Thrive: A Book Review

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Age Appropriate For: 18 and up (frank discussions about sex, masturbation, and struggle for purity).

Best for Ages: 18 and up

Description: Tired of feeling sorry for yourself? Sick of answering the same old questions about why you still haven’t found your perfect match?

Despite what many people think, singleness is not a disease. It’s not the lesser option. Singleness is God’s gift to you today.

In Thrive, Lina AbuJamra – who has been single for over 40 years - will show you how you can make a difference with your life right now instead of sitting around waiting for something to happen to you. If you’re ready to figure out what God has to say about singleness instead of relying on your own feelings and conclusions, this book is for you.

Isn’t it time you get excited about your life in Christ and quit falling back into the same old pattern of thinking? Freedom. Joy. Abundance. Hope. All these are yours the moment you embrace all that God has for you right here right now.

Go ahead. It’s okay to smile. Life as a single Christian is good.

I wish I had found this book as a single. Well, I did. A friend recommended it and it was at the top of my to-read list when my best friend declared his love. However, I still really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it to all my single friends.

I love Abujamra’s tone in this book. It is both friendly and humble, but also uncompromising and frank. She never sugar-coats anything and doesn’t hesitate to give the readers a kick where they need it most. Yet, she balances all that by being vulnerable and honest about her own shortcomings and sins. Her openness and honesty really gave this book a special perspective.

The format of this book was great. Her goal is to help you thrive as a single Christian. She shares five attitudes to embrace and four obstacles to overcome. She ends with the secret sauce that makes it all work (her words). And then she shares about single Christians who have thrived for Jesus. This format worked so well and made it easy to keep reading.

Some of her discussion on sex, and especially masturbation, wasn’t necessarily a comfortable read and some who aren’t struggling might skip those parts if they wish. However, I think her insights as both someone who has struggled and as a doctor will be helpful to many singles. She was frank, honest, and uncompromising without being crude or giving needless detail.

I especially apricated her discussion of about the church. God really convicted me on my attitude toward the church during my single years and it was encouraging to have someone both acknowledge that it isn’t easy to be a single in the church, but firmly and with humility say we need to stop using that as an excuse not to participate in church life. Her thoughts on the topic were both steeped in scripture and practical advice.

Overall, this book rocketed my top three books I recommend to singles (the other two being Kingdom Single and Living Whole Without a Better Half). I highly recommend it for singles seeking to thrive, married people wanting to relate well to singles, and pastors who might be looking for excellent resources for their single church members.