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All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Memoir & Autobiography (2023)New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestseller!
An incredibly thoughtful, disarmingly funny, and intensely vulnerable glimpse into the life and ministry of a woman familiar to many but known by few.
“It’s a peculiar thing, this having lived long enough to take a good look back. We go from knowing each other better than we know ourselves to barely sure if we know each other at all, to precisely sure that we don’t. All my knotted-up life I’ve longed for the sanity and simplicity of knowing who’s good and who’s bad. I’ve wanted to know this about myself as much as anyone. This was not theological. It was strictly relational. God could do what he wanted with eternity. I was just trying to make it here in the meantime. As benevolent as he has been in a myriad of ways, God has remained aloof on this uncomplicated request .” – Beth Moore
New York Times best-selling author, speaker, visionary, and founder of Living Proof Ministries Beth Moore has devoted her whole life to helping women across the globe come to know the transforming power of Jesus. An established writer of many acclaimed books and Bible studies for women on spiritual growth and personal development, Beth now unveils her own story in a much-anticipated debut memoir.
All My Knotted-Up Life
All My Knotted-Up Life is told with surprising candor about some of the personal heartbreaks and behind-the-scenes challenges that have marked Beth’s life. But beyond that, it’s a beautifully crafted portrait of resilience and survival, a poignant reminder of God’s enduring faithfulness, and proof positive that if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories . . . we’d all walk around slack-jawed.
An incredibly thoughtful, disarmingly funny, and intensely vulnerable glimpse into the life and ministry of a woman familiar to many but known by few.
“It’s a peculiar thing, this having lived long enough to take a good look back. We go from knowing each other better than we know ourselves to barely sure if we know each other at all, to precisely sure that we don’t. All my knotted-up life I’ve longed for the sanity and simplicity of knowing who’s good and who’s bad. I’ve wanted to know this about myself as much as anyone. This was not theological. It was strictly relational. God could do what he wanted with eternity. I was just trying to make it here in the meantime. As benevolent as he has been in a myriad of ways, God has remained aloof on this uncomplicated request .” – Beth Moore
New York Times best-selling author, speaker, visionary, and founder of Living Proof Ministries Beth Moore has devoted her whole life to helping women across the globe come to know the transforming power of Jesus. An established writer of many acclaimed books and Bible studies for women on spiritual growth and personal development, Beth now unveils her own story in a much-anticipated debut memoir.
All My Knotted-Up Life
All My Knotted-Up Life is told with surprising candor about some of the personal heartbreaks and behind-the-scenes challenges that have marked Beth’s life. But beyond that, it’s a beautifully crafted portrait of resilience and survival, a poignant reminder of God’s enduring faithfulness, and proof positive that if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories . . . we’d all walk around slack-jawed.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 21, 2023
About the author
Beth Moore
338 books2,424 followersBeth Moore has written many best–selling books and is a dynamic teacher and a prolific Bible–study author whose public speaking engagements take her across the United States to challenge tens of thousands. Beth is focused on teaching women all over the world and is known and respected wherever she goes. She is a dedicated wife and mother of two adult daughters and lives in Houston, Texas, where she leads Living Proof Ministries and teaches an adult Sunday school class. Beth is one of the best known women in the evangelical Christian market.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,738 reviews
February 27, 2023
This book floored me. I don't know how else to say it. The audiobook was the way to go with this one, as the author's performance of the book just makes it. I'm not a Southern Baptist by any stretch, but I did her studies when I was younger. I've since grown deeper in Lutheran theology, but have followed her story, especially when people got so upset at her for speaking up against sexual abuse being swept under the rug. It's hard to understand women's ministry in any denomination in American Christianity without understanding the influence of Beth Moore over the last several decades.
I had no idea. I was not prepared for what I read. I expected Southern Baptist drama, and I expected her to share about her abuse in her childhood, and her rise in her writing and speaking, and the pushback that she got, and the pain of finding a new church. I was not prepared for the thread of her husband Keith, who she's always been pretty quiet about. He gave her permission to share the story, which she handled with honesty and grace.
Beth's story reminded me a bit of the disciple Peter. Boldness and humility, walking on water and sinking, about to drown. Profound and clumsy, running and tripping, endearing and exasperating, totally enraptured with the person of Jesus.
The stories of God’s faithfulness to her family—most especially to her husband, had me weeping by the epilogue.
To the whole Moore family, thank you for letting her tell this story.
I had no idea. I was not prepared for what I read. I expected Southern Baptist drama, and I expected her to share about her abuse in her childhood, and her rise in her writing and speaking, and the pushback that she got, and the pain of finding a new church. I was not prepared for the thread of her husband Keith, who she's always been pretty quiet about. He gave her permission to share the story, which she handled with honesty and grace.
Beth's story reminded me a bit of the disciple Peter. Boldness and humility, walking on water and sinking, about to drown. Profound and clumsy, running and tripping, endearing and exasperating, totally enraptured with the person of Jesus.
The stories of God’s faithfulness to her family—most especially to her husband, had me weeping by the epilogue.
To the whole Moore family, thank you for letting her tell this story.
February 23, 2023
Summary: A touching, funny, and poignant memoir.
Like many, I have known of Beth Moore for a long time. She was a women's bible teacher. She is about 15 years older than I am, so she started leading aerobics classes when I was a pre-teen and moved to be a Christian motivational speaker (her description) by the time I was a teen. Her first bible study was published in 1994 (when I was in college), and from the late 1990s until now, she has published a book roughly once a year.
I have read one of her books and parts of another. I appreciate her writing, but I do think that the growth of the past few years addresses some of the concerns I have had with her early work. She is more aware of structural issues and more aware of cultural issues. And frankly, I am more open to her because I have been following her on social media for nearly a decade now and understand her role and perspective more.
I had known for years that Beth Moore was a victim of sexual abuse, even if, before now, she had not told her whole story. The memoir is loosely chronological, but many early chapters focus on her childhood living in an unsafe home. Her father sexually abused her, and her mother suffered a significant breakdown. And there was emotional, if not physical, abuse within the home. Like Julie Andrews's memoir of her early years, Beth Moore tells the story, an often poignant and tragic story, of growing up with a father as an abuser, but with only enough details to get a sense of the abuse.
This is Beth Moore's story, but she had the cooperation of her four siblings (one of whom passed away only days ago). Still, both her parents and grandmother, who lived with the family from the start of her parent's marriage until Beth Moore was in the middle years of high school, have passed away. Later chapters grapple with her parent's marriage, the emotions around their deaths, and Beth Moore's internal grappling with forgiveness, accountability, and some sense of understanding about human limitations. One of the book's themes is that she used to see the world as less nuanced than it is. People are neither wholly good nor wholly evil. There is good and bad within all of us. That does not mean that she condones her father's sin, but it does mean that she grew to understand that there was more to her father than just his sin against her and against others.
I know more about Beth Moore from Twitter and video clips than her writing. Although I listened to it on audiobook (with her excellent narration), All My Knotted Up Life is very well written. She has a gift of writing with evocative language that draws you in. But you are also drawn in by a lot of humor. Many want to reduce Beth Moore's ministry to a sort of self-help speaker, but those charges make clear to me that people have not seriously engaged in her work. She talks about learning to study the Bible and some about the mentors that helped her to refine her speaking and writing. But to me, her interviews, many of which I have watched or listened to over the years, shows her deep faith, serious thinking, ability not to take herself too seriously, and how seriously she takes God's call on her life.
I felt like the middle years, the 15 or so years from when she started doing aerobics until she became more established as a writer, were not as detailed as I would have liked. Not that she owes us more of her story, but that this part of her life feels less clear. Maybe she has written more about this in other books. Part of this is that these years are handled more topically than her early life or the end of the book. She has chapters on her marriage and parenting and the development of her teaching tours, and the tracing of those threads over time meant that this part of her life was less chronologically narrative.
Beth loves her husband, Keith, very much. In an interview with Kate Bowler about the book Kate comments that the Moore's marriage may be one of the most closely watched marriages in the evangelical world. Part of that is that Keith is not a public figure, so one area that Beth Moore's opponents have used, is to attack Keith for not "leading the household" or being a weak man. Those are unfair characterizations. At the same time, Keith had a PTSD background (being severely injured in a fire as a young child, along with a brother who died). And he had his own mental health struggles. And several years ago, he got a severe infection that literally took years of treatment. That treatment significantly changed his personality and made the meds that helped with this PTSD and mental health issues not work. He has recovered from those health issues at this point, but in her discussion of family issues, what is clear is the extent that she has been protective of her family is in part a result of the ways that her family needed protection and of the reality of her family being a target because of Beth Moore's success within the evangelical world.
There is a paywalled interview between Kaitlyn Schiess on the Holy Post Patreon feed where Kaitlyn talks about the role of the celebrity within the Christian evangelical world. Part of the response that echoes what I have heard from Beth Moore in other places is that she does not really like the large crowds that came with her stadium tours. Covid and the response to Beth Moore's comments about Donald Trump and the resulting backlash that resulted in Moore leaving the SBC world and Lifeway (her publisher and the producers of her stadium tours) may have stopped the large stadium tours. Those may return later, but Moore has talked about how she would prefer smaller conferences and more time with people, closer to her calling.
Of course, the book does deal with Beth Moore's Twitter presence, her comments on Donald Trump, sexual abuse, racism, and other social justice issues. In some ways, I think these things may be too close to the writing. She and her husband joined a local Anglican Church just over a year ago. Beth Moore is now 65 and likely has many more years of ministry left. But as she describes it, however many years of ministry she has left, it is less than the years of ministry that have already happened.
I look forward to hearing from Christians that are toward the end of their lives because there is a sense of the arc of the Christian life that isn't possible in memoirs by Christians in their 20s or 30s. I have read many memoirs or autobiographies of Christians written in their 60s-80s. Part of what I think makes for a good memoir is honest grappling with their life. That doesn't mean that the readers need to read everything. But it does mean that the memoir needs to present more than the good-looking highlight reel or a "look how far I have come" retrospective. An honest grappling with life means that there is enough introspection to see areas where different decisions could have been made. And I want some introspection about both weaknesses and strengths.
All My Knotted-Up Life grapples with her history of abuse and her response to that abuse over time. There are looks at the generational aspects of abuse. There is a lot of discussion of God's grace to her and her family. That walk with God from seeing the church as a safe place (as opposed to her home) and from her early mystical experience of God's calling to following the next step that God seemed to be leading her toward is the story of how one woman related to her God. It is not a story of perfection but of how God works with real people. It is, at times, meandering because we are a meandering people.
And, like all good memoirs, it makes me want more. I want to read more of Beth Moore's writing and see more of her teaching. I look forward to seeing how God continues using her for the rest of her life.
Like many, I have known of Beth Moore for a long time. She was a women's bible teacher. She is about 15 years older than I am, so she started leading aerobics classes when I was a pre-teen and moved to be a Christian motivational speaker (her description) by the time I was a teen. Her first bible study was published in 1994 (when I was in college), and from the late 1990s until now, she has published a book roughly once a year.
I have read one of her books and parts of another. I appreciate her writing, but I do think that the growth of the past few years addresses some of the concerns I have had with her early work. She is more aware of structural issues and more aware of cultural issues. And frankly, I am more open to her because I have been following her on social media for nearly a decade now and understand her role and perspective more.
I had known for years that Beth Moore was a victim of sexual abuse, even if, before now, she had not told her whole story. The memoir is loosely chronological, but many early chapters focus on her childhood living in an unsafe home. Her father sexually abused her, and her mother suffered a significant breakdown. And there was emotional, if not physical, abuse within the home. Like Julie Andrews's memoir of her early years, Beth Moore tells the story, an often poignant and tragic story, of growing up with a father as an abuser, but with only enough details to get a sense of the abuse.
This is Beth Moore's story, but she had the cooperation of her four siblings (one of whom passed away only days ago). Still, both her parents and grandmother, who lived with the family from the start of her parent's marriage until Beth Moore was in the middle years of high school, have passed away. Later chapters grapple with her parent's marriage, the emotions around their deaths, and Beth Moore's internal grappling with forgiveness, accountability, and some sense of understanding about human limitations. One of the book's themes is that she used to see the world as less nuanced than it is. People are neither wholly good nor wholly evil. There is good and bad within all of us. That does not mean that she condones her father's sin, but it does mean that she grew to understand that there was more to her father than just his sin against her and against others.
I know more about Beth Moore from Twitter and video clips than her writing. Although I listened to it on audiobook (with her excellent narration), All My Knotted Up Life is very well written. She has a gift of writing with evocative language that draws you in. But you are also drawn in by a lot of humor. Many want to reduce Beth Moore's ministry to a sort of self-help speaker, but those charges make clear to me that people have not seriously engaged in her work. She talks about learning to study the Bible and some about the mentors that helped her to refine her speaking and writing. But to me, her interviews, many of which I have watched or listened to over the years, shows her deep faith, serious thinking, ability not to take herself too seriously, and how seriously she takes God's call on her life.
I felt like the middle years, the 15 or so years from when she started doing aerobics until she became more established as a writer, were not as detailed as I would have liked. Not that she owes us more of her story, but that this part of her life feels less clear. Maybe she has written more about this in other books. Part of this is that these years are handled more topically than her early life or the end of the book. She has chapters on her marriage and parenting and the development of her teaching tours, and the tracing of those threads over time meant that this part of her life was less chronologically narrative.
Beth loves her husband, Keith, very much. In an interview with Kate Bowler about the book Kate comments that the Moore's marriage may be one of the most closely watched marriages in the evangelical world. Part of that is that Keith is not a public figure, so one area that Beth Moore's opponents have used, is to attack Keith for not "leading the household" or being a weak man. Those are unfair characterizations. At the same time, Keith had a PTSD background (being severely injured in a fire as a young child, along with a brother who died). And he had his own mental health struggles. And several years ago, he got a severe infection that literally took years of treatment. That treatment significantly changed his personality and made the meds that helped with this PTSD and mental health issues not work. He has recovered from those health issues at this point, but in her discussion of family issues, what is clear is the extent that she has been protective of her family is in part a result of the ways that her family needed protection and of the reality of her family being a target because of Beth Moore's success within the evangelical world.
There is a paywalled interview between Kaitlyn Schiess on the Holy Post Patreon feed where Kaitlyn talks about the role of the celebrity within the Christian evangelical world. Part of the response that echoes what I have heard from Beth Moore in other places is that she does not really like the large crowds that came with her stadium tours. Covid and the response to Beth Moore's comments about Donald Trump and the resulting backlash that resulted in Moore leaving the SBC world and Lifeway (her publisher and the producers of her stadium tours) may have stopped the large stadium tours. Those may return later, but Moore has talked about how she would prefer smaller conferences and more time with people, closer to her calling.
Of course, the book does deal with Beth Moore's Twitter presence, her comments on Donald Trump, sexual abuse, racism, and other social justice issues. In some ways, I think these things may be too close to the writing. She and her husband joined a local Anglican Church just over a year ago. Beth Moore is now 65 and likely has many more years of ministry left. But as she describes it, however many years of ministry she has left, it is less than the years of ministry that have already happened.
I look forward to hearing from Christians that are toward the end of their lives because there is a sense of the arc of the Christian life that isn't possible in memoirs by Christians in their 20s or 30s. I have read many memoirs or autobiographies of Christians written in their 60s-80s. Part of what I think makes for a good memoir is honest grappling with their life. That doesn't mean that the readers need to read everything. But it does mean that the memoir needs to present more than the good-looking highlight reel or a "look how far I have come" retrospective. An honest grappling with life means that there is enough introspection to see areas where different decisions could have been made. And I want some introspection about both weaknesses and strengths.
All My Knotted-Up Life grapples with her history of abuse and her response to that abuse over time. There are looks at the generational aspects of abuse. There is a lot of discussion of God's grace to her and her family. That walk with God from seeing the church as a safe place (as opposed to her home) and from her early mystical experience of God's calling to following the next step that God seemed to be leading her toward is the story of how one woman related to her God. It is not a story of perfection but of how God works with real people. It is, at times, meandering because we are a meandering people.
And, like all good memoirs, it makes me want more. I want to read more of Beth Moore's writing and see more of her teaching. I look forward to seeing how God continues using her for the rest of her life.
January 19, 2024
Goodness this was rough to read in some places (but I won’t go into specifics until after publication day per the publishers’ request, as Beth reveals some very personal things).
But throughout the book her honesty, hilarity, and love for Jesus shine through. I love Beth on Twitter, and her down-home poetic style is even better in long form.
But throughout the book her honesty, hilarity, and love for Jesus shine through. I love Beth on Twitter, and her down-home poetic style is even better in long form.
March 5, 2023
This book is going to mean so much to a lot of people. Beth’s willingness to invite us all in to her life is what has charmed so many women for so many years, and with this memoir she has given just the precise amount of backstory we need to better understand both the toll of her ministry and the drive behind her ministry. Beth doesn’t expose anything just for the sake of shock value or clickbait, but (as is her characteristic style) offers an honest story with enough detail to be convincing but not so much as to be tawdry, leaving plenty of privacy for her family members who have already had to deal with the notoriety of their mom/wife/sister. I highly recommend letting Beth read the story to you in her drawl via the audiobook. Her voice sparkles with mischief and floods with sorrow as she recounts her life. It’s hard not to love a woman who loves Jesus so fiercely.
February 23, 2023
I’ve never devoured a book quite like this one. When one of your heroes bares all, you show up for it. She’s been hated for her faith, bold stances, and perceived shortcomings but nobody can ever say she has not been sincere and sincerely in love with the Lord. I’ve had the privilege of meeting her and studying under her more than once and she is the real deal. I knew it before, but man. Anyone who would bleed out on the written page like this, when she owed it no one, in hopes of helping even one? Hero. I’ll always claim her as one of mine! ❤️
March 5, 2023
I hardly know what to say about the beautiful, heartbreaking, precious story of one of my all time favorite people and heroes in the faith. The main thing is that Beth’s story opened my heart to Jesus even more and filled me to the brim with gratitude for His faithfulness and nearness in her life and in my own. I laughed and cried through the whole thing. Her story isn’t easy but she tells it with such sincerity and humility, continually looking to God and desiring to walk with Him. I just felt so deeply encouraged and moved by her words. I’m so thankful for her willingness to share her life and am so so thankful that we get to enjoy the fruit of her life in God!!
March 2, 2023
I’ve recognized, known, and respected Beth Moore’s voice for most all of my life. She was the spunky woman who taught my mom the Word of God and(!) how to use a fork to tease your hair in case of emergency. She was the one who wrote Bible studies with those whose Bible studies heavily shaped my life. “My Beth” — as my mom has exclusively called her for as long as I can remember — was the authentic one, the one who wasn’t afraid to be honest and bold, even when it cost her. Her voice has guided many of the women who have guided me - a cool aunt figure of sorts. In more recent years, though, Beth’s influence has moved away from the tangential and right to my central line of focus. Her voice was one I looked to for safety when so many others I once trusted no longer felt safe in the wake of 2016. It was her book on sanctification and suffering that brought encouragement during the hardest season of my life. I heard Beth speak once in college and was struck by her reverence for Jesus, her commitment to Scripture. Afterward, I shook her hand and told her how much my mom loved her, to which she responded by grabbing my face with her hands and telling me to tell the dear sister in Christ that is my mom hello and that she loved her. She treated me like we were old friends, and I know that’s how she is with everyone else who shares similar sentiments with her. Reading her book felt like spending time with your most trusted confidante, wisest counsel, and the person who makes you laugh the hardest - all at the same time.
This review is already ridiculously long, but I want to say that Beth’s memoir is really, really important. It’s powerful and vulnerable and beautiful and unapologetic because its author is all of those things. Beth Moore is unapologetically in love with Jesus, unapologetically a champion of His Bride, unapologetically real about the wounds of her life (even those that remain unhealed and might be that way until Glory), and unapologetically herself. Her heart and mind and soul are just such a gift. And I think this book will enable this gift to continue for generations to come. Thankful for a book that so clearly testifies to a Savior whose love will not let us go!
P.S. If you want more of Beth’s personality/dramatic flare listen to the audiobook! Feels like you’re sitting in her home laughing and crying right there with her!
This review is already ridiculously long, but I want to say that Beth’s memoir is really, really important. It’s powerful and vulnerable and beautiful and unapologetic because its author is all of those things. Beth Moore is unapologetically in love with Jesus, unapologetically a champion of His Bride, unapologetically real about the wounds of her life (even those that remain unhealed and might be that way until Glory), and unapologetically herself. Her heart and mind and soul are just such a gift. And I think this book will enable this gift to continue for generations to come. Thankful for a book that so clearly testifies to a Savior whose love will not let us go!
P.S. If you want more of Beth’s personality/dramatic flare listen to the audiobook! Feels like you’re sitting in her home laughing and crying right there with her!
March 8, 2023
Edifying read from a gifted writer. The audiobook was the way to go; hearing her voice made it more moving.
May 28, 2023
Confession. I picked up this book thinking that I'd be rolling my eyes at the sweetness of it. My faith has shifted since I was in my early 20s and did a Beth Moore Bible study... so, I've kind of side-eyed her as I've gotten older. I did see that she left SBC and seemed to be undergoing some shifting in her own faith, but this book took me a bit by surprise. This memoir was beautiful, honest, compassionate, and wise. I loved it.
March 18, 2023
Happy release day!
“…if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories . . . we’d all walk around slack-jawed.”
-Back cover
Man, if that doesn’t sum up what reading Beth’s (Hopefully she won’t mind me acting like we’re on a first name basis) story was like. So much that she has walked through and endured, so much that was meant for evil, and yet—God’s faithfulness is always on display in her story.
Another common thread in all the various stages of life shared here is the heart of a woman eager to please the Lord. Through heartbreaks, failures, and ridicule, her message and goal has remained the same. Jesus is faithful and he is worth it.
So many women have been blessed by Beth Moore’s teaching for decades, and I am one of them. I’m grateful she chose to share more of her journey with us, and am thankful for how the Lord has brought beauty from ashes in her life.
Thank you Netgalley and Tyndale for the advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.
“…if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories . . . we’d all walk around slack-jawed.”
-Back cover
Man, if that doesn’t sum up what reading Beth’s (Hopefully she won’t mind me acting like we’re on a first name basis) story was like. So much that she has walked through and endured, so much that was meant for evil, and yet—God’s faithfulness is always on display in her story.
Another common thread in all the various stages of life shared here is the heart of a woman eager to please the Lord. Through heartbreaks, failures, and ridicule, her message and goal has remained the same. Jesus is faithful and he is worth it.
So many women have been blessed by Beth Moore’s teaching for decades, and I am one of them. I’m grateful she chose to share more of her journey with us, and am thankful for how the Lord has brought beauty from ashes in her life.
Thank you Netgalley and Tyndale for the advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.
June 11, 2023
I am in between 3 & 4 stars. To start, she’s hilarious and made me laugh many times. I think we’d be good friends. My fav quote is: “there is no scrutiny on earth like that which proceedeth from the mouth of a first-year seminary student.” I laughed out loud in an airport at that one. She’s obviously a great author which we knew. However, my social-work-heart was D Y I N G for more details on literally everything. I have SO many questions that I typically don’t have after a good memoir. When did the sexual abuse start? How long did it last? Did it just stop one day? How did you live with your dad after that? What was your relationship like? Did you ever confide in friends/siblings? Did you tell your mom? Did you discuss this with your daughters? Did this affect the way you parent? How did this affect your faith? Do you still struggle with PTSD or C-PTSD? GAH!!!! I have allllll the same questions about the tiny snippet on Keith’s sickness/eventual health? She touched slightly on how she felt about her dads death which was nice but I need wayyyy more of the in-between story. Other than that it seemed to jump through phases of her life, all covered really vaguely.
Kept me entertained enough to finish it. Definitely want to be her friend. But Beth, I need more details.
Kept me entertained enough to finish it. Definitely want to be her friend. But Beth, I need more details.
May 13, 2023
Recommend with reservation.
It feels awkward for me to say I didn't unrestrainedly love this book when I feel a lot of compassion for Beth Moore after reading it and sorrow for the hardship and ridicule she has endured. But, this is my honest review:
First, the pros:
I think Beth brings up a lot of areas where Christians can examine their own lives. I think she rightly condemns idolization of political parties, racism, and cover-ups of abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention. I personally feel convicted about judging Beth unfairly in the past without knowing more of her story. She seems like a woman who loves the Gospel and loves the Lord deeply and sincerely.
Second, the cons:
This is 100% personal preference, but I felt like her writing was sometimes unnecessarily flowery, and there were several chapters during the first half of the book where I got a bit bored. (I have several friends who loved her writing style though, so this is just me.)
I also think that the book might be confusing (at best) or misleading (at worst) for someone who is unfamiliar with Christian celebrities, twitter wars, the SBC, and the complimentarianism vs. egalitarianism debate. I would recommend this book to a mature Christian who has studied the Word for themselves and has some understanding of those topics, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone new to the church.
It feels awkward for me to say I didn't unrestrainedly love this book when I feel a lot of compassion for Beth Moore after reading it and sorrow for the hardship and ridicule she has endured. But, this is my honest review:
First, the pros:
I think Beth brings up a lot of areas where Christians can examine their own lives. I think she rightly condemns idolization of political parties, racism, and cover-ups of abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention. I personally feel convicted about judging Beth unfairly in the past without knowing more of her story. She seems like a woman who loves the Gospel and loves the Lord deeply and sincerely.
Second, the cons:
This is 100% personal preference, but I felt like her writing was sometimes unnecessarily flowery, and there were several chapters during the first half of the book where I got a bit bored. (I have several friends who loved her writing style though, so this is just me.)
I also think that the book might be confusing (at best) or misleading (at worst) for someone who is unfamiliar with Christian celebrities, twitter wars, the SBC, and the complimentarianism vs. egalitarianism debate. I would recommend this book to a mature Christian who has studied the Word for themselves and has some understanding of those topics, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone new to the church.
February 28, 2023
I don’t often cry in books but this one brought me to tears on multiple occasions. Raw, beautiful and deeply encouraging. Beth’s faithfulness has sowed seeds in my life for a love of God’s Word and knowing Him better for the past 14 years. Thankful beyond measure!
May 1, 2023
I read this book in one day because Beth is a gifted story teller, and I appreciate how she can weave a story together vividly in such a way that I could see what she was talking about. My low rating comes from the content of the last half of the book. I started this book as a critical read because as I have watched Beth drift from what I had once believed her to be, I have been careful in consuming teaching from her. There were many red flags for me- from her spiritual experience in a bathroom to being told at 18 by a woman at church that this experience was the Lord calling her into vocational ministry; the Lord not calling her to repentance but just sitting with her and enduring when she was railing against Him for not loving her husband; the concern that from what she records of Keith is that he never seemed to have placed his faith in Christ, continues to “cuss like a sailor”, wouldn’t attend church with her the majority of the time, but he would bless her and pray for her and send her on her way to fulfill her ministry- and that’s not even delving into the issues of how modern day feminism has skewered how she views Biblical, God-ordained patriarchy and Biblical roles for men and women. It appears that she took her anger and hurt over the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her family member and the other family members not helping her when she needed it out on Donald Trump and any evangelical who then voted for him. The entire story was just a sad downward spiral. I come away from it very confused as to where she is spiritually from what I see and hear from her own words. As someone who grew up on Beth Moore’s Bible studies as a young teenager, I wanted to read her memoir and see what was going on behind the scenes in her own words. And unfortunately it just opened more questions than gave answers.
April 30, 2023
I knew Beth Moore was kind and insightful and in love with Jesus and an enormous gift to the Church but I had no idea she could write like that! All My Knotted-Up Life is beautiful and moving and raw and painful and so full of grace. Thank you for writing it, Beth.
March 14, 2023
I have never actually read or listened to anything by Beth Moore before, so I had zero expectations for what this book would be like. It took some perseverance to get through the first part that included an overwhelming amount of southern metaphors and accents, but I ended up being really moved by her story; mostly because it just seemed to be a humble and honest account of her life. It didn’t feel like she was trying to make a big point or compel readers to any side, but just shared her story in a real and basic way that acknowledged the pains and reality of life while also holding on to the good with gratitude. I teared up many times as she shared about the relatable realities of pain, brokenness, and impactful reminders of hope because it just felt so human. It wasn’t a call do be better or do better, but just a reflection on the Lord’s faithfulness as she’s experienced it.
April 9, 2023
Let me start with a few prefaces:
A) I know nothing about Beth Moore other than I’ve heard she’s an evangelical lil missy
B) I listened to this on audiobook so naturally I got distracted
C) I think it’s extremely impossible to give stars to someone’s memoir bc it’s their life and it can’t be rated on a scale- so the stars are more so my attention span
All in all- I learned about Moores life and what she survived and showed up to and had faith in and let’s just hear it for any woman who takes space in religious places and paths the way 🤝
A) I know nothing about Beth Moore other than I’ve heard she’s an evangelical lil missy
B) I listened to this on audiobook so naturally I got distracted
C) I think it’s extremely impossible to give stars to someone’s memoir bc it’s their life and it can’t be rated on a scale- so the stars are more so my attention span
All in all- I learned about Moores life and what she survived and showed up to and had faith in and let’s just hear it for any woman who takes space in religious places and paths the way 🤝
February 22, 2024
I grew up doing Beth Moore Bible studies, and her passion for God and the Bible was contagious! I am so grateful for how the Lord used her to deepen my understanding of Him and His word. I love a good memoir, so when I found out that she had released one, I wanted to read it!
As I finished it today, I was overwhelmed by the pain and hardship that characterized her whole life, but I was more overwhelmed by how her story shows God’s faithfulness, nearness, and presence in the midst of each hardship. Her love of God and continual desire to follow Him in the midst of each hardship was clear. She openly shared about seasons of wrestling with Him in the midst of hardship, and her steadfastness amidst the wrestling was an encouragement to me. This memoir reminded me that none of us have it all together. None of us has a “rainbows and unicorns” life; this life is filled with struggle and challenges. Beth’s life was not perfect; she makes no bones about that in the book. She makes clear that God is the One who carried her along. I closed the book in worship—-thanking God for His love and care for His children and praying for a continued desire to walk in steadfastness with the Lord in all of life.
As I finished it today, I was overwhelmed by the pain and hardship that characterized her whole life, but I was more overwhelmed by how her story shows God’s faithfulness, nearness, and presence in the midst of each hardship. Her love of God and continual desire to follow Him in the midst of each hardship was clear. She openly shared about seasons of wrestling with Him in the midst of hardship, and her steadfastness amidst the wrestling was an encouragement to me. This memoir reminded me that none of us have it all together. None of us has a “rainbows and unicorns” life; this life is filled with struggle and challenges. Beth’s life was not perfect; she makes no bones about that in the book. She makes clear that God is the One who carried her along. I closed the book in worship—-thanking God for His love and care for His children and praying for a continued desire to walk in steadfastness with the Lord in all of life.
March 29, 2023
Raw and authentic but honoring to even those who hurt her, Mrs. Beth Moore’s memoir was more than touching. The delivery in her own vulnerable southern speech brought tears to my eyes at many turns.
Her story made me stop and thank God for the impact her own life has had on mine. As a new Christian years ago I completed every single one of her studies and fell in love with the Word. Thank you, Mrs. Beth, for paving the way for women (and men) to love and know God better.
Her story made me stop and thank God for the impact her own life has had on mine. As a new Christian years ago I completed every single one of her studies and fell in love with the Word. Thank you, Mrs. Beth, for paving the way for women (and men) to love and know God better.
March 5, 2023
Beth could have gone deeper. I feel like there was a lot of fluff mixed in with some personal details. Did it show her heart towards God? Yes. Did it show her passion for studying God’s word? Yes. Could she have opened up a whole lot more? Yes.
March 7, 2023
“Every inch of this harrowing journey… my hand has been tightly knitted, safe and warm, with the hand of Jesus…He has held me fast, He will hold me still, and He will lead me home. Bless be the tie that binds”
Thank you, Elizabeth Moore, for jumping in to this sea of vulnerability, for going first, and letting your lived experience shine a light on Christ meeting us and holding us in our seasons of strength as well as in our seasons of weakness and desperation.
The style with which she writes is as close to poetry as narrative can be. The imagery is breathtaking and brilliant. While this was her story, I found myself struck with “aha” moments within my own story because of what she shared.
Her plain, basic, no-frills moment of being filled with the awareness of God? Well, I never thought I would hear another soul describe what I, too, experienced, though in a slightly different setting. Furthermore, her description of many other interactions in her life *gave* life and words to my own memories that I never felt were legitimate enough to voice.
All this to say, I give this book my highest recommendation. I’m grateful to have listened to it, with a brilliant reading by the author herself, and to have had it bring me to a place of worship as well.
Thank you, Elizabeth Moore, for jumping in to this sea of vulnerability, for going first, and letting your lived experience shine a light on Christ meeting us and holding us in our seasons of strength as well as in our seasons of weakness and desperation.
The style with which she writes is as close to poetry as narrative can be. The imagery is breathtaking and brilliant. While this was her story, I found myself struck with “aha” moments within my own story because of what she shared.
Her plain, basic, no-frills moment of being filled with the awareness of God? Well, I never thought I would hear another soul describe what I, too, experienced, though in a slightly different setting. Furthermore, her description of many other interactions in her life *gave* life and words to my own memories that I never felt were legitimate enough to voice.
All this to say, I give this book my highest recommendation. I’m grateful to have listened to it, with a brilliant reading by the author herself, and to have had it bring me to a place of worship as well.
February 24, 2023
10 stars. I listened to this book in it’s entirety in just over 24 hours. Oh Jesus the tears, especially over chapter 15 and at the end. But really all of it. Touched me so tenderly and more than words can tell. Thank you Miss Beth for being so generous to share your one wild and knotted up life with us. Jesus your faithfulness and love over our stories takes my breath away. Only You can bring beauty from ashes Lord.
February 28, 2023
Really moving, actually. When she relates the highs, Moore's prose sparkles. During the lows, I felt the weight. Through it all, is her own unique voice, which I love. Recommended.
July 8, 2023
It’s easy to assume we know people who are famous in some sense. But reading this book I realized I didn’t know Beth Moore at all. Granted, I’ve never gone through one of her Bible studies or attended one of her conferences or read one of her books before now. But I could hardly put this one down.
April 21, 2023
This is a gorgeous book. Not that it’s a perfect story, of course. But it is captivating and fascinating and I found myself laughing out loud and nodding my head up and down. I listened to the audio version, read by the author, and she is not shy with her native Southern accent— which makes it almost like a favorite movie.
The description of their first time at an Anglican church nearly made ME cry, too (like they did). The relief of the experience was so familiar that I almost could have written it, even though the details are different.
I’m struck by God’s faithfulness and work in spite (and through) intensely difficult and traumatic circumstances. No one’s story is perfect, but Beth’s gives me hope for my own.
“All of our difficulties… we SEND to the cross of Christ!”
The description of their first time at an Anglican church nearly made ME cry, too (like they did). The relief of the experience was so familiar that I almost could have written it, even though the details are different.
I’m struck by God’s faithfulness and work in spite (and through) intensely difficult and traumatic circumstances. No one’s story is perfect, but Beth’s gives me hope for my own.
“All of our difficulties… we SEND to the cross of Christ!”
March 20, 2024
I was snobbish and didn’t read this for a bit since I’m not in Beth Moore’s normal demographic. But it was a great book! Highly recommend!
August 12, 2023
I know it took courage for Beth to write parts of her memoir. Candid, funny, and heartbreaking. There are no perfect families. I read the book, but I could plainly hear Beth’s southern drawl throughout.
March 4, 2023
How do you review someone’s memoir? Their life story? All I can say is I am really glad she wrote this book. It was equal parts hilarious and tragic; beautiful and broken. And, to the extent you can find yourself in another’s life, I found some of myself within its pages.
March 6, 2023
All My Knotted-Up Life traces the hand of God in Moore's life, from her childhood to the current day. I loved how this memoir felt completely honest without ever going into too much detail. I don't read tell-alls, but even in some memoirs I find people going just a bit too far. Moore's storytelling, guided by her editor as she relates in the acknowledgements, is wiser. She doesn't ask the reader to bear all her pain, but shares enough to give the picture before moving on.
Having been raised in the South, yet having spent most of my life in the midwest and west of the USA, I always feel at home with Moore, even just her picture. (It's the hair.) Like her, I was raised Southern Baptist, though I left before she did. I especially wanted to hear her impressions about becoming Anglican after a lifetime in the SBC and I was overwhelmed with "tears of tenderness" when she gave that to me. We even had the same pastor for a while, lo, those many years ago. She really scratched that itch for fellow stories of the Baptist-to-Anglican pipeline that I have.
All My Knotted-Up Life is not a juicy tell-all. It doesn't recount the messy story of Moore's final exit from the SBC with great detail. She's not naming and shaming. She's telling her story, never in too much detail.
Content warnings: recollections of sexual assault (not detailed)
Having been raised in the South, yet having spent most of my life in the midwest and west of the USA, I always feel at home with Moore, even just her picture. (It's the hair.) Like her, I was raised Southern Baptist, though I left before she did. I especially wanted to hear her impressions about becoming Anglican after a lifetime in the SBC and I was overwhelmed with "tears of tenderness" when she gave that to me. We even had the same pastor for a while, lo, those many years ago. She really scratched that itch for fellow stories of the Baptist-to-Anglican pipeline that I have.
All My Knotted-Up Life is not a juicy tell-all. It doesn't recount the messy story of Moore's final exit from the SBC with great detail. She's not naming and shaming. She's telling her story, never in too much detail.
Content warnings: recollections of sexual assault (not detailed)
March 8, 2023
When I was a little baby Christian in college just figuring out my faith and who Jesus is, I joined a Bible study and my beloved leader Bonnie said we were going to do “A Heart Like His” which was a Bible study workbook by Beth Moore. It was amazing to read one of those boring Old Testament stories and see it come to life! To see how David was a person with thoughts and feelings and that God used little him in big ways. The Word of God came alive, and I thought “I think I could do this with other books of the Bible too—even without a workbook.” My love for God’s Word and studying it and meeting Him in the pages of scripture began when I was 20 years old.
And reading this memoir was like getting to hear all the family stories of my spiritual mom, poured out in her own voice (audiobook was a delight). I laughed and cried and was reminded how much I love Beth and how much I love my God. She gives hope and shows what it looks like to remain faithful through trials and trauma and mental health issues and family issues and abuse and to still say at the end, “He loves me. And He’s holding me, even when I’ve let go.”
And reading this memoir was like getting to hear all the family stories of my spiritual mom, poured out in her own voice (audiobook was a delight). I laughed and cried and was reminded how much I love Beth and how much I love my God. She gives hope and shows what it looks like to remain faithful through trials and trauma and mental health issues and family issues and abuse and to still say at the end, “He loves me. And He’s holding me, even when I’ve let go.”
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