Becoming Us (2019) + Giveaway

About the Book

From the author of the best-selling Christy Miller and Sister Chicks series comes a new book of community, friendship, and tackling the hard things of life with God and loved ones around a table.

Five young moms, including beloved Gunn character Christy Miller, gather to share meals and soon become unlikely best friends. The regular gatherings provide opportunities for the women to reveal their stories, and those life stories endear them to each other. They experience their lives naturally meshing as they raise their children together in community. In Becoming Us the group finds ways to challenge, encourage, and help each other become the nurturing mothers they wished they’d had when they were growing up. They unite to be remembered for what they do as moms and not for what was done to them. 

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My Thoughts

Becoming Us is the first Robin Jones Gunn novel I’ve read, but it will not be the last. Becoming Us is a fantastic story! The writing is flawless, the storyline captivated my interest from page one and held it until the end, and the themes are timely. I especially appreciate the sense of female solidarity created when mothers get together to share their stories and their fears and their flaws and their hopes and dreams. Becoming Us left me feeling uplifted and proud to be the woman and mother that God fearfully and wonderfully made me to be.

When I was four years old my brother Joey came into this world and I fell in love. I know I drove my mother crazy, but I wanted Joey to be my baby. I wanted to feed him and care for him. Without a doubt, the day I met Joey was the day I knew I wanted to be a mother to lots and lots of babies. I firmly believed from the age of four that being a mommy to many was the plan God had in store for me, but God would have other, better plans for me. I do not have four children. I have one perfect miracle child. Getting pregnant with Bella was the easiest thing I ever did. Staying pregnant was another story. I have HELLP syndrome. It’s a devastating, life-altering syndrome that makes me incapable of having any other children for the rest of my life. In fact, I almost didn’t get to have my daughter, but God performed a miracle the day she was born and I am happy to report that she is now a precocious, creative, intelligent, beautiful seven-year-old!

What does any of this have to do with Becoming Us? Emily, the main character, also only has one child due to fertility complications. At the very beginning of the novel, Emily is asked a question: Do you have only one child? I hate this question. I get asked it all the time. I also hate the follow-up question inevitably asked: How can you allow your child to grow up alone? The implication behind this rude question is that my child somehow has a “less-than” life because she doesn’t have brothers or sisters. Typically when I get asked these questions I smile and say that my family is living the path God has set us upon, and then make a quick exit. Days after fielding these questions I’m usually a little sad about my circumstances, but after reading Becoming Us I realize that I have nothing to be sad about. Robin Jones Gunn includes a beautiful verse from Romans that grabbed my heart and spoke volumes of God’s Truth to me: We confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be (5:2). I don’t need to be sad about my inability to have more children because God didn’t put me and my husband on a path that could sustain a bunch of children. God put me and my husband on a path that led us to Bella. Together, the three of us are becoming, day by day, all that God has had in mind for us to be. Just like me, Emily realizes this truth about herself and her family as well, which leads her to a sense of peace and contentment about herself as a woman and mother that she hasn’t quite felt before. To me, this realization is the BEST part of Becoming Us.

Becoming Us is a novel of great depth and complexity. There is no way one review could ever fully explain just how good this story is. Becoming Us is a novel that needs to be experienced. It is realistic, refreshing, and powerful. It is a story that recognizes the power of being a woman and a mother. It is a story that celebrates women coming together to strengthen each other, uplift each other, and keep each other on God’s track. I loved every minute of this story, and cannot recommend it enough.

I received a copy of this novel in paperback form from the publisher, WaterBrook Multnomah, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

GIVEAWAY

I am giving away ONE (1) paperback copy of Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn. The giveaway begins today, 5-30-19 at 1:00 pm (PST) and ends on Sunday, 6-2-19 at 12:00 pm (PST). To enter, click on the Rafflecopter link below. Good luck!

CONGRATS TO Natalya L.!

You have won this giveaway. Thank you for participating. I appreciate your support!

***Please Note: Open to Continental U.S. mailing addresses only.*** One winner will be notified via email at the end of the giveaway and will be announced here on this page. For full giveaway disclosures and policies, click HERE.