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Barefoot is the third book in the Sensible Shoes series and in some respects, touched me more deeply than the other two. The deeply spiritual journey of Sensible Shoes, the closeness the characters gained carried over into book two, Two Steps Forward, Barefoot brings us yet another level further into the journey of these four women: Meg, Charissa, Hannah, and Mara.
Life interferes with the desires of each woman to go deeper spiritually. Hannah struggles with the new relationship she’s found and what her ministry will be. Charissa, pregnant, finds her well-ordered life and career spinning away from her control. Mara fights her antipathy toward her soon-to-be-ex-husband and grapples with how to handle her two, very different sons. Sweet Meg tries to get over her broken relationship and her broken dreams.
Each of them in their own way works to merge their day to day life with their spiritual life. Each of them is more or less successful. All of them are vibrant characters you identify with intimately. Brown has created characters who teach us how to walk in faith and more closely with God despite our daily problems. These women aren’t perfect; they’re real—and they’re friends—and they become our friends as well.
You will want to take this journey with them. From Sensible Shoes to Two Steps Forward to Barefoot, the trip is one every woman should take. Five stars.
Sharon Garlough Brown is “a spiritual director and co-founder of Abiding Way Ministries, providing spiritual formation retreats.” She has an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminar. She and her husband, Jack, have ministered in Scotland, Oklahoma, England, and West Michigan. Sharon, like her characters, is real—and a friend.
InterVarsity Press gave me a copy of Barefoot, but I was in no way obligated to write a review. If you purchase the book(s), I earn a small amount from the sale.