Wholehearted Faith is a collection of new essays and other previously unpublished writings from Christian author and blogger Rachel Held Evans. Evans, who died in 2019 at the age of 37, penned several best sellers from the point of view of a progressive Christian woman and is best known for A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master. While Held ruffled feathers in the conservative Evangelical world of her childhood, her quest to liberate her faith from fundamentalism garnered her a wide following of devoted fans as well as vocal Twitter detractors. Friend and collaborator Jeff Chu introduces Wholehearted Faith by looking at his relationship with Held as well as her untimely death. Held’s examination of the evolution of her beliefs and her struggle to always believe will sound familiar to those who have read her previous works, but her musings are given particular poignancy by the reader’s knowledge that her death was imminent and her personal hopes for the future, for the wider Christian community, and for her own family, would not come to fruition for her.. Verdict: Held’s honest questioning of Christian teachings and a God she mostly, but can’t always, believe in will strike a chord with believers and agnostics alike.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this title. All opinions are my own.

Rachel Held Evans' passing several years ago was a terrible loss for her family, friends, and community of people who considered her a teacher. Her final words for adults are bittersweet to read, with the same rich wisdom contained on the pages.

I did not know Rachel Held Evans in real life but I sure miss her voice.
If a work can be someone’s magnums opus this is it.
I have loved and been challenged by everything she has written but in this book she holds profound wisdom so carefully and gently and just scatters it like wildflower seeds.
It’s one of those books I raced through but know I will read over and over again with a highlighter to underline and meditate on. Thanks to Dan and Jeff and friends of Rachel for putting this together.

This a book that makes me miss Rachel Held Evans and her words. She was a gift to the world and even after her passing is still giving to those who read her works. Jeff Chu did a wonderful job with this work and I can only imagine how bittersweet it was to interact with Rachel’s writing without the ability to interact with her as a person. I appreciate the grace that is sown into this book.

I received an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. The opinions are all mine.

3.5 stars for me.

Rachel Held Evans was the author of multiple books about Christian faith, and she spoke across the country about her conservative upbringing, her ongoing search for answers, and her striving toward openhearted love when she died suddenly at age 37 in 2019.

Wholehearted Faith is a posthumously published collection of some of Evans's essays, talks, and anecdotes, including some previously unpublished. The book centers around Evans's reflections related to seeking spiritual wholeness and living as a genuine, faulted, wonderfully imperfect child of God.

Evans's friend and fellow author Jeff Chu compiled the pieces of Evans's work, shaping them into this collection, which asks questions about belief, belonging, doubts and questions, scripture, and the exploration of faith.

Evans considers her conservative evangelical faith beginnings and her evolution into the liberal Episcopalian author and speaker she became as an adult. She reflects upon exhortations to observe the Sabbath and what doing so means to her; she considers alternative interpretations regarding some of the women in the Bible; and she rejects some evangelical views that go against the idea that we are enough and we are loved just as we are.

The pace of the book is sometimes halting and its sections about scripture at times felt a little light or too quickly wrapped up, which I imagine is a result of the circumstances of its completion.

But Evans was an open, loving, inclusive, curious faith leader, and it was a pleasure spending time with some of her last written thoughts about--and some of her lingering hopes for realizing--a fully realized, well-rounded faith. Wholehearted Faith was most powerful to me when it centered around Evans's personal anecdotes and experiences.

I received a prepublication digital edition of this book courtesy of HarperOne and NetGalley.

To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Wholehearted Faith.

I was a latecomer to Rachel Held Evans' work. When she tragically died in 2019, I was aware of her but had yet to familiarize myself with her. I'm sad to say that it was the attention her death received that gave me the nudge I needed. I read Searching for Sunday within the year and it had a deep impact on me. I've since taken a deep dive into the Evolving Faith world and found so much truth, beauty, and connection in that space.

Picking up Wholehearted Faith was a bittersweet experience, for obvious reasons, but I once again found myself deeply drawn to Rachel's openheartedness, her grace, her self-deprecating humor, and her deep love for Jesus. Rachel and I had similar upbringings, so I chuckled along with her stories about earning her Best Christian award, attending Awana, and immersion in Christian books and music. But I also resonated strongly with her reminder to not throw out the baby with the bathwater as we question and doubt everything we were taught to believe.

"Wholeheartedness means that we can be doubtful and still find rest in the tender embrace of a God who isn't threatened by human inconsistency. Wholeheartedness means that we can ask bold questions, knowing that God loves us not just in spite of them but also because of them -- and because of the searching, seeking spirits that inspire us to want to know God more deeply. Wholeheartedness means that we can approach the throne of grace in the confidence of the God who made us, the God who redeemed us, and the God who accompanies us."

The essays contained in Wholehearted Faith feel slightly disconnected, through no fault of its own since this was finished by Jeff Chu posthumously. I am thankful to have it for what it is and simultaneously saddened that we won't hear anymore from the incomparable RHE, echet chayil.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans and Jeff Chu is a collection of writings about faith and life. I love Evans's honesty about God's grace and love, and I am so sorry that this is her last book. I appreciate this passage so much: "I believe not in spite of all my questions but because of them. I believe not in spite of all the theological points that I undoubtedly have gotten wrong--and the ones I've gotten right--but because of them. I believe not in spite of my sins but because of them, just as I am--and just as all those saints and sinners who came before." I highly recommend this book, as well as all of Evans's previous books. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital copy. All opinions are my own.

5 wholehearted stars
I am a newcomer to Rachel Held Evans’ writing. On my tablet I use colors to highlight important parts, emotional parts, this rings true parts and WOW this is very important, bright yellow – come back here. Wholehearted Faith became a rainbow of lovely as I digested new meanings and reflected on old truths in my faith with the help of Jeff Chu who sorted out Rachel’s poignant writings.

Rachel writes honestly, from her heart, reaching out to touch the familiar. “On the days when I believe, I feel enfolded in a story so much greater than my own. It’s a story that knits together a thousand generations of saints – which is to say, folks like you and me, who wrestle with their questions and their doubts… who wonder whether they belong and whether they’re loved. It’s a story that makes audacious claims about a man-god named Jesus and calls us into his outstretched arms. “

“Many of us have found a renewed sense of possibility when we’ve realized how much of God’s beauty remains to be explored – and that the life of faith is also a life of holy curiosity.” The Christian faith leaves room for honest questioning, but too many people forget that, or that God yearns for our wholehearted ‘realationship.’ At various points she points out that God is strong enough and tender enough for our questions.

I learned new things about the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. Besides those understandings, I learned, “It’s not a story about how God turned away from creation but rather a story about how God, in God’s relentless way, moved toward creation while giving people the freedom to make choices, to test boundaries, to rebel, to wreak havoc, to grow up.” How refreshing.

She speaks of community and Jell-O molds and love that is deeper, wider, more secure than our imaginations. Wholehearted faith is a book I will buy both for myself and for loved ones for the times we need to be reminded we live in “a world that has so much beauty and goodness and vibrancy to offer because it was created out of love.”

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this book. I've read most of Rachel Held Evans' books and was devastated when she died. I was delighted to hear that Jeff Chu was going to finish her latest book in progress, and I am so glad he did. Even though I was able to read this early on Netgalley, I preordered the book and am so thankful to be able to share it with my family. This book was such a beautiful capstone to Rachel's scholarship. I think my favorite chapter was her description of her Lenten practice of printing out the hateful emails she received and folding them into origami while praying for each person, or making blackout poetry out of their words. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time, and I am glad I will be able to dip in and out of it to read her words and think on Jesus just a bit more. Very bittersweet.

What a gift Jeff Chu, along with Rachel Held Evans’ family—Dan, Amanda, and more— have given to us by taking the rough draft of Rachel’s final, unfinished book and lovingly shaping it into Wholehearted Faith. As Jeff says at the beginning, this is of course not the book that Rachel would have written had she lived to be able to shape it into its final form herself, but these are indeed her words and her voice and it feels like such grace to be able to have them.

I first read the book on Kindle but then immediately turned around upon finishing and listened to it on audio, too. I was worried that the audiobook, not being read by Rachel herself, was going to feel too sad, but instead, hearing Rachel’s friend and colleagues read her words felt comforting and right.

This book was challenging, insightful, beautifully written, humorous, and insightful. It is a book that speaks to this very moment in the life of the church and the world. If you have found yourself wondering what faith and the church can possibly look like going forward in the face of *gestures broadly* all of this, Wholehearted Faith is for you. It’s a book I know I’ll continue to re-read and savor many more times.

Thank you so much to Jeff Chu and HarperOne for an advanced copy of this book for review. I am forever grateful that this book exists.

I pre-ordered this book on audiobook, ebook, and probably physical book too because it is the last book (for adults) by Rachel Held Evans. The audiobook dropped into my audible app sometime after midnight on November 2 and I listened to the Foreward, the Introduction, and the Prologue before I fell asleep that night. I listened to chapter one on the way to my church internship that morning. (Which, by the way, if it wasn't for Rachel's earlier writings, I'm not sure I would even be pursuing my MDiv right now and working as a pastoral intern right now.)

I listened to chapter 2 on my way to my preaching class that night where I was preaching my very first sermon!

I listened to chapter 3 on my way home. Then between that night and throughout the day on November 3, I finished listening to the audiobook and highlighting so many passages in the ebook. I wanted to savor and devour this book at the same time. I wanted to cry, a lot.

Rachel's words continue to inspire me and resonate so deeply with me. Her heart for the marginalized is God's heart for the marginalized. I follow Rachel as she followed Jesus, with her whole heart. And my heart still hurts that she is no longer with us on this earth in physical form. Reading this book brings up my grief and my thankfulness for her life and work, for what God has done and continues to do through her words.

You had me at Rachel Held Evans! I've long connected with Rachel's writings and like so many others was deeply saddened at her passing. What a gift to have this final volume of her ponderings that Jeff Chu fleshed out based on Rachel's early draft and notes. Readers who are drawn to the vision of a loving higher power and feel challenged to grow in love will appreciate this book of essays. Readers who want to be able to laugh at themselves will appreciate this book, and anyone who longs to hear Rachel's thoughts just one more time must read this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The grace and wisdom of Rachel Held Evans is on full display in this book. She speaks intimately of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and invites others to join her on a faith journey full of doubt but also hope.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book although it was bittersweet. This was the last book that Evans was working on before she passed away in 2019. Jeff Chu completed the book on her behalf and with the blessing from Evans' family. This book definitely sounds like her voice, I could not tell where Chu's writing was, which suggests to me that he knew his friend well enough to mimic her voice. Evans was a person who uplifted marginalized voices who spoke about faith and in this book she also uplifts those marginalized voices in the Bible who made her faith whole. In other words she lived out her faith in theory and in practice. I loved that she shared the story about how she made origami out of hate mail. My biggest takeaway from this book is you don't have to know everything or be certain about everything to be a Christian. Thank you Rachel for your words and your ministry.

I was both excited and honored to be given the privilege of reading this ARC. Yet, upon receiving it, I waited weeks trying to build up the courage to begin reading what I knew would be RHE's last work. Rachel's other works (and her talks at conferences) have been instrumental to my faith deconstruction and re-construction.

This book was filled with her usual wit, humor, and honesty, and I love how she's able to provide assurance for those who are questioning, struggling, and angry. She reminds us that despite the hard parts of being human, we are still loved by a compassionate God and that we are called to love. In this book, I loved the focus on the Shema leading into the connections between wholehearted faith and vulnerability in the first half. In the essays at the end, her writings on the midrash, the wilderness, and the Magnificat really stuck with me. Admittedly, I cried my way through this one, and I know I'll be coming back to these words in the years ahead.

It is difficult to find words to suffice the beauty of this book with words that were formulated by an author who no longer walks the earth. Rachel Held Evans was, and continues to be a strong voice for progressive Christianity. This volume helps carry on her legacy, with craftful support from Jeff Chu. Thank you to her husband for putting this book forward into the world in her memory.

There’s a story at the front of Rachel Held Evans’ posthumous book (written with assistance from her friend Jeff Chu) told by her widower, Daniel Jonce Evans. Daniel relays how the pair nearly lost 11,000-words of Rachel’s working manuscript of Wholehearted Faith (this book) as computer backups failed to do their job … almost. It’s a poignant story related to this book because, about a month later, Evans died in a hospital bed from complications from medicine that she was given at the tender young age of 37. (How she died is a bit of a long story.) It’s a tragedy as to what happened to Evans — I still can’t believe God would take someone away from us who had important things to say. However, the good news is that those 11,000 words were salvageable and publishable for the book she was intending to write for HarperOne — which constituted a bit of a jump up in prestige from her usual publisher of Thomas Nelson. Held Evans was en route not just to New York Times bestseller lists, which she has shown up on since her death, but a mainstream Christian audience. And then she was gone. I still have trouble parsing it, and, to be honest, Wholehearted Faith, at least at its outset, was not an easy read for me. I’m still processing grief, and this is an emotional book.

But it is a celebratory book as many of Held Evans’ friends and family are involved. Her husband writes the introduction, Chu — who is co-curator of the Evolving Faith conference that Rachel had a hand in forming — weaves together Rachel’s unfinished and incomplete text with blog posts and speeches. And my beloved Nadia Bolz-Weber, known for her f-bombs, pens the afterword. In a sense, Wholehearted Faith turns into a celebration of Rachel Held Evan’s too-short life and is not the Viking funeral you might expect it to be. That said, it can be a tough read at times knowing that this is it: after you close the cover of Wholehearted Faith for the last time, there is probably no more remaining work of Held Evans’ that is publishable in book form (unless someone wants to collect the “best of” her blogging work, perhaps). To that end, this, again, was an emotional and difficult read for me. It turns out that this is both a short and a long book. It’s short in that it clocks in at about 200 pages. However, there is enough thought and intelligence on display here for a book double its length. It’s presented in two distinct halves — Chu admits that this is probably not the book that RHE (as she was affectionally known as) would write. The first half seems to be the entire text of the book that Rachel was writing in draft form when she died. The second half is essays about living the Christian life with loose threads connecting this section back to the first.

Without being disrespectful to the memory of Held Evans or her friends and family, I will say that Wholehearted Faith is not her best book. (How can it be when it is not, in a sense, “complete?”) It can be said, though, that this book is the most mature piece of writing that she committed to. There are parts of the “Wholehearted Faith” section of the book that you may feel that you must attack with a highlighter and a pen just to make notes in the margins. It’s rather strange that a book that is about approaching God with the same love that He or She has for us all is so intellectual. If I had any criticism about this book, it might be that a lot of it aims for the head instead of the heart. Therefore, I think the odds and sods collection of essays at the back worked better for me. This was the Rachel Held Evans I knew and loved. I felt that the “Wholehearted Faith” part of the text was Rachel trying to prove that she could play in the big leagues of the publishing world, when, if she was just being herself, she didn’t have to prove anything at all.

Anyone who has also followed Held Evan’s career might recognize some repetition from past books or articles she’s written, which is probably a given that some of the material comes from other sources than the incomplete manuscript. That might be a knock against this book for some. However, I must admit that, even though “Wholehearted Faith” stops dead cold without a conclusion, the end product wound up holding up together remarkably well. I did enjoy the essays on loving your enemy and keeping the Sabbath, and there is much here to recommend. Even though Held Evans felt she had something to prove with this book, and that it needed to be bigger and brainer than anything she had done before, enough of her personality and humour still is evident in these pages.

I did indicate, though, that this is not her best work. What is? Well, I’d either direct you to A Year of Biblical Womanhood (which Bolz-Weber also recommends in her afterword — it’s a slyly funny book as much as it is heartbreaking) or Searching for Sunday, which is a poignant read and was my introduction not only to Held Evans but Christian theology as a whole. In the end, Wholehearted Faith is not a bad send-off for Held Evans and is probably on par with her debut essay collection Faith Unravelled. If you take all her books together, you can see quite the progression and life-journey that Held Evans embarked upon. She burned the candle at both ends and lived a full and robust life. But, as Rachel even points out in Wholehearted Faith, “the crucial thing to remember is that with God, death is never the end of the story.” Wholehearted Faith is a reminder of that. May Rachel Held Evans rest in peace knowing that she got a chance to tell a remarkable story, even if, here, it’s in a form that she probably never envisioned. Amen to that. Amen, indeed.

It’s hard to put into words how meaningful it is to hold this book in your hands, more than two years since Rachel Held Evans died. The gift it is to read more of her words when we thought there wouldn’t be more. These pages drip with her spirit - how she always taught us to bring our whole selves to God. Our questions, our doubts, our anger, our snark, our victories, our lament. RHE is the teacher who, without a doubt, has had the greatest impact on my own life. When I heard her say that she’s a Christian because the story of Jesus is the one she’s willing to risk being wrong about, I finally had words to express my own faith.

Wholehearted Faith is a collection of essays curated and edited by Jeff Chu. The first half is a manuscript she had started on, and the second half is a series of essays on different topics. The foreword by Dan, the introduction by Jeff, and the afterword by Nadia Bloz-Weber help tie it together. Read it with tissues. I promise you’ll need them.

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

I discovered Rachel Held Evans after her rise in popularity; I was late to the party, so to speak. But the timing was divine. I needed her words at the exact time I found her. Sadly, she was taken from this world too soon. This book is a compilation of her last words; a labor of love to publish her last thoughts, and I am so grateful the world can hear RHE speak again. If you are a fan, do not miss this one.

Wholehearted Faith is a beautiful book. What a legacy Rachel Held Evans has left for us. I would recommend this book to everyone!