Hardcover: 200 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Books (April 9, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414379366
ISBN-13: 978-1414379364
Price: $19.99
Purchase: Amazon | CBD | BN

Description

The Dark Night of the Soul in the City That Never Sleeps.

At first glance, Rebekah Lyons’s life path seemed straightforward: walk the aisle, take the short road to motherhood, and build a family on a suburban cul-de-sac in the South.

But life looked radically different when her family relocated to the heart of New York City. She was forced to navigate a new normal with three kids, two toy poodles, and a minivan. Blindsided by crippling despair, Rebekah wrestled with bigger questions women often ask: Why am I here? Does my life matter?

In a Western culture driven by performance and Pinterest fantasies, her story echoes the rise of loneliness, depression, and anxiety that women are facing at all-time highs. Why are expectations and lifestyles breaking us down in unprecedented ways?

In this beautifully moving memoir of vulnerability, courage, and ultimately transformation, Rebekah shares her journey into the unknown—a thrilling, terrifying freefall that eventually led to flight. Searching for meaning, she stumbled on surrender, discovering that meaning follows surrender.

Rebekah found freedom when she faced her greatest fear, and she invites other women to do the same. For it is only when we freefall that we can truly fly.

Review

As much as I enjoyed Rebekah Lyons writing style, there were certain aspects of her memoir that I found hard to relate or identify with.

I am a working mom and she is a stay at home mom. She is afforded opportunities most working and stay at home moms do not. Which is why I believe her story specifically speaks to mothers or women who are from her same socioeconomic background.

I do understand and can relate to the author’s feelings of angst and her struggles with anxiety and depression. Her struggle with wanting to find her specific calling besides that of being a wife and mother.

However, I have to be honest and say, most moms I know living in New York City do not have the time or luxury to go to someone’s apartment in the morning for bible study, or go on retreats, or even have time to just walk through Central Park while it’s snowing.

So if you are not of that lifestyle or demographic, it’s kind of hard to relate to her story or put yourself in the author’s shoes.

However, the author’s story is hers and I respect her life and experiences. I believe Rebekah Lyon’s memoir was candid, authentic and truthful. She didn’t hide, she exposed a lot of herself and her experiences, which I appreciated. I also find her to be a talented writer, so on that front, I enjoyed reading her memoir.

If there was one word I could use to describe her book, it would be surrender.

Freefall to Fly was about Rebekah Lyons journey to find God and herself. In the midst of it, God delivered her from severe and debilitating anxiety attacks. I found this aspect of her story to be encouraging, but I do not believe this is common.

Most people do not get delivered from anxiety because they cry out to God in desperation. This was the authors experience, which I respect, however, there are many who have to be on medication and that is no indication God loves them any less because they weren’t delivered.

In conclusion, I want to thank Handlebar Marketing and Tyndale Publishers for sending me a complimentary book to review.

Rebekah Lyons is a mother of three, wife of one, and dog walker of two living in New York City. She’s an old soul with a contemporary, honest voice who puts a new face on the struggles women face as they seek to live a life of meaning. As a self-confessed mess, Rebekah wears her heart on her sleeve, a benefit to friends and readers alike. She serves alongside her husband, Gabe, as cofounder of QIdeas, an organization that helps leaders winsomely engage culture.