Easily one of my favorite books of 2021. Funny, witty, wise and pensive. I love the personal details of her story, so deftly woven in to truths we all need to hear. I made two podcast episodes based on this book because I loved it so much.

What an amazing, truthful, and honest book about what it means to have hope in the midst of uncertainty and darkness. The author takes her time sharing her personal experience and her journey toward healing. If you are going through a tough moment in time, please take a moment to open this story. Get ready to cling to the Father and his will so much more. Embrace his life-giving healing power and be changed forever.

A must-read for anyone going through a tough time and feeling that all is lost. Tankersley does a remarkable job of articulating ways to get out of the despair and realize that storms don't last forever and faith in God will help you get through. Loved this book and highly recommend it.

I wanted to like Hope Anyway by Leeana Tankersley more than I did. I am still glad that I read it - the author has convinced me, again and again and again, that hope comes from God, that it is important, and that there is always something more to hope for. However, the execution of this book was hard for me. It did not feel very readable, and sometimes it felt a bit jumpy and hard to get through. Maybe that was because I can't relate to the author's circumstances of divorce... the areas I need to hope in are different. Overall, this wasn't what I expected - maybe it would connect with me better at another time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary advanced ebook copy. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book because of it's writing style, unique topic, and the fact that it really provided a thought-provoking experience. Recommended for readers who want to read slowly so as to take time to process.

This book is on the topic of disappointments and how we can face them with God. Tankersley views the difficult situations in her life and what she has learned from them to help the reader deal with her own problems. If you or someone you know is undergoing extreme difficulty and is not handling it well, then this could be a helpful book to read.
I received a complementary copy for the publisher via NetGalley.

Hope Anyway
Welcoming Possibility in Ourselves, God, and Each Other
by Leeana Tankersley
Pub Date 17 Aug 2021
Revell
Christian



I am reviewing a copy of Hope Anyway through Revell and Netgalley:



When we are in the darkness, whatever that means to our own lives and stories, we believe we are always going to feel this way. We feel as if we will never move past the difficult feelings in the time of struggle We fear the darkness, and for good reason. But it is in the darkness that new life begins.



In Hope Anyway Leanna Tankersley reveals the darkest chapter in her own story with We fear the darkness, and for good reason. But it is in the darkness that new life begins.


In a Stanza of Hope Anyway Leanna gives this as one possible way of describing Hope:



“/Maybe holding the cord looks calm and tender. Maybe holding the cord is a simple text or call saying, “Checking in.” Maybe it looks more like snapping the cord real hard to get someone’s attention on the other end and to remind them of who they really are. Maybe it looks like not taking no for an answer. Maybe it looks like a weighted blanket Amazon-Primed to the front door. Maybe it looks like all of this at different times”. Hope Anyway.



If you have lost your faith, your family, your health, your home, your security, your business, or your very self, Leeana wants you to know that you are not alone or forgotten. You are not doomed to stagnation or stasis. You are not worth less than you once were. Against every last odd, you can hope anyway.




If you are looking for a book that reminds you of what Hope truly is, I highly recommend Hope Anyway!


Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Hope Anyway is about finding hope after a difficult event. In this case the author talks primarily about her divorce. While I understand the trauma that divorce causes, I felt that this book was a little all over the place and hard to follow in places. It just wasn't my cup of tea and wasn't that uplifting like I thought it would be.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book for my honest opinion.

Hope is a dangerous thing.

I have found the crushing disappointment that comes after misplaced hope is the gateway to cynicism. Hoping in people who let you down spectacularly or outcomes never realized makes you never want to try again. It just costs too much.

When all hope is lost, the energy required to have courage and begin again is sapped.

Faced with tremendous losses in her own life, Leeana Tankersley is a trustworthy guide to regaining hope in the midst of crushing defeat. She opens her heart on the pages to expose her vulnerable woundedness to point out the path back to a firm and lasting hope.

Her hope is not placed in achieving goals or arriving at a state of happiness, but in the Lord. When we rest in his sovereignty and stop fighting for our own way and simply fix our gaze on him, we can regain the audacious power of hope.

Each chapter covers a different threat to hope- grief, disappointment, rebuilding, vulnerability, wilderness, endings, etc. Using her personal stories, she guides the reader through how to honestly grieve and sit in the pain of dashed hopes to begin placing your hope in someone rather than hoping for some outcome.

"Hard-won hope is a product of disappointment. We don't possess it because things went well. We earn it because things did not."

It is one thing to have a Pollyanna outlook with a blind hope. It is something totally different to grieve the losses in our lives and get to the bottom and find we still have not lost the Lord. We naturally want to bypass pain but in so doing we miss the fact that the pain in our life is creating something more lasting than naïve optimism.

Leeana marshals all her resources to come to a place of healing and hope in her life. I think it's important to note though, several factors allow her the space to do this intense emotional work that not every reader will have access to. Some of her experiences seem to be primarily enabled by secure finances. Getting alone for two hours of reflection in nature is not possible for some, however helpful it may be. Also, her community of supportive friends is essential in her process, and this is not easily replicated by those who are more isolated. I'd love to see more resources like this come from those who are under resourced and struggling for hope. Those books will likely never be written because they cannot get the time. However, for those who are more resourced this book is an excellent guide to finding a pathway to hope again.

Someone who has their hope planted in the Lord cannot be defeated even at their lowest point. They are hard-pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. You cannot stop someone who's power is found in God's strength not their own. Hope in God makes us effective against the enemy, and dangerous for the Lord.



I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I was attracted to this book because of its' title. I had not read any of Leeana Tankersley's previous books and so I was not sure what to expect. Her warm and humorous style was engaging and I really appreciated her raw depiction of abandonment coupled with loneliness. She has walked an unexpected road of loss. And so this book got better as it continued. Earlier on, I was not sure if I could relate to her general encouragements to engage in hopeful practices but seeing her grappling with her faith but still holding onto it, was an encouragement. I will look out for further books by her.

Leanna Tankersley is a true poet.

This book came to me in a very hard season, where so many bad things happened and I was afraid to hope. What I needed was reasons to hope anyways. Even if things could go bad, even if I had failed in the past. This book shares the story of Leanna's processing through the end of her marriage.

Leanna doesn't air anyone's dirty laundry, instead, she shares her inner process of learning to live again as her own "person". I loved this book. It's full of wonderful quotes and it made me find reasons to hope again.

I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read it again, slowly and with more reflection. Leeana is a gentle voice, a sisterly cheerleader, and strong follower of Jesus who tells it like it is. Hope Anyway is the book we all need right now. I laughed in parts and sobbed through the last chapter. Thank you, Leeana, for once again pointing us in the right direction—toward hope.



I received an advance copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it.

I've read several of Leeana Tankersley's books, but this one is probably the one that resonates the most with me. In her book, she writes about the different aspects of hope that we can find, even in the darkest times of our lives. She does not shy away from difficult subjects; rather, she finds the hope within each and every one. Here are just a couple of quotes that I loved:
"Sometimes we confuse hope with happy endings."
"...we cannot walk forward in our process if we believe we must single-handedly carry everyone else along in theirs too."
"This is the hope. Something is at work that is beyond, before, beside, and beneath us. Can do so always. Can do so now."
I have been reading this as a devotional book, so as to savor each new lesson and new outlook on hope. I highly recommend this if you are trying to recover from difficulty in life. It will help. It will give you hope.

Hope is Always Before Us

If you're like me, there are days when hope seems completely out of reach. Sure, some people have hope, but all I can see is hopelessness. And I couldn't be further from the truth.

In her book, Hope Anyway: Welcoming Possibility in Ourselves, God, and Each Other, author Leeana Tankersley shows readers that when we can't find any hope, when all we know is brokenness, hope is always before us. She guides readers back to the Source of hope, gently directing our attention to real hope that never leaves, and can fill our hearts with peace.

Hope Anyway is a must have book! I highly recommend Hope Anyway; it is a treasure trove of tools to recognize and focus on hope that is constant and true, despite the evidence all around us that would say otherwise. Excellent book!

*I received a copy of Hope Anyway: Welcoming Possibility in Ourselves, God, and Each Other from the publisher. The opinion expressed is my own, I was not obligated to share a review.*

Hope Anyway
A remarkable book! Universal in its message. It's important to have hope, to have a support system when you can't journey alone.

This is a beautiful and honest book. I have read other books by Leeana and am encouraged by her honesty and growth. Previously, when there has been something startling or upsetting in her book, she was open to conversations and spoke of how she has grown or changed and wouldn't say the same thing if writing it today. You can see how much she has grown as a person and writer in this book. If you were a big fan of Glennon Doyle, this book will give you a similar feeling. She writes about hope in the midst of loss, in a similar way to Glennon but from the other side of the hurt and pain.

As I am walking thru my own wilderness this book has encouraged me to see and remember all God had been saying. It's a reminder that I'm being shaped by my life experiences into a new person, and importantly I need to know and live in the moment I'm in enjoying life with Jesus.

Hope Anyway is the best book I have EVER read about hope. Leeana has an amazing way with words that uplift, encourage and cause you to think and dig deeper into your own story.

A hope-full and honest love letter to those who are experiencing unwanted change, loss, or disappointment.