A "Screwtape Letters" for women! This books feels really relevant. I was surprised by how much I connected with it. It focuses quite a bit on screen addiction and while I don't feel like this is a huge problem for me it still helped me see ways I am still being influenced by having a phone close by at all times. There were some chapters that felt less personal and some that really hit hard. I read it two weeks ago and I am still thinking about it and letting the "advice" sink in. Thank you for writing this book! And thank you to NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

While I appreciate the idea of this text, it was all together too personal for me. The recurring theme of "screens are evil" was also a bit over the top. Current society cannot get away from screens whether they like it or not, so while certain things can be avoided (e.g., social media) screens in general are unavoidable for work, life, etc. Nearly every other or every third letter in the text addressed "screens are evil" (or so it seemed).

I greatly appreciate the overall attempt made here, but also do not support authors who take a classic work and rework it as their own. The Screwtape Letters are a classic and unique work and morphing that into a contemporary Christian text just doesn't sit well with me. Many of her letters are clearly very personal, as she explains at the beginning so I do not fault the author; however, while reading I felt I was snooping into her business instead of gaining clarity of my own. I did appreciate the theme of women being taught to attack other women to divide them. I think that is a message that needs to be broadcasted in current society and young girls need to hear this part of her message.

The author was very brave to share her personal journey through these letters. Overall, lovely idea but I would not use this with students or recommend it to others.

I rarely give books 5-stars, and even then, most of those are classic pieces of literature like Les Mis or The Lord of the Rings . I can't compare this book in the same way as the others because it's nonfiction, but holy cow, you guys. This is the best nonfiction book I've ever read and definitely a contender for the best book of any genre.

I can't express how grateful I am that Emily Wilson Hussem 1) wrote this book and 2) approved me for the arc. I pretty quickly stopped making highlights in this book, because the whole thing is so good. This book is full of nothing but irrefutable Gospel truths and is one of the most insightful books I've ever read. This genuinely is a book that every woman should read.

I was hesitant about how this book would hold up when compared against The Screwtape Letters , but it does not disappoint one bit. I honestly can't stress enough how amazing this book is. I will absolutely be rereading this book again and again. This book teaches eye-opening, inspiring lessons and I'm sure it will only get better and better the more I experience life.

Truly a 10/10 read.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy of the ebook in exchange for my review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is a take-off on the classic book by C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters. In that book a demon, Screwtape, writes letters to another demon who is trying to get his human "patient" to sin and move away from God. In Sincerely, Stoneheart, Emily Hussem uses the same convention of letters from a demon supervisor to a junior demon. In the case of Sincerely, Stoneheart the demons are trying to get their female patient to sin. Many of the ideas in this book are directed towards temptations that are primarily weaknesses for women. In other cases the temptations are those of current day society such as social media. The gender switch as well as the current day situation works for this book. although Hussem is not the writing genius that C.S. Lewis was.
A recent book using this same premise is My Dear Hemlock by Tilly Dillehay. I preferred Dillehay's book over Hussem's book, because of Dillehay's writing style as well as her topic choices. However, either book would be a light, but thought-provoking read for Christian women. I received a complementary copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

These letters are from a senior demon, addressed to an apprentice demon trying to keep one particular woman from relationship with God, but the letters could have been written for me.

Busyness, identity, comparison... all of the topics covered in the letters are ways we as women are distracted from our purpose, to be-loved daughters and to love in return.

In this collection of letters, I found an echo of what I've struggled with throughout my life, proof that I'm not alone in these challenges, and reminders of true love.

I highly recommend women read this book, and to take it letter by letter. Much like chocolate truffles, you may be tempted to read many chapters in the same sitting, but the content is so rich that more than a few at a time may lend itself to not appreciating the goodness of those you consume.

4.2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I want to start this off by saying I was beyond excited for this, and in most ways, it did not disappoint. The Screwtape Letters is one of my all-time favorite books, and I thought this did a wonderful job of mimicking the style and flow of the original classic.

While premise was absolutely beautiful and a fantastic idea, the execution had a couple small issues. My main complaint is that I feel like the author could’ve done a LOT more with it. I know it’s focused on her temptations specifically, but I think slightly more generalization would be more applicable to more readers. While some sins the author focused on felt so on-the-nose, like distraction and busyness with social media, others felt like the stereotypical “I don’t like how I look” that so many women’s ministries focus on. I would’ve loved some deeper theological doctrine brought into this. Let’s talk about pride and secret sins and all these things that are hard to talk about. It also was a bit odd to me that the author discussed motherhood in GREEAAT detail but didn’t even mention being a wife. Maybe the author isn’t married, but it still feels weird to hit on being a mom and not on being a wife.

That being said, it still was a captivating read, and I enjoyed it immensely. Recommend!