Permission to Speak Freely

I was able to download the audio book of Permission to Speak Freely for right around $3 yesterday. I've been wanting to read it very much and this was the right price.
I downloaded it at 4pm and finished listening to it about 7pm. It was that good.

Anne Jackson is a blogger that I've been following for awhile on twitter and of course her blog. I love how transparent she is about her struggles with depression, bi-polar disorder and the way God is working through her past addictions and struggles.
She says on the inside flap of the book:

"There is redemption and freedom that occurs when darkness is forced into the light, sometimes disguised as awkwardly spoken words. Somebody is waiting on you to tell your story. To share how you're being rescued. To share how scary it is but how beautiful it is. So take a step. Confess the beautiful and broken. It happens one word at a time." -- Anne Jackson

I loved it. Every word. I started listening to it again today at work, there was so much to absorb. At some point I'm going to listen to it when I have a chance to write down some quotes that just struck me so deeply.
She talked about the gift of going second, which I love. I don't know if it's related to I Am Second but you should probably check that out too.
You can check out 7 excerpts from the book by clicking through the below links. But most of all this book just confirmed for me the power of not hiding, of sharing what God has done in you and what he IS doing in you.

Donald Miller (Essay #1 – The First Brick)
Jon Acuff (Essay #2 - The Final Brick)
Carlos Whittaker (Essay #3 – Losing Faith)
Pete Wilson (Essay #4 – Finding Love in All the Wrong Places)
XXXChurch.com (Essay #5 – Shattered Pixels)
Catalyst Conference (Essay #6 – Ghosts of Churches Past)
FlowerDust.net (Essay #7 – Listening)

If you ever wondered why you can't talk about certain things in church or with "churchy" people this is a book you HAVE to read.