All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir

I’ve read a few Beth Moore books, and had a few personal dealings with her. She is walking charity. I had not been impressed by her writing, as it was meant to be conversational, like her talks. But this is different. This is glorious.All My Knotted Up Life belongs on the pantheon of Southern memoirs. It’s written from the guts with art. She’s full of metaphor and rich imagery. Her family are made real, especially Gay and Nanny. I did find her dad somewhat elusive.This is a slow read because it demands to be savored. Highly recommended.

A little bit hard to get into at first but then it got my attention. Beth Moore has been a big part of my spiritual walk with the Lord so I was eager to read this. She has been treated poorly by her own community and it was hurtful to her to live through that and hurtful for me to watch. I am glad she was able to tell more of her story so hopefully some of the haters would have a bit of compassion. In her live and recorded Bible studies she has alluded to some of her past. This book tells "the rest of the story." It is remarkable to see how her faith in God has remained solid in spite of what she went through. I admire her. This is a great read and a deeper look into her life.

Not having been raised in the Southern Baptist Convention-influenced universe, I wanted to find out about the people that have formed the mindset that so many now are rejecting. Years ago, back when I watched TBN, I'd tune into James Robison and see Beth Moore there regularly. I was always impressed.I decided to read up about this Gothard dude, this MacArthur dude, and Paige Patterson to better understand the big names in all this. What surprised me is that several names popped up that I was quite familiar with already, one being Dobson. The influence these people have had on the entire American church has been eye-opening for me. With Beth leaving the SBC, and having been raised in that mindset, I wanted to understand the background. I saw somewhere that this MacArthur fella told her to "go home". When I read that, I had to get the book. I wanted her side.Well. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. She had me in the first pages since I grew up in the 60's too. What struck me is that her thought processes throughout this whole thing have thoroughly paralleled my own, in spite of the fact that I wasn't raised in that universe. I've done my decades in various churches of different brands, I have been completely immersed in American Churchianity since the 80's, and have come to see the hypocrisy in so much of it, specifically the patriarchy mindset. The other book that had me- Beth Allison Barr's The Making of Biblical Womanhood. I hope these 2 women have met and had coffee.Moore's book is so very well written, so very funny in places, and so very heart-wrenching in others. Thank you, Beth, for this. Very few books have impacted me like this one has.

Your memoir is raw and honest, comforting and full of wisdom. Those of us who have experienced "church hurt" on a small scale can take courage from your faith, and God's faithfulness, reading how you experienced it on the grandest scale where the stakes were so high.

I worked through several of Beth’s Bible studies and have bought several of her books over the years. I was an avid Trump supporter in 2016, and I knew there was some kind of blowup with Beth on social media, but mostly ignored it. Knowing her side of the story solidifies my belief that perspective and perception are critical to context in every opinion we hold. She absolutely did not deserve the backlash she endured, but in the end, her break from the SBC was a good thing. Grew up SBC myself, and decided years ago they need to let God out of the box He’s suffocating in. You can’t limit God by dictating who can and can’t serve in what capacity. The church is often its own worst enemy. Good read. Enjoyed it.

I have been through 3 Beth Moore studies and enjoyed each of them. Of the many women speakers/preachers out there, she has a deep rich understanding of the scriptures more on point with theologians. I knew nothing of her background or story.This book took my respect and appreciation for her to a whole new level. She is shattering the misconceptions we unintentionally hold that our spiritual leaders must be perfect and have a flawless background. Many spiritual leaders would do well to imitate the raw and vulnerable tone here and share how they have been challenged, tried and not measured up to the standard we all strive to. It encourages and gives hope to us all.I cried tears multiple times in this book the first when the book talked about Keith and his struggle with PSTD and BiPolar. To Keith: thank you for letting Beth share your struggles. I was incredibly touched by your story. You are just as courageous as Beth in sharing your journey here!I am a woman called to vocational ministry with a husband who struggles with OCD/Depression. He also doesn't mind swearing much to my dismay :-) He is with us every week for church and prays for our meals and children but we pursue the Lord at different levels. He struggles with his faith and would relate to the statement "Life is just harder for some people." Yes, yes it is. We have been through mental health hell and my heart goes out to you for enduring. For that is the best you can do at times. Endure.So many times, the unspoken expectation when a women leads in the church is her husband must pursue the Lord at the same level. Especially since scripture states the male should lead spiritually. What if they don't lead spiritually or pursue the Lord in the same passionate way? I'm not divorcing my spouse because he struggles with his faith. I love him! I'm also not willing to sacrifice my pursuit of the Lord or passion to lead others into deeper levels of understanding of the word for that reason either. Can a woman lead spiritually in the church if her husband doesn't pursue the Lord at the same level she does? Would love discussion on this one.Her Encounter with God... just beautiful. The Lord knew where her life was headed and where she came from. And He chose her anyways. Amen! Who he calls he will equip for the journey! I am a pastor's kid raised in christian conservative denomination that doesn't acknowledge the charismatic expression of the gifts or talk about God encounters. Truly providence that the woman who Beth shared her encounter with directed her to vocational ministry and didn't negate the experience.I am now a non-denominational charismatic after a God encounter that included manifestations of the gifts down the road. Absolutely loved her quote "An individual can go an entire lifetime without feeling anything out of the ordinary and have no less Spirit, no less calling, no less purpose, faith, or gifting and certainly no less fruitfulness." I will hopefully be teaching a class on the more supernatural gifts of the Spirit and Beth's encounter and this quote will be in there. Yes! Value for those that do and do not operate in the gifts. Receiving a gift or having an experience does not elevate you above another person or make you less called.I am touched to the core by Beth's story. We all carry some level of brokenness through this walk of life. Her story is such a beautiful reminder of walking with Jesus through it all. Of the messy, sometimes harrowing road that we have to navigate to make it through those pearly gates. God bless you Beth Moore! Bless you for putting up with judgmental know-it-alls, rude and opinionated people who break others down in the guise of religion, and for pursuing the Lord so faithfully with the hand dealt you. You have and will continue to impact many.

Well written and honest read. Beth openly and vulnerably shares her family background, with all of its good memories, pain and brokenness. She gives great insight into her years in ministry. It’s sad that “the Church” continues to react in fear to those that God calls and very definitely is using for His glory. Beth in revealing the Church abuse she experienced displays how to overcome with grace and poise, keeping our eyes on Jesus and not derailing from our calling. I did my first Beth Moore bible study with Breaking Free. It was life changing! This book will not disappoint and you will find yourself connecting in ways you had not imagined. Love you BETH!

I’ve been a ‘lurker’ on Beth’s twitter account as I find her posts both uplifting and amusing especially her animal sightings near her house. I’ve also read about the vicissitudes of her religious life from the outside looking in and have always admired her boldness and stand with her in her values. Especially her outspokenness in the political arena. In my opinion one of the only sane evangelical voices. I was so comforted to know that there were other Christians who had not drunk the cool aid in 2016. With this background I was immediately entranced with this memoir. Seeing the internal workings of all that I had observed externally. But far more impactful was reading her struggles in both her childhood and adult life. The strength of character to have endured and still be so inspirational. This book has affected me in a visceral way and I find it difficult to describe the roller coaster of emotions I feel. Keith’s struggles and his overcoming spirit has been especially heart wrenching. I just love the relationship between the two. Beth’s writing is so poetic and emotive and amusing. Dare I say hilarious as well. Words cannot express how I love this book. Definitely one of my favorite books read.

Wow. My respect for Beth Moore grew deeper and wider as I read her memoir. She is a woman after God's own heart. And when life fired darts at her, she drew closer to Christ.The word that came to mind as I completed the book was: respect. I respect Beth deep and wide. The thought that came to mind regarding those who fired darts at her was: God is not a denomination nor a political party. He is Jesus. He is love. Deep and wide.

And Jesus loves her. What a wonderfully presented memoir. My poor southern heart could hardly take the imagery and poetic language. My heart aches for the girl who suffered abuse and sobs for the grown woman who was forced to leave her comfort zone.

The pain of family secrets sits deep in the crevices of one's soul. Beth's story helped me process much of my own pain even though it was nothing in comparison to mine. I'll be forever grateful to Beth for the gift of her story. It was a timely gift for sure.