Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist by Amanda Jenkins

About the Book:

Amanda is a raging perfectionist.

She begins each day with a long list. “Keep the house picked up; limit myself to two Diet Cokes; spend special time with each of the kids; work out; pray; avoid sugar; read a chapter in a book about something very important; read my Bible; call my mom.” She determines each day’s worth, and ultimately her own, by keeping track of her stats—pounds gained or lost, stuff accomplished.

That is, until God spoke into her life, waking her up to the true costs of her addiction to perfection.

Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist is more than Amanda’s confession; it’s a journey of letting go of the subtle but destructive idols of her overactive inner voice and replacing them with God’s truth. Amanda hopes her journey can inspire others to let God dig in to their own lives, uncovering the subtle lies we unconsciously live by.

My Thoughts:

I absolutely loved everything about this book...except the cover.  But the words contained inside were just what I needed to nurture my imperfect person and to calm the raging perfectionist in me.

Amanda Jenkins writes with humor and wit, and she shares from her heart.  I could sit and have a Diet Pepsi with her and talk for hours about life and faith, and feel totally at ease in her company.  In fact, I felt as if I'd just had a long conversation with her as I finished the book.

Her diary entries are hilarious; she opens each chapter with a different selection.  And she makes it quite clear that she's a perfectionist in recovery.  She hasn't arrived at full healing yet, but she's enjoying the journey that she's now on.

I didn't know this before I read the book, but Amanda is married to filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, son of best-selling author Jerry B. Jenkins.  I'm kind of glad I didn't know that until I began reading, because I saw Amanda rather than Jerry Jenkins daughter-in-law.

Be prepared for some tough revelation about yourself as you read.  I identified so much with Amanda's journey that I read portions to my husband and he asked "Is that about her or about you?"  For instance, graduating from college just .001 away from honors--because we met the men in our lives and our work took a back seat.

Yup.  Happened to both of us.

Our addiction to diet drinks (she prefers Coke, I prefer Pepsi, but still).

Yup.  I have to keep count or I overdose as well.

And our desire to be seen as someone who is 'put together', when we both know we have more issues than People Magazine.  But it's those issues that draw us together as women, and it's Amanda's honesty that pulled me in to the book.

I received a copy of "Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist" from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for an honest review.  This is one of the best books on personal growth in the life of a believer that I've come across this year, and it goes on my 'keeper' shelf.

If I had the money, I'd be buying cases of the book to give out to women who are struggling with their own case of perfectionism...but alas, I don't.  Instead, "Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist" is highly, highly recommended.

Happy Reading!





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