Shame Off You: From Hiding to Healing
Denise Pass
Abingdon Press
Published August 21, 2018
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About Shame Off You: From Hiding to Healing
Shame is an assault on the core of who we are. It assassinates our character, minimizes our worth, and dashes our hope. Like Adam and Eve, we often hide shame, but hiding never heals it. Left unattended, shame can develop into a crippling reality that paralyzes us. Like an infectious disease, shame impacts everyone . . . but not all shame is bad. Shame can either be an oppressive and powerful tool of worldly condemnation or a source of conviction that God uses to bring his people back to himself. Having the discernment to know the difference and recognize shame in its many forms can change the course of one’s life.
In a transparently honest style, Pass shares of her experience dealing with shame after learning that her former husband was a sexual offender. Having lived through the aftermath, she leads you into God’s Word where you will see for yourself that God is bigger than your pain, shame, mistakes, and limitations.
Shame Off You shares how freedom can be found in choosing to break the cycle of shame by learning from the past, developing healthy thinking patterns, silencing lies, and overcoming the traps of vanity and other people’s opinions.
My Review
This book gave me so many things to think about. It really called into focus the way I react to certain things and has helped me start to break down why I react that way and how to respond differently or break the cycle of shame.
The author is pretty transparent about some difficult things she has been through, and that makes so much of what she says accessible and real because you know she’s been through those big emotions herself. She’s also really funny. I liked that sometimes even when talking about difficult things, she’d say them in a funny way to lighten things up.
SHAME OFF YOU is a very spiritual book. I don’t think you could read the book and enjoy it without embracing her spiritual point-of-view. It’s really meant to guide people within Christian faith toward releasing shame and breaking the cycle of shaming others.
I’m also not sure how accessible the book would be to teen readers. The writing is a little bit dense, but the concepts really apply to any age, and the topic is a great one for teen readers. I wonder if the author would consider doing a youth edition at some point.
On the whole, I’m so glad I read SHAME OFF YOU. I want to go back and highlight some passages that I want to remember and be able to revisit later. I think it will be a big help to me as I continue to think about way shame impacts me and others in my life.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Representation
None.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
The author briefly discusses discovering that her husband sexually abused their child. No explicit details given.
Spiritual Content
This is in every way a Christian book. Quotes from scriptures, prayers and devotionals open and close each chapter.
Violent Content
None.
Drug Content
None.
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