The author's tone is too casual for my personal taste. The book is very repetitive. The message is, in a nutshell: You belong somewhere; trust God to bring you there.

There's not much in the way of practical help; "trust God" and "keep reaching out to others" is about the gist of it.

There are several other minor things I don't love:

- The author frequently utilizes The Message paraphrase of the Bible, instead of the actual Bible.

- She cites a 'secular' study (I don't know why she needed to clarify that it was secular, as it wasn't a study about religion.)

- She uses the word 'toxic' when referring to a friendship.

- She uses the incorrect word 'helpmate' at one point. (The actual word in the Bible is 'helpmeet.')

- She states that we (Christians) read the Bible because it makes Satan back off, as if this were a good thing. But the Bible is really how we get to know God better! Yes, God is able to use it as a weapon against the enemy, but surely that shouldn't be our driving motivation to read God's Word...

There's certainly some good in the book, as well; judging by the Goodreads reviews, it encouraged a lot of people. I was encouraged at several points throughout, too, but overall, it just wasn't for me. ( )

If you have ever felt like you are not fitting in or are continually standing outside the circle this book is for you. Kristen Strong shares scripture and many of her own personal experiences to show us how she worked through finding her place. She is the wife of a retired Air Force officer and has moved many times in her life. Each place brought a new challenge for her and she shares a great deal of wisdom from lessons learned.

I loved the format with each chapter. Kristen shares in three basic sections... wandering with purpose, finding places and people to belong to, and inviting others into your circle on the journey. She shares chapters 19 chapters with personal experiences and practical advice. She ends each chapter with a small vignette from someone else on the journey either from scripture or from modern day women she knows and then closes out each chapter with a Belonging Blessing for you to meditate on.

She includes some excellent resources that have helped her along the way in the back of the book.

There was really only one thing that I did not absolutely love about the book that I think is worth mentioning. She, like so many writers in this genre, chose to use the Message as her scripture source. I mention it because I know others feel this is something that would bother them, too. As I read I just looked the scriptures up in a more trusted source like the NASB or the HCSB. Her ideas are biblically sound and they do glorify God. I am just not a fan of this trend.

Overall, It is a beautiful book and I feel that Kristen Strong has a lot of wisdom on this particular topic. She has lived everything she shares with us and is a great one to come alongside those of us in the trenches of finding where we belong in this world. ( )