"Wading through the waters of Soul Bare, I felt I'd been entrusted with something precious. These pages are filled with the all-too-true and all-too-resonant stories of real people who have loved, lost, sinned, survived, hoped, and healed. The fact that these contributors happen to be gifted writers only makes the reading that much better. They are in essence 'going first,' bringing their scars into broad daylight so the rest of us will follow—and Lord knows we need to. It's way too easy to hide behind small talk and Christian cliche. You can get away with it for quite a long time, but real life begins in real relationship. And relationships are born of vulnerability. We've got to learn to drop our masks and be human together. I'm grateful beyond words to the brave women and men who shared their humanity and God's goodness on the pages of this book. It's an absolute gift."

"These stories are brave, honest, and lyrical: a mosaic of shadows and light. As I turned these pages, I felt like I was being invited to glimpse a sacred cross section of the human experience. Suffering. Celebration. Despair. Hope. Sin. Forgiveness. And through it all an unmistakable thread of relentless redemption."

"If you harbor any doubts that God is present in the broken places, let this prayerful chorus of voices dispel them. Soul Bare is a psalm to what is hard and holy, a glorious song of praise to a God who reaches into darkness and blesses even our deepest wounds."

"So often Christian books offer us a well-intended formula for healing—one we've heard so often, we've got it down pat. But what happens when the formula fails in real life? What happens when the right ingredients or the proper measures still leave us empty in despair instead of full with promise and hope? Soul Bare won't offer you a formula. You won't turn the final pages armed with a ready-made antidote for brokenness or a cure-all salve for sin. What you will find is raw realness: uncensored stories by real people wrestling with the grit of real life. Lean in deep to Soul Bare. Your wounds have a place here. Your heart will find a home between these pages. You will see your real self in these stories. And you will glimpse our real God."

"What does it mean to be 'authentic'? We give the word a lot of reverence, but actually stepping out in authenticity remains a frightening prospect for many of us. There are those parts of our lives that we would rather not acknowledge, that we would rather forget, that we assume would isolate us if they were found out. Soul Bare is proof that authenticity never isolates, but always invites new growth and community. Any reader is bound to find him or herself in these pages somewhere."

"I held my breath, I cried, I shuddered, I whispered prayers, I ached. Most of all, I fell more deeply in love with Jesus through these words and stories. I can't help but think how wide and deep and long this love is that finds us all so broken and yet so beautiful."