Posers, Fakers, & Wannabes: (Unmasking the Real You)

From the reality of a Poser, faker, and wannabe I was unmasked. Brennan writes with the authority of the hurting, downtrodden addict, and crawls into your heart with insight only achieved by being there! I have read, and given away more Brennan Manning books to men behind bars than any books beside the Bible. Brennan knows the men I minister to. He writes as one of them. He writes as if my Lord and Savior were dictating his manuscript; (which would not surprise me)!

"Abba's Child" is, in my opinion, the quintessential Brennan Manning. Though I have thoroughly enjoyed all that he has written. I have read and reread the book many times over as there is too much to process at first pass. "Posers, Fakers, and Wannabes" is a student adaptation of "Abba's Child." While, in general, I am not a fan of audience adapted works, I had heard good things and purchased a copy to give away to a younger friend of mine. Of course I wanted to peruse it before giving it away and found myself reading it through, enthralled by the original content with new language. I found it to be equally as powerful-- not the least watered or dumbed down. If you have read any other Manning, or if you are an avid reader and contemplative thinker, go ahead and buy "Abba's Child." But, regardless of who you are, "Posers, Fakers, and Wannabes" is a well done adaptation of a great book. I don't believe you will be disappointed.

This wonderful book reinforces the notion (absurd to many) that "God loves us exactly the way we are - but that he loves us too much to let us stay like this." A true shot in the arm for anyone seeking the truth about God and self, and wondering what's next in life. Despite the disarming title, Manning has not written a "self-help" book, he's written about divine help, found through surrender and brokenness before God. Every page drips with trenchant observations, amusing anecdotes, quotes from notable thinkers and philosophers (Carl Jung among them) and quotes from the Bible (using the wonderfully direct and earthy translation from "The Message"). "Posers, Fakes & Wannabes" is so full of wisdom, humor, and "Big Ideas", I found myself savoring the opportunity to spend time with this book, reading, and rereading many passages, thinking about my own life and about God. And, no, this book is not "heady stuff" for academics. Written in plain spoken prose, this book is appropriate for anyone, from teenagers to geezers. A must-have for "the seekers" among us.