As is often the case for me, I first discovered Jennifer Michelle Greenberg on social media rather than through the more obvious option of, say, her award-winning book "Not Forsaken."

With "Not Forsaken," Greenberg became a somewhat "controversial" figure in the evangelical world as someone willing to openly speak about her childhood abuse and the church's failures but also as someone whose beliefs remained very much intact and whose commitment to staying in the evangelical world seemed remarkably firm.

As a survivor of sexual abuse and someone who'd been kicked out of two churches (my childhood church of Jehovah's Witnesses and also the Vineyard Christian Fellowship), I resonated deeply with Greenberg and admired her ability to approach such necessarily topics from a scriptural foundation.

With "Defiant Joy," Greenberg moves even further into reclaiming faith and ditching toxic theology by exploring:

• why philosophies like the prosperity gospel and legalism fail us
• how Jesus is with us amid our sadness, disappointment, anger, and anxiety
• how God’s joy far exceeds any emotion we can muster

Greenberg is, of course, not the only author to approach these types of subjects, though perhaps she's carved out her own corner precisely because Greenberg very much grounds her writing in scriptural exegesis, theological storytelling, and balancing it all with her own testimony. While I'm not one who fancies labels, often times it seems as this discussion is held from a more progressive point of view theologically. Greenberg, on the other hand, remains a committed evangelical.

With "Defiant Joy," Greenberg counsels us to move beyond "performance faith" and to move away from the platitudes that she so often heard when she escaped her own abusive childhood home at the age of twenty-one. Greenberg advises against phrases such as "God won't give you more than you can handle," "forgive and forget," and "Have Faith!" - all of which are, quite simply, borne out of toxic faith.

Did I agree with everything in "Defiant Joy?" Oh, heavens no. There were moments, fleeting ones, when it felt like a statement might be coming from an unresolved issue or thought pattern. However, I admired "Defiant Joy" constantly and I appreciated Greenberg's willingness to boldly step into issues seldom addressed adequately by an awful lot of the major denominations.

Greenberg shares her own journey of learning how to discard false theology and toxic positivity on her path to discovering joy that's a gift from God. "Defiant Joy" shares Greenberg's journey of hope vulnerably and beautifully and offers that hope for others who've wondered if it's possible to find the light when immersed in so much darkness.