Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a same-sex relationship in Jen's future.

Not a chance. I get zero even bicurious vibes from her.

Anonymous wrote:🎤 “Awake (But Still Asleep)”

(Intro)
Yo, it’s Big Sis on the mic,
Blog mom turned memoir hype,
I got pain, I got sass,
But mostly I got Tyler’s jazz hands in my past.

(Verse 1)
Used to write about crafts, casserole hacks,
Now it’s “rise from the ashes, put my life on a track.”
Divorce memoir, baby, chapter five’s a burn,
But the world moved on — no one’s waitin’ their turn.

I bulk-buy my book for my own dang club,
Passin’ out “Awake” with the coffee and love.
But girl, it’s old tea, reheated at best,
Family wounds stay open, ex-hubby’s not impressed.

(Hook)
Awake, awake, but the story’s half-baked,
Girl boss vibes with a Target wine break.
Five years late, still re-litigatin’ fate,
Exvangelical rap star? Nah, just clickbait.

(Verse 2)
Brandon’s still ridin’, biker pastor with tats,
Dodgin’ every chapter where Jen throws shade fast.
Kids roll eyes like, “Mom, not again,”
While Tyler sings “Defying Gravity” at ten.

Big Sass in the corner with a scarf and a pout,
Eulogizin’ Betty White like, “Let it all out!”
He’s an emotional support boyfriend™,
Jazz hands risin’ higher than your Amazon trends.

(Bridge)
It’s mommy blog trauma with a resale spin,
From “Jesus + Pinterest” to “girl boss wins.”
But the market ain’t buyin’, the critics don’t care,
Just a scrapbook of pain with a streak of big hair.

(Final Hook)
Awake, awake, but the sales ain’t great,
A divorce in print don’t a legend make.
Still hustlin’, still postin’, still prayin’ for a break,
But the only thing boomin’ is Tyler’s high-stakes shake.

(Outro, spoken)
Big Sis, Big Sass, Biker Pastor with Tats…
The whole cast of trauma, in paperback stacks.
Awake? More like snooze, but hey, girl, you tried,
Now pass the box wine, let’s grieve our pride.

Anonymous wrote:I see a same-sex relationship in Jen's future.

Anonymous wrote:I got the book from the library and skimmed. It's a lot of regurgitated information that I've heard. I think the biggest truth she neglects to tell is that a huge part of her was thrilled that Brandon gave her this "out" from the marriage. She had no interest in the marriage anymore, but couldn't find a way out that wouldn't make her look bad. She complains (a lot in my opinion) about him leaving her with the parenting that was left to do, but let's be honest that the kids were mainly raised at this point. And, we know she has continued to put distance (like oceans of distance) between her and Remy (the one child who seems to actually require something of her beyond money and a little companionship) at every opportunity. I feel like she, like many others, really enjoys the attention she gets from being wronged and patting herself on the back for being a survivor. I appreciate that she speaks as an advocate for LGBTQ and many communities that the current Christian community speaks hate against. I just wish she would take the next step of true honesty. Maybe even admit she is happy to live as a woman without a fake boyfriend, who may just want men in her life on a casual basis. I would love more honesty overall and willingness to also honor her own commitments (like actually parent her adopted child who she ended up not really liking). But I guess that kind of integrity doesn't create revenue.

Anonymous wrote:🎤 “Awake (But Still Asleep)”

(Intro)
Yo, it’s Big Sis on the mic,
Blog mom turned memoir hype,
I got pain, I got sass,
But mostly I got Tyler’s jazz hands in my past.

(Verse 1)
Used to write about crafts, casserole hacks,
Now it’s “rise from the ashes, put my life on a track.”
Divorce memoir, baby, chapter five’s a burn,
But the world moved on — no one’s waitin’ their turn.

I bulk-buy my book for my own dang club,
Passin’ out “Awake” with the coffee and love.
But girl, it’s old tea, reheated at best,
Family wounds stay open, ex-hubby’s not impressed.

(Hook)
Awake, awake, but the story’s half-baked,
Girl boss vibes with a Target wine break.
Five years late, still re-litigatin’ fate,
Exvangelical rap star? Nah, just clickbait.

(Verse 2)
Brandon’s still ridin’, biker pastor with tats,
Dodgin’ every chapter where Jen throws shade fast.
Kids roll eyes like, “Mom, not again,”
While Tyler sings “Defying Gravity” at ten.

Big Sass in the corner with a scarf and a pout,
Eulogizin’ Betty White like, “Let it all out!”
He’s an emotional support boyfriend™,
Jazz hands risin’ higher than your Amazon trends.

(Bridge)
It’s mommy blog trauma with a resale spin,
From “Jesus + Pinterest” to “girl boss wins.”
But the market ain’t buyin’, the critics don’t care,
Just a scrapbook of pain with a streak of big hair.

(Final Hook)
Awake, awake, but the sales ain’t great,
A divorce in print don’t a legend make.
Still hustlin’, still postin’, still prayin’ for a break,
But the only thing boomin’ is Tyler’s high-stakes shake.

(Outro, spoken)
Big Sis, Big Sass, Biker Pastor with Tats…
The whole cast of trauma, in paperback stacks.
Awake? More like snooze, but hey, girl, you tried,
Now pass the box wine, let’s grieve our pride.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read Ina Garten's memoir and one of the things she mentions is that for her first book deal, her publisher required her to buy something like 5,000 of the copies and she was tasked with selling them herself. I wonder if Jen had to do something similar.

It's not even closes to Jen's first book deal. She's had plenty:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/274706.Jen_Hatmaker

Anonymous wrote:I read Ina Garten's memoir and one of the things she mentions is that for her first book deal, her publisher required her to buy something like 5,000 of the copies and she was tasked with selling them herself. I wonder if Jen had to do something similar.

Anonymous wrote:I think I'm about halfway through the book, maybe a little more.

I'm listening to it not reading it. I think I fell asleep for a minute while getting a pedicure but I think I still get the gist of everything.

It is mildly interesting but not riveting. If I weren't a JH follower, I don't think it would be interesting at all. It's typical OTT Jen style, of course. She strikes me as someone who hasn't grown much emotionally past young adulthood, no matter how much she says otherwise.

There is almost zero tea on her marriage and really nothing we don't already know. It is a lot of snippets about her childhood and her adult friendships and a lot of stuff about being raised in a conservative church.

The chapters are very short and there's no linear layout at all. It jumps around which is jarring. There's not much tying one chapter to the next. I dislike the way it is laid out and if I weren't somewhat familiar with her already I probably would have given up on it out of confusion.

Aside from a mention of a creepy teacher, which I wish she'd have actually expanded on, it's mostly church hurt and it honestly comes off as a little ridiculous to be so impacted by this today. There was a chapter on how much Remy bugs her, which was without much context. I think she might have been trying to allude to Remy being on the spectrum without actually saying it but she's not clever enough with words - or just covering her butt - to really go there. I don't imagine Remy would have enjoyed reading that.

C+

Anonymous wrote:We need a docuseries on the shadiness of book publishing.