"Fierce Love" by Dr. Jacqui Lewis was for sure an interesting read. I went into this one expecting one thing and was pleasantly surprised by my findings. Dr. Jacqui speaks of love and religion in a different way than I am accustomed to, so I learned so much from her story. While many books speak of these things in a clinical way, Dr. Jacqui shares insight and personal accounts to illustrate her points. I learned so much about her and her journey. I believe this book will help many!

Thank you to Rodale Inc and Netgalley for the eARC of Fierce Love.

I enjoyed learning about Dr Lewis's past life, how she grew up and how she got to where she is now. But I found it difficult to get through the entire novel. I ended up not finishing the novel. It wasn't that it was written bad, but just that it wasn't for me.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for a free and unbiased review.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I thought this book was one thing but it was not quite what I thought it was at all. It was a bit more memoir than I thought it was going to be. There were good stories from her life and some advice. It did make me take a moment to stop and think more about what I want for myself. That is what I am taking away from this book.

This was such a great and well written book full of inspiration and hope. Dr. Lewis uses examples from her life that at least for me, helped encourage me to continue to love myself authentically. All of the stories were authentic and so needed in this day and age. Phenomenal job with the entire book

I received a copy of the book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review of my own thoughts and opinions.

An interesting story with lessons about life, love and the path to take.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Dr. Lewis will have you laughing and crying as you read this book. The author really kept me engaged and I enjoyed her personal stories as well. I highly recommend.

Released at a time when our country is so divided politically, ethically, spiritually, and even factually, Dr. Jacqui Lewis's Fierce Love is a personal account and manual for how to heal - heal ourselves and in a larger sense, our global community. As the first African American woman to lead the historic Middle Collegiate Church, known for its vast diversity in race, ethnicities, sexualities, and spiritual practices, she's the perfect person to write about what is possible when we come together with what she calls "fierce love."

The book kicked off strong, calling it like it is: "Let's face it: This nation is an environment in which it is difficult for any of us to learn to love ourselves well." She breaks down how generational trauma and social implicit bias (note* she doesn't use those terms, but discusses them through story) affect us all, noting how we are who we are because of who our parents are and their parents, etc. "I understand that how we are loved is as complicated as the one who loves us." Adding to that is that the framework of "Ubuntu," a Zulu philosophy that believes the world can't get better until all of us heal.

From there, by sharing stories of her own emotional healing and hardships, she expands to show us what's possible as a collective. The later chapters of the book examine critical issues facing us today and how religion and spirituality often get used to divide us, picking apart lines from the Bible to emphasize some things while ignoring others. "I'm always a little startled by the Church's denial about how long Christianity and white nationalism have danced together," Lewis writes.

Ultimately, Fierce Love points out that all of our accomplishments and all our failings tie us together. It's an inspirational and helpful book for anyone trying to fuse back together some semblance of who we are as a country, how to love friends and family we've felt divided from, even how to appreciate a church that, under some leadership, has exiled or turned off many of us. And it's a call to heal ourselves and understand that our ability to see the world for what it truly is and could be depends on how well we see ourselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I was not familiar with Dr. Jacqui Lewis before reading this, but I'm a fan now.

This debut by theologian Lewis is the kind of book that will inspire and encourage and may push readers out of their comfort zones. Lewis (senior minister of Collegiate Church in New York City and creator of the MSNBC online show Just Faith and the PBS show Faith and Justice) advocates a radically accepting brand of Christianity that finds its roots in her experience growing up as a Black child in the United States, a country that tolerates and rarely confronts racism and misogyny. The author also reveals the effects of her sometimes supportive, sometimes dysfunctional family life on her spiritual and emotional growth—a path that she says included a failed first marriage, a suicide attempt, and, ultimately, a PhD in psychology and religion and a career in the ministry. To explain her deep passion for activism, she writes: “My new religion is Love. Fierce Love. Period. This is all that matters.” The book’s autobiographical elements lend authenticity to Lewis’s writing.VERDICT Lewis’s infectious optimism (about the power of love and its potential to change society) will reignite hope in many readers who might be weary from personal and professional struggles.

One part memoir and one part spiritual teaching Dr. Jacqui Lewis' book is an engaging read of how one woman who has every reason to be bitter can still be joyous, engaging, and spiritual WHILE continuing to fight for equity and a better world. Dr. Lewis references Ubuntu and how we won't get better until we all get better. and she offers specific practices for personal growth and healing. Religious readers will enjoy this book AS WILL readers of no specific faith who just long for a more just and equitable world.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is okay. I feel like the advice is very generic and the personal stories don't really add any home hitters for me. I think this book is well suited for older women, but I personally didn't pull anything away from it.

A beautiful, encouraging, funny, and heartfelt book. Dr. Lewis interweaves beautiful stories of her life, the Bible, experiences, and encouragement to help portray important points and advice. I have found myself laughing and crying alongside her as I work through this book.

There is a single thread that shimmers through the entire "Fierce Love" book... Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an Nguni Bantu concept that translates- "I Am because We Are". My identity, My flourishing, My pain are irrevocably intertwined with you, with the "other", with the collective. Part memoir and part sermon, "Fierce Love" is a deeply personal and vulnerable invitation to choose love- love of self, love of your "posse", and love of the world, in and so doing, to upend the world as we know it. Author Dr Jacqui Lewis boldly confronts racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia and advocates for the more perfect way- love. FYI- Dr Lewis is a Christian theologian and pastor, yet her message is 100% affirming and inclusive of those of other faiths and those of no faith.

I enjoyed an ARC of this book in exchange for sharing my opinion. My thanks to the author, publisher and #NetGalley for the opportunity. #FierceLove