A Book to Talk About: All My Knotted-Up Life

For the past 20 years, Beth Moore has been in my eye-sight. While she doesn’t know me, I’ve known of her for a long time. In the early 2000’s, I was in a Bible study with women older and wiser than I. Together, we did three studies by Beth Moore, two of which are implanted deep into my soul. I have watched and followed her with great interest in the past decade as she has taken stands that have been biblical and controversial and have her cost so much. In the past years, I have been moved by her habits of prayer and worked to practice them. She is a person I admire deeply.

And then she wrote a memoir. And I just knew I had to read it. I read it in a heartbeat, which was way too fast. Now, I just need to talk about it. So let’s talk about this book.

Beth Moore’s memoir, All My Knotted-Up Life was released in Winter 2022. This is the story of her life, told in her words. From her earliest years in Arkansas to moving to Texas in high school to her marriage, her family, and her faith, Beth has put it all out there. But what she hasn’t done is been gratuitous with her experiences. With grace and the benefit of years, Beth tells her story, that includes a fair amount of heartache and pain, in a way that is moving but not graphic.

This story does contain thoughtfully written stories about abuse at the hands of a parent, mental illness, physical illness, and her very public split with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2018.

I’m not sure that anyone is going to have a book club meeting about Beth’s book, but I am sure there will be plenty of people talking about it. Since that will be true, here are some places of connection for a conversation about it.

Conversation

1. How have you experienced Beth Moore in your own life? Have you done one of her Bible studies? Attended a live event? Followed her on social media?
2. What was your impression of her before you read her story? How do you consider her now?
3. Clearly, Beth has an incredible memory, to be able to gather such detail and emotion into her story. Do you have a story from your early life that would be fun to share?

Camaraderie

1. Did you have any points of connection with Beth’s story? What were they?
2. Sometimes Beths stories are laugh-out-loud funny. What stories did you find funny?
3. The back cover says this book is “a poignant reminder of God’s enduring faithfulness, and proof positive that if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories….we’d all walk around slack-jawed.” Did you have this experience with Beth’s story? How about when you look into your own story or the stories of the people who circle you?

Compassion

1. Beth writes frankly about a number of challenging topics: abuse at the hands of a parent, a “disappearing parent”, mental illness, the challenges of adoption/foster care, significant mental and physical illnesses, misogyny and the consequences of the 2016 election, and abuse of power and misconduct in the Church. Were there any points of connection for you? Did any of her stories affect you in a personal way?
2. Throughout every single story Beth tells, she weaves stories of God’s faithfulness, nearness, and provision. How did her unwavering belief in the midst of such challenging circumstances affect you?
3. If you could ask Beth one question, what would it be?

One More Thing…

I am familiar enough with Beth Moore that I could read the pages of this book and hear her voice in my head. I have heard fabulous things about the audio version of this book, which Beth reads in her own voice. If you are a reluctant reader, but would still like to be impacted by this story, get the Audio Version. I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

Your Thoughts?

Have you read All My Knotted-Up Life? What did you think? I’d love to chat with you about it. (I have so very much to say and no one to really say it to. I’d love to tell you!)