I was really drawn to Freefall
to Fly at first. Being a mother to six small children of my own, I can
understand what it is like to go through a big move and also journey through
anxiety.
However, at her lowest in the book she writes,
"I must give in.
I"ll do what I swore I would never do.
I'll numb out.
We woke up the next morning after yet another restless night, and I told Gabe
(her husband) my resolution: I would take antidepressants to get me through. I
was no longer able to cope and ready to do whatever I needed to do."
I guess I have a different opinion of anti-depressants. I
dealt with undiagnosed post-partum depression for nine months after the birth
of our youngest child, and contrary to what Rebekah considers, the
anti-depressant I was finally prescribed when I summoned up the courage to
visit the doctor didn’t numb me out. In fact, it helped me get back on track
and get back to who I really was.
A few pages further and Rebekah shares her breakthrough. One
night she prays to God in desperation and she is immediately cured. While I don’t
doubt this for a minute because I have seen God work amazing miracles in short
time frames, for others God’s timing works differently. I think that she would
have served her audience better if she had made mention of that. Otherwise it
becomes misleading. It comes off as though if you just pray hard enough God
will instantly take away your depression.
The one thing that drew me into the book further to keep reading though was
Rebekah’s passion for women finding and using their God-given gifts. Her
passion for this really resonates with me. She is very encouraging in this
aspect, especially to young mothers. She writes: "... the displacement of
a mother's purpose (beyond child rearing) becomes a huge loss to our
communities. If women aren't empowered to cultivate their uniqueness, we all
suffer the loss of beauty, creativity, and resourcefulness they were meant to
inject into the world."
Another quote: "But if God has buried in each of us good gifts, doesn't it
follow that He desires for us to find and use them? To ignore these gifts or
fail to develop them, it seems, would be to bury our treasure..."
Would I recommend it? Yes and no. I love the parts where she encourages women
to grab hold of their gifts and use them. There are parts of her recovery story
that bother me, and I would hesitate to recommend this book to someone who is
really struggling with undiagnosed depression.
Disclosure: I received this advanced reading copy via Handlebar Publishing as
part of their book review bloggers program. I was not
required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.