very freak accident on the beach. The focus of her book changed. As a person who was always giving, she has learned to accept help for herself and her children.

Highly recommended for public libraries and to support for those who are grieving.

I received a free e-galley through NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Shannon Dingle shares heartbreak and hope in Living Brave. From an abusive childhood, debilitating illness, the sudden devastating loss of her beloved husband and being left to raise their 6 children (many with disabilities) on her own, she shares her heart and her faith vulnerably. A beautiful message for anyone that has suffered loss, whether the death of a loved one or a hope or a dream. A timely wake up call as well for the church that right now stands at a crossroads.
“Surviving is the brave act of moving through the agony instead of self-destructing by denying it.”

Author Shannon Dingle already has a lot of experience in Living Bravely... She has survived childhood sexual abuse, being trafficked as a teenager, substance abuse and addiction, and chronic illnesses. In the middle of writing this book, though, her beloved husband (and father of their six children) died in a freak accident at the age of just 37— Leaving her to carry on brave... without "Lee".

This book is incredibly raw and honest, and offers a real time view of Dingle's powerful determination to continue to live after Lee's death, to find hope when doubt would be so much more reasonable. While this book will be appreciated by a wide audience, I recommend it's especially to readers who are themselves still in the throes of grief. They will find solidarity and comfort with this author.

Against all odds, Shannon Dingle has survived the worst that life has to give. Circumstances continually changed her perspectives and challenges throwing themselves at her. But she is a survivor. She is more than what has happened to her. She is compassionate, kind, understanding, and empathetic. This book is much more than her story; it's a lesson.

I've followed Shannon from afar for many years as our blogging days overlapped. In another life, I think we would have been friends. She has dealt with more than any one human ever should and continues to show up with humor, courage, hope, and of course, bravery. This book is such a comfort for the person who is hurting.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an advanced copy of this book and was blown away and the honesty, openness, and courage of the author to share her story. Shannon has a beautiful way of weaving together her former writing and current thoughts with other literature references. She touches on classic disability and trauma texts, quotes scripture, and shares hard but important truths in her work. I have loved to see her bolding sharing her story online, and was thankful to read this book.

As a disabled clergywoman, I relate to so much of her story. I have experienced the pain of an employer having vastly different theological or political beliefs. I have experienced the oppression of being a woman in ministry and being devalued. I have dealt with the difficulty of not knowing when is okay to share your trauma, hidden disability, or past with someone, let alone knowing who is safe.

If you are a person who is navigating difficult and painful moments in this world, you will find this helpful. You will learn so much from Shannon and will find ways to live brave.

I really enjoyed Shannon’s debut book. It was hard to read her heartbreaking stories and not want to cry. Though I’m sure that isn’t what she was aiming for....my emotions were very close to the surface. The poems opening each chapter were beautifully written and touched my heart deeply. I was finding myself underlining and highlighting multiple passages that taught my heart and touched my spirit. I felt seen, understood and known - even though Shannon’s life experiences look nothing like my own. It was more a sense that God knows Shannon, and if He knows and loves her, he also knows and loves me. I am grateful that the author shared such vulnerable and raw stories of their pain, bravery and heartache. Thank you Shannon. 4.5 stars

(I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my unbiased review)

Vulnerable, honest, compelling. I very much wish the author would have not felt the need to repeat (multiple times in every single chapter) how her husband died. TRUST THE READER. I hear you. A few times is totally fine, but a few times in every single chapter was way too much and felt like she assumed I forgot what happened. I never had a chance to forget because it was all over the place -- but I wouldn't have forgotten anyway.

Should this matter to those considering the book, the author includes language that some may not appreciate/want to read. For the book it is, though, and for what Shannon has experienced, others will argue it's absolutely appropriate, relatable, and emphasizes her loss.

I've followed Shannon Dingle's writing and activism for a few years now, and I can't tell you how much I've learned from her. I was so excited to get an early copy of her book, Living Brave, from the publisher. I knew that it would be, as Glennon Doyle says, "brutiful" - brutal and beautiful at the same time - and it absolutely was. Dingle writes about her personal history and the tragedy of her husband's death with raw grief and extraordinary hope.

The book concludes with this absolute gem of wisdom: "Because I know the feel of the sun on my skin, I can trust that I will feel it again in the moments where darkness seems like all there is. Holding close the hope that the light will shine again soon when the world is full of shadows? That's the epitome of living brave." In this book, Shannon gives us permission to evolve our understanding of bravery - from always saying yes, or doing the hard thing, to understand that sometimes living brave simply means surviving the hardest things we never asked for or wanted in our lives. If you've enjoyed the work of Brene Brown, Glennon Doyle, or Rachel Held Evans, I encourage you to read this book.

Thanks to Harper One and NetGalley for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

This was such a lovely read - poignant, moving, and inspiring but with parts that made me laugh out loud. I found myself highlighting quotes practically ever other page! She truly has one of the most heartbreaking, yet hope-giving stories I've ever read.

I have followed Shannon on Twitter for a while and was so excited to read her book. It was a natural continuation of her wit and inspirational words. She covered a wide variety of topics, all with her usual considerate touch.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

The author Shannon Dingle and I have never met - but I was drawn to her story because of my own vacation story on the same island. Two years ago Shannon's husband Lee died unexpectedly after being hit by a strong wave at Oak Island, NC. While my story in 2014 didn't end in physical death at the moment, it was the beginning of a process that would. Our large family was also vacationing on Oak Island when my 80 year old father, already undergoing chemo treatments in Pennsylvania, fell extremely sick and was transported to the local hospital - our stay suddenly became an extended stay in Wilmington, NC while he slowly recovered to be well enough to go back home two weeks later. There were times we thought he wouldn't make it. The cancer and related conditions ultimately took his life 3 years later. We are indeed grateful for the extra time with him we didn't expect when it happened. We have not returned yet to what was our favorite vacation spot. When I heard of the incident with Shannon's husband in the news, there was an immediate connection because I had been to the same place. That connection led to me follow Shannon on social media and I was excited to finally be able to read her completed book - though she will be the first to tell you it changed greatly from when she first started writing it. Shannon writes brave (not brave-ly ... you'll need to read her work for that story). As a woman of faith, she shares very openly about those moments where she is still mad at God, but yet has days filled with hope, and others not so much. Shannon shares openly about the sexual assault at the hands of her family as a young girl and the pain it still causes and her struggles as a single widowed mother raising six children with different ethnicities and medical conditions. Hoping that Shannon will continue to write as she continues to heal - she has much insight to offer our troubled world. Even when she doubts it or doesn't feel it, it is clear that Shannon does have hope and that's what counts. We are all broken and yet beautiful and hope can become your name (again you'll have to read the book for that to make sense). Shannon's work is touching because her life story is touching and you'll find yourself with teary eyes by the time you finish. Shannon has found so much support in her community and from her "framily" though that this is one time the acknowledgements are as readable as the book. Shannon -- keep hoping, keep writing. This book was advanced to me through NetGalley with no obligation for a positive review. It is scheduled for a July 2021 release. -- will plan to post review to Amazon upon book publication.

This book is both very easy and very hard to read, at the same time. It is exceptionally well-written, making the pages fly by. But the content is raw and true and hard, filled with honest truths and important life lessons.

Each chapter begins with a poem that relates to the content (I think it was all of them), and they are happy little surprises. The author relates her own lived traumas, both as a child and as an adult, and discusses what she has learned from them and other life circumstances, as well as quoting extensive research. The lessons apply to anyone, in any walk of life, and with any past, present, or future.

The words are heart-wrenching and tear-provoking but also hopeful and brave. She makes room for all kinds of bravery and all kinds of people. This book is truly inspirational, because it is so honest and real.