I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot from Brenda's writing about repairing relationships and working to heal our communities. Using Nehemiah for her template grounds it in biblical principles and relates it to a story most Christians will know if they have been in the church for a while. The situations used in the book deal mainly with the Black communities in the US, as a reader from Canada, I had no trouble transposing the situations to relationships between the white colonizers and the indigenous population. I feel this is an area that the church needs to be focussing on, as the hurts that were caused over years of oppression are at the root of many of the issues that this population struggles with, including mental health and addictions, poor healthcare outcomes, homelessness and poor school performance. I found the writing in this book to be accessible and I hope to reread it to really mine the wisdom that was provided. I especially liked the chapter on faithful exhaustion. This is something that I struggle with already, so reading about it and the permission to rest was really helpful in a season I am currently in.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions are my own.

*I pre-ordered this book for myself, and then also received an advance copy to review.

I've had the incredible opportunity to overlap in the workplace with Dr. Brenda for a few years and, over the course of the past few years, frequently heard her updates in meetings about how the writing of her new book was going. I assure you, she put a lot of time, prayer, and deep thought into this book. And it was worth the wait!

Dr. Brenda is known as one of the go-to people in the world of racial reconciliation, especially in church spaces. I've heard her preach on this topic, speak in workshops, and have read earlier. books. But even so, this new book had a ton of material that I hadn't heard before and that really made me think.

It took me a few chapters to get into the book, but by chapter 3, my highlighter was in full use. For some background, I've spent my life attending church and being super involved, and then worked in ministry for the past 7 years. This book is a great resource for me as well as people who are new to reconciliation and ministry and who are trying to get involved. Dr. Brenda goes about presenting her ideas in a very organized and easy-to-follow fashion, first laying out the issues at hand, discussing ideas for how to view things and interpret them, putting ideas into action and, in my opinion most importantly, she deals with issues of opposition and exhaustion, which are far too infrequently discussed in Christian circles, especially in ministry. She's honest about challenges that can be faced in taking on big picture issues of reconciliation and repair, but gives great tips for not burning out and having to walk away completely. This is a very important thing to remember in social work and ministry.

As a white, cis-gender, married, middle class woman, I also really appreciated the chapter on leveraging my voice and my resources. There are places that I can go and be listened to easily, and rather than being ashamed of who and what I am, I was reminded and encouraged to use these opportunities bravely and intentionally.

Overall the book was a pretty fast read, but I definitely will be re-reading it again soon and I am sure I will have a whole new set of paragraphs to highlight. I cannot recommend the book highly enough. Grateful for Dr. Brenda's words and wisdom.

Brenda has enlightened us with looking at Nehemiah book for answers that has been issues for all communities in the world. I am overwhelmed by her action based model for transforming our broken culture. I really hope to implement this model and see everyone flourishing in my community.