Hannah Brencher

Come Matter Here brings us an important message: Stay and matter where you are. Throughout the book we are inspired to stop running after the next big thing, to stop letting fear or pursuit of success in worldly terms run our lives. Instead, come, stay and plant your roots deep. Meaning and making a difference is right before us in the small and simple, not just in the next big happening.

Reading this book is akin to meeting a friend for coffee and sharing deep conversation about real life stuff. It is sharing both the good and the difficult things from every season of life, then sharing the wisdom we’ve gained with others and staying with them as they walk it out.

It’s about not waiting for the next best thing before you invest yourself, but investing yourself full throttle into those around you right now. The writings in this book will open your eyes to every need to open your heart and stop the running. It will provoke you to refuse the lies, set aside fear, and go deep with the community around you.

Hannah’s honest presentation of her struggles paints a vital backdrop for sharing real wisdom with the generations of today.

This book provoked me to go deeper with my own spiritual family and has grown my passion for seeing the Body of Christ get real with one another with honesty and authenticity. As a result, I experienced freedom from lies I believed that had affected me for most of my life. This is similar to what Hannah experienced as she refused to be fearful or to run, and planted herself in community with those around her.

Do not only read this book, let the experiences and wisdom within read you. Glean all the wisdom you can and set your heart to walk out living a deeper, authentic life with those around you.

Choose to go deep beyond surface living. Live and share in honesty—even at the risk of rejection—letting God love you through those around you. Trust God to protect your heart and come matter right where you are. A deeper, beautiful life is waiting!

* I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. *… (meer)

Hannah Brencher is a brave soul. This is the memoir of how she stepped out of her comfort zone/complacency to launch a serendipitous project that has touched thousands of lives. In the post-college ennui, Hannah decides to do a year of service in NYC working for an outreach mission and also with the UN. Though this is unpaid work, her room and board are covered and a meager stipend teaches her how to live like the people she serves. While this is admirable enough, Hannah extends her reach further as she witnesses and interacts with the sheer humanity on display daily in the city. She sits across from a downtrodden woman on the subway and begins composing a letter: Dear You... full of encouragement and hope. But the woman has exited before she can give it to her, so Hannah begins leaving these upbeat missives all over the Big Apple, trusting the people who need them will find them. Then she offers on her blog to write love letters for those in need of one and this explodes into a massive project. She writes 400 letters personally and this is both uplifting and draining. Then she starts a website: moreloveletters.com (still going strong!) to enlist writers and solicit receivers. Simply, "....an ordinary piece of loose-leaf paper morphs into a love letter when a person put their self into it. Suddenly the words steam off the page. Suddenly your hands are caked with the remnants of someone else's understanding and compassion and goodness." (83) This tale is a personal journey too -- of growth and faith and getting your life on a 20-something path toward an unconventional definition of success. Though a little dense in the details, this book ultimately is a feel-good celebration of the ways we can connect when we choose to and the benefits that result.… (meer)