Here’s yet another book that I’m late reviewing. I’ve had trouble moving through this one and it’s not the book, it’s all me and where I find myself these days. I love Amy’s writing. She’s a master at a beautiful turn of phrase. I’ve been following her online for a few years. I was really looking forward to this book, but it came at a time when I just haven’t had the mental space to be as present to the writing as I think this book requires. At first I thought it was just trying to read it on kindle, but then I bought a hard copy and still struggled. It’s definitely a book that requires something of you in the reading.

The subject matter is good and it’s one I’ve spent quite a bit of time reflecting on over the years. It’s a mix of communicating ideas about how we journey and personal stories from the author’s own journey. I like the fact that you are invited to jump around and not to feel compelled to read it in order, though I wonder if that’s part of what is keeping me from moving on to the next chapter. It seems like each chapter is unto itself in some ways and there is a need to read reflectively so it’s maybe a little easier to put it down than a book where every chapter is urging you on to the next. I do appreciate what I’ve read so far (about 35%) and I’m hoping that sometime soon I’ll be able to give this book the focus that it deserves.

Have you read it? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book.

I received a free digital copy and purchased a hard copy of this book.

Content
Purpose of the Book
The author writes, “this book is the story of a yearning I encountered before I knew what it was—a yearning that continued even after I discovered its provenance.” She explores this longing to help you identify it in yourself, that it may transform your faithfulness and joy.


Table of Contents
Introduction


PART 1 Homeward Longing

CHAPTER 1 The Meadow

CHAPTER 2 A Far-off Country

CHAPTER3 A Yearning with a Destination

CHAPTER 4 Pierced by Peace

CHAPTER 5 Return to the Meadow


PART 2 Living Homeward

CHAPTER 6 As an Exile

CHAPTER 7 Through the Window of the Imagination

CHAPTER 8 In the Company of Other Pilgrims

CHAPTER 9 With Temporary Homes

CHAPTER 10 Through Pain

CHAPTER11 As a Writer

CHAPTER 12 While Fighting the Good Fight

CHAPTER 13 Between East and West

CHAPTER 14 On Beauty in Creation

CHAPTER 15 At the Ends of the Imagination

CHAPTER 16 While Hemmed In

CHAPTER 17 Along Winding Paths

CHAPTER 18 With Bluets


Epilogue


Summary
The chapters are collections of essays, weaving her life and longings into reflections that will stir the eyes of your heart to gaze outward and upward. She explores the theme of Sehnsucht, drawing on the works of CS Lewis, Tim Keller, and GK Chesterton, as they intersect with her experience and challenge our own.


book review quote from This Homeward Ache by Amy Baik Lee

My Take
My Sehnsucht
My friend and I built a treehouse. Not a house, per se. More accurately, we hauled the top of an old picnic table from my friend’s backyard on the rack of my 3 wheeler 2 miles toward the edge of the treeline in my yard. We found some 2x4’s and nails, hammered out a frame and placed the picnic table over top.


Our tree platform was ready.


From the angle of this quaint hiding spot I see farmland for miles. Even as I call this place to mind, my heart skips a beat. It’s the beauty of a memory, a longing to return.


That wooden stage in the tree became one of my favourite places. As a teen I’d read my bible, play my guitar and enjoy the solitude. From there, I’d watch a hawk circling above a moving combine, waiting for its prey to reveal itself from beneath the swaths of wheat; gaze on powerfully moving waters as the spring runoff flooded the creek; and blink at farm trucks speeding by leaving a spray of dust and gravel in their wake.


Nostalgia calls me back, desiring my return to the past. It’s a whisper laden with longing, opposite from the call of wisdom, who shouts vibrantly in the streets (Prov 1:20). But this craving promises greener grass in the pastures of the past, when things were better, quiet and peaceful.


The Israelites fed this longing. A life disrupted by freedom. Desperation to return fueled complaint and discontent—their eyes fixed on figs, meat and comforts of their home. This kind of reminiscence held their hearts captive, causing them to miss the ever-present activity of Yahweh.


Memories don’t necessitate restlessness. Mary treasured up every moment of Jesus’ birth and continued pondering them. Even as we anticipate an element of wistfulness, especially as she knelt in grief alongside John at the cross.


Our returning to the past allows us a chance to learn and grow, to reflect and praise God for his goodness and grace. The visit emboldens us with strength to move forward in our present and anticipate our future—one that is both certain and not. Here’s where we meet faith on the journey, being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don’t see (Heb 11:1).


We long for something that’s missing, the perfection of the garden, the contentment of walking side by side with the Father. A mystery that eludes many but Scripture clarifies. We wait for “our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). While we live in an already-not-yet salvation by grace through faith in Christ we persevere in longing and remembrance while clinging to the hope of a restoration to come.



book review quote from This Homeward Ache by Amy Baik Lee

My Recommendation
This book received the award of distinction in The Gospel Coalition’s 2023 Book Awards in the category of First Time Author. I also found it on a couple best book lists for 2023, so it caught my attention.


If you enjoy creative nonfiction this will be for you. I found it similar in style to Hannah Anderson, or Jen Pollock Michel’s, Keeping Place.


If you’re curious about how your longing for heaven shapes your everyday, I’d recommend this.


I’ll admit, this isn’t my usual style of reading, as I tend toward prescriptive books, more direct and instructive. However, I also understand the enrichment of good writing that spurs spiritual reflection and I definitely found that in this title.


Quick Stats
# of Pages: 224

Level of Difficulty: Easy

My Rating: 4 stars

* a big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc and for the opportunity o post an honest review

This book caught my eye by earning a First-Time Author Award of Distinction from the Gospel Coalition. All praise received is well deserved. As I read this book, I was torn between not being able to put it down and wanting to slow down to savor every word. Amy Baik Lee’s prose is stunning, truly some of the most exceptional writing I’ve read in recent years.


“What kind of grace is this, that Christ has not only redeemed me but embedded a shard of unsettledness within me so that I would look for its source?”

The book focuses on the concept of longing—the ache for home, heaven, and the restoration of all things. Through personal stories and memoir-like reflections, Amy shows us how this unsettledness is a signpost from a loving God, pointing us to eternity and lifting our eyes along the way. I already can’t wait to reread this.

This. Book. Is. So. Good.

It is definitely in my Top 5 Reads of 2023 (a list I literally just this second came up with, haha).

And it took me a month and a half to read not because it wasn't good (it's 20 stars, if I could give it that), but because it's so beautifully written; I had to sit with it and let the words seep into my soul slowly, ever so slowly, like a tea blend or cold brew coffee that requires an extra-long brewing time.

Lee's writing reminds me ever so much, and blissfully so, of that of K. C. Ireton or Christie Purifoy; fans of either will, I believe, especially enjoy this read--as will any Rabbit Room Press or Inklings fans. (I will admit that I fangirled SO MUCH over Lee's exploration of Eowyn as the character she relates to most in LOTR, because Eowyn is my Fave LOTR Character Ever, and I'm of the opinion that Eowyn/Faramir is the great love story in the book.)

I am ever grateful to Ireton for tipping me off to the book's then-upcoming release in one of her monthly newsletters; I wouldn't have known about/pursued it otherwise, and my life would truly have been dimmer as a result. (Similarly, _This Homeward Ache_ is prompting me to read C. S. Lewis's _Surprised by Joy_, a book I'd never read and didn't know how much I needed in my life. So there's that!)

Well deserving of a place on anyone's bookshelf, and "Read" list.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

In this book Amy Baik Lee examines the topic of sehnsucht, a feeling of longing for something beyond the current world and experience. I was first introduced to this by the writings of C.S. Lewis, and it helped me make sense of some of the feelings that I have from time to time. This book took the ideas and expanded on them for me in showing me ways this feeling can occur, and be interacted with through our daily life. I enjoyed hearing about the author's life in both America and Korea, and how she can find joy and meaning in the little moments as well as the big. I enjoyed the almost poetical writing style of this author and hope to read more from her.

I recieved an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

As I read NYT bestselling book Bittersweet, I found myself in the pages. The deep longing in all of us, the feeling that beauty sometimes causes ache, the personality that must creatively process pain. I feel like Susan Cain spent her book posing a question. Where does this longing come from? I believe that Amy answers that question in this book. She explains and encourages us to interact with the longing and the Person it originates in. Highly recommend.

Every Christian understands the longing for heaven and restoration that marks all of life, especially in times of hardship or in moments of deep joy. And while this hope we have was promised to be fulfilled by Jesus himself (“I go to prepare a place for you”), the fact that it is a future hope means we are living in the in-between time. Are we meant to just stick it out until Christ returns? Or does this future hope mean anything for my life today?

This Homeward Ache offers some musings as an answer, or at least a perspective that may point us in the right direction. Part topical overview of Sehnsucht, or longing, and part memoir, this book helps us consider how longing for Heaven impacts our life today. Through her personal stories, Amy Baik Lee shares how certain areas of her own life have been changed by looking toward eternity.

Read this if you enjoy:
—Poetic prose
—Memoirs
—Thinking about Heaven
—Works influenced by Tim Keller, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien
—Thoughts on faith and culture

“The journey of the Homeward pilgrim is not merely one to be endured; it is one that is meant to prepare us for Home, so to speak, as much as Home is being prepared for us.”

I really enjoyed this and would recommend if any of the above appeals to you. Thank you to Netgalley and B&H Books for the advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.