Ugh! This book. I joined the launch team for this book because I wanted to read some books & see some discussion about how Christians practice hospitality. I thought this would be just that. I was wrong. It's not that this book has un-Biblical ideas. The ideas are very Biblical. But instead of showing how her ideas were founded in Biblical truth (as one would expect from a "Christian" book), she barely mentioned Scripture. The book turned into a rather shallow self-help book full of the author talking about how great she's doing with being so liberal-minded & living in a diverse neighborhood. Just missed the mark for me. I know there are some great Gospel-based books about hospitality, so comment your favorite down below. Thanks!

Start with Hello is a thought provoking book full of real life examples from the author on how we can build positive relationships with our neighbours, both in proximity and in the world. It gives actionable suggestions on how we can come to forge links with our neighbours better and recognises that just reading a book, or posting a photo on social media will not bring the change we crave.
Written in long chapters but with short chunks within each this was an easy book to pick up and read for short periods and is one I’ll surely return to in the future

Shannan has yet to disappoint! The perfect guidebook for all of us that know, deep down in our knowing, that the way out of our collective mess is together. An even better guidebook for those of us that also cringe and begin to hyperventilate at the thought. Equal parts "how-to" and funny, it-isn't-ever-going-to-be-perfect anecdotes, Start With Hello will be finished in one sitting, and then referred back to over and over again.

A lot was packed into this book, but it was so simple. I'm definitely taking cues from this book.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

This is the book I've wished for, for so long.

I could quote the whole dang thing, it's so... motivating, enlightening, encouraging, liberating. @shannanwrites has always shown such great examples of community and this is just a supersonic next level. I'm so pleased to have read it, so grateful to "know" her in this troubled, beautiful world of social media and internet community.

"Love is not merely the absence of hate. It’s salt and sweat, dirt and tears, the chemistry of endurance."

"In order for hope to be real it has to be free. No gatekeepers. No restraints."

"This means there’s no amount of hope too little or too great. We don’t get to split hairs and tell young men weighed down with systemic burdens they aren’t hoping hard enough. We don’t get to shake our heads at desperate families fleeing danger or desolation and say they’re hoping too much."

This is a lovely invitation into neighboring and belonging and community. It starts with hello. It starts with waking up and really seeing those around you. I appreciate the author's welcoming, simple invitation to befriend with open eyes and open arms, learning and growing and entering into community with the goal of participating in the weaving of a beautiful togetherness. I appreciate the author's balance between valuing the differences we all have and dispelling the myth of otherness.

It's not always easy. Shannan doesn't shy away from the complications, or the need for boundaries. But she does remind us that we all fall short, and we'll need grace both from and for other people.

So much of this is just simple slowing down. Seeing. Listening. Taking the time. Living curiously. Living humbly. Just valuing people and being intentional in how you show it. It reminds me of an Emerson quote - I've never met a man who wasn't my superior in some way and in that I learn from him (paraphrased). There's value in each soul we meet. So we live that way. Valuing people enough to see them and invite them in or enter in with them. To care for each other. Be hospitable. Make space for people to be human together. We don't have to have it all together. We just need to be together. See. Hope. Enter in. This book offers a simple, practical invitation to start.

This book is SO important. It's timely and so well-written. I want everyone I know to buy it, read it, and recommend it to others.

In a time when community is being built online through social media, building community with our actual neighbors and close-to-home community has somehow become so hard. We shouldn't need this book. But we do. There are so many quotes, so many truths throughout. Highly highly recommend.

Buy it. Read it.

Shannon Martin does an excellent job giving us a gentle nudge of encouragement to get out of our house and meet the people who live in your neighborhood and community.

Start with Hello
(And Other Simple Ways to Live as Neighbors)
by Shannan Martin
Pub Date 11 Oct 2022
Revell
Christian


I am reviewing a copy of Start With Hello through Revell and Netgalley:




In Start With Hello Shannan Martin shoes readers a simple path to a more deeply connected life.


Shannan Martin points out that we likely want more, that we would like to belong to a community that looks out for one another.



You believe in your bones we don't have to live detached, distracted, and divided. The question is, How? Shannan Martin invites you into deeper connection through simple resets, such as

·More Open Door , Less Perfect Décor. We invite others in, seeking to connect, not impress.

·More Familiar, less Fussy. We serve tacos and pizza like the feasts they are, because fancy is overrated.


·More Tender, less Tough. We greet the world with our hearts exposed and our guards down.


Start With Hello is packed with street-level practices and real-talk storytelling!




I give Start With Hello five out of five Stars!


Happy Reading!

Start with Hello is a book all about being a good neighbour and becoming a part of your local community. It is filled with practical advice, both big and small steps, and also honest and vulnerable examples from Shannan Martin of when things went well but also when things could have gone better. I found this book both convicting, I can be doing more, and also encouraging, it’s not too late!

I loved that each chapter ended with a sections called ‘One simple way to move toward each other.’ I found these little ideas very motivating and made me realise it doesn’t have to be as big and scary as my extremely introverted mind makes it out to be.

“Empathy believes progress is possible”

I struggled to choose a favourite quote as I could have highlighted so many, but my favourite chapter was the last one about empathy. I found it challenging but also so encouraging, I could have highlighted the whole chapter.

“What if ‘neighbour’ is just another word for ‘friend?’ …. To name one another “friend” is to identify, in some way, with each other. Friendship closes the gap for empathy.”

I closed the book feeling encouraged and motivated to go for a walk and start with hello.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for a free ebook of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"When we sit close and suffer near, we find our way through."

"Times are tough but we don't have to be. The war we're in is not the war we think we're in. Our fight is against the darkness of self-protection and the fear of getting too close."

"We don't pursue connection because we know it will be easy. We pursue connection because we believe it multiplies our possibilities for wholeness."

Shannan Martin brings us a practical handbook on what it looks like to live in community. Honestly, there's a lot of books out there right now talking about getting back to real connectedness, but this one hits different. Shannan isn't writing about living in community from some hill top mansion, she's writing straight form her neighborhood in Indiana. She doesn't just say "go meet your neighbors" she tells about how even little awkward introvert her was able to make connections with her neighbors. She's not living in some fantasy world nor did she just get "lucky" with community. As the quotes above indicate, she calls us all to the hard and necessary work of togetherness. Gentle, but bold, this books deals with tough topics like racism and prejudice. She calls us out (or at least she called me out). She also gives us a chili recipe, tells us to bring something to the gathering, really listen, not run away from tough conversations, stay humble, and many more practical nuggets born from her real lived experience. This isn't fluff to her. This is real, necessary, practical work that we must all do. And she shows us the way!

*I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Start with Hello is a book that feels more like a conversation with a good friend. It is written with the vulnerability of a good friend sitting down to share their own life experiences. A way of sharing the hard fought wins and the moments of progress, growth and connection. Coming out of Covid, we ALL need these gentle nudges to start with the basics, to start with hello, and push ourselves back out into the world, one neighbor at a time.

Start with Hello by Shannan Martin is a wonderful book encouraging the reader to reach out to their neighbors, especially those who are somehow different from us. The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, yet this seems to be something that we do less and less all the time. The book also has ideas to how to reach out to our neighbors, how to make it all less intimidating and so on. Not everything was applicable to my circumstances as I don't live in the US, yet this book held a lot of inspiration for me.

One of our greatest current cravings as a society is community. How do we build it? How do we invest in those around us? And how do we find our place where we're surrounded by love and support? These questions and more form the basis for Shannan Martin's newest title, Start with Hello.

When I first heard about this book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Community is vital to moving forward in today's divided society. But it didn't take long for me to realize this book is not at all what it's marketed as. Martin's tone quickly turns condescending. Her ways of fostering community are "better than" and the whole book just left me feeling condemned. I didn't find much in this title to be excited about and giving it two stars feels generous.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I truly enjoyed most of the content of this book and many of her words flow like poetry. It felt choppy and disjointed and I had a hard time staying with it. I think it’s a continuation of her previous book with more personal stories. Some of it felt condescending. I tried to keep my mind on what I felt like she was trying to convey.

Such a timely, beautiful, much needed book. I loved this and the simplicity of reconnecting. Highly recommend

Most books on community teach us how to swim in the shallow end, but Shannan throws us into the deep end while rooting for us and reminding us that we can already swim.

She makes neighboring simple—but she provides a heavy dose of reality. We, as people living in our communities, need to interact with our neighbors intentionally. There is beauty, diversity, and justice that meets us in the middle of asking a neighbor that’s unlike us for a cup of sugar or sharing a meal with them.

Amid beautifully painted anecdotes, heart-wrenching vignettes, and humorous exchanges, Shannan reminds why we should be good neighbor because she’s learned what it looks like when we aren’t.

So make soup and not war—notice that we all live under the same sky. Take a note from Shannan—know that we all need a neighbor to fight for our humanity.

Shannan does it again with her approachable writing and relatable stories! This book is perfect for anyone looking to connect more with their neighbors despite the divisions that are constantly created in our society. I loved Shannan's ideas about how we can form relationships in our current locations and her encouragement to remember that we don't need to be "perfect", take big actions, or spend lots of money. In addition, her stories about how creating community has shaped her life and changed her family really rounded out the book and gave me the confidence to start with hello!

With warmth and candor, Start with Hello by Shanna Martin makes getting to know our neighbors -- something that should be simple, but often isn't -- doable. Shannan's stories share with us not only how to become better neighbors, but also why we should try, and they remind us that everyone is our neighbor, not just the people who look, and act, and think like us.

I will take away several things from Start with Hello for the rest of my life, with a few standing out. Already, the concept of letting my door be light on its hinges has changed me, and I've opened my door wide at times when I might either say no to a visit, or step outside to have a few words with someone rather than inviting them in. Shannan's words on simplifying the foods we serve and offering our homes in their lived-in states are a balm to a person who has spent her adulthood thinking everything had to be perfect -- the food, the house, and even myself. Taking hospitality out of the performative and into the real is certain to help me keep my door light on its hinges. Another concept that struck me is Shannan's "no plan", because it showed me how I can set boundaries without turning them into brick walls. Shannan shares her plan, which is to say, "I can't help right now. But please ask me every time. I will say yes if I can help, and I'll be honest when I can't." It's the kind of no that preserves relationship rather than pushing people away, Even more, learning how to say no with grace removes the fear of getting to know people and encourages us to say yes when we can.

Even more than keeping the tangible things practical, I feel like Shannon shares how to keep the doors to our hearts open, which is much harder than offering taco nights and ignoring dust bunnies. We have much to gain by opening our hearts and lives to our neighbors, and much to give as well. All we have to do is start with hello.

I loved this book. As someone who craves community and is not that great at it...the subject called to me. I love the way Shannon makes a sentence, often quirky always lyrical; I love her humor, and I love the the stories of her own neighboring that wind through the book. Start with Hello is a page-turner and the content is critical and life-giving in the current moment in the US.