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Review: Made Well

Made Well book cover on blue background

This book is another one of those cases where I'm not sure why I felt prompted to pick it up, but I'm grateful that I did. Made Well: Finding Wholeness in the Everyday Sacred Moments by Jenny Simmons is a memoir that came at just the right time in my life. What's even lovelier is that I knew of the band that she was in, but that I didn't associate her name with it until many chapters into the book.

Book Synopsis

Finding Wholeness through Tears, Joys, and the Everyday

From the woman fighting cancer to the man who has lost his child to the girl sinking into depression, so many of us are engaged in daily battles as we long for healing. When he walked the earth, Jesus said to an unwell man, "Do you want to be made well?" His invitation stretched beyond physical healing--he sought to restore the soul. The same invitation stands for us today.

For anyone struggling on the journey toward wholeness, singer/songwriter Jenny Simmons offers a resting place and a friend along the way. With personal insight into emotional pain, she invites readers to encounter a God who is working out their restoration--often in surprising "half-baked" ways. Her humorous and inspirational prose lights a path toward wholeness. Anyone trying to find their way to spiritual, mental, and emotional healing will benefit from Jenny's vulnerable and compassionate stories of being made well in the midst of a messy life.

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

Jenny Simmons is a storyteller, through and through. Whether by lyrics or by prose, she is skilled in captivating imaginations through her stories and tugging at emotions when she shares. This collection of stories all point toward the theme of wholeness by way of one piece at a time. Tying these memories together, these moments point toward God bringing about healing in His own divine and unique manner. Made Well is an invitation to look beyond our circumstances to our Creator and calls readers to remember that when humanity was first created, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Though we are fallen and marked by sin, we are still image-bearers of God. To be honest, I usually focus so much on our depravity before God that I can neglect this teaching. This book was a good reminder that redemption can bring about restoration in our lives, even if it looks different than expected.

What I appreciate most about this book is the author's vulnerability in sharing stories that might not paint her in the best light, which makes it more relatable to readers. Those are some of the stories that still stick out in my mind because I know that she has lived to tell about it. The struggles are real, as are the answers to prayer. This book is not prescriptive, and as such, it's more of a witness-bearing book than a book that teaches you how to live your Christian life. If you approach it in that manner, there is much to learn from a fellow believer's experiences. Though I wouldn't necessarily seek out the other authors she has quoted as I have a differing stance on their theological positions, I am glad that the author has been ministered to in a variety of ways.

Book Summary

  • Format of book: 📖
  • Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Recommendation: 👍
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