I was unsure what to expect when I picked up this book but I found it an easy read, interesting and full of wisdom! Hannah defines the premise of the book as follows “…much of our emotional instability is rooted in pride. Not simply pride in our intellect or our physical bodies, but a pride that prioritizes our emotions as the source of truth.” All of these elements are fully explored and parallels are drawn to nature. I think I leant as much about gardening as I did about humility! This comparison did make an intangible concept, humility, far easier to relate to. Memorable lines include:

“Pride convinces us that we are stronger and more capable than we actually are. Pride convinces us that we must do and be more than we are able. And when we try, we find ourselves feeling “thin, sort of stretched . . . like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” We begin to fall apart physically, emotionally, and spiritually for the simple reason that we are not existing as we were meant to exist.”

“You may have thrown off the yoke of religious form, you may be working for the greater good, but it’s entirely possible that you are still plowing under your own direction and strength. Instead of embracing Jesus as your Messiah, it’s entirely possible that you’ve become your own messiah.”

“And it is through this worship, through recognizing His rightful place, that we are finally humbled.”

“And here is how humility brings rest to our internal life: Humility teaches us that “God is greater than our heart.” Humility teaches us that we don’t have to obey our emotions because the only version of reality that matters is God’s.”
“In other words, humility teaches us to be less concerned with knowing the answers and more concerned with learning the answers.”
My favourite paradigm shift was when I perceived the relationship between humility and rest. I found the writing a little slow but otherwise really enjoyed it, a 4 out of 5 on the en-JOY-ment scale.

From the back cover:

This book took a very creative approach, looking at our own need for humility through the caring of local-grown products. I ordered my own apple trees from Monticello after reading this book. We're missing humility today, and this book reminds us how to recapture it in our everyday lives.

I did not download this book and therefore cannot provide a review.