Jan 29, 2020

Road to Hope by Dena Jansen REVIEW + GIVEAWAY

ROAD TO HOPE: How One Woman Went from Doubting Her Path to Embracing Her Inner Journey by Dena Jansen Genre: Memoir / Inspirational / Christian Life Publication Date: November 15, 2019 Number of Pages: 240 pages

Have you ever felt stuck? If so, you are not alone. As a 36-year-old wife, mother, and corporate executive, Dena Jansen’s life looked successful by society’s standards. But she found herself at an intersection—stranded at a real-life crossroads in her life.

Over a matter of years, darkness and doubt slowly crept in, leaving her unsure and unsettled in her life, marriage, and career. And after stalling out multiple times and nearly wrecking everything, she finally grabbed hold of a life-saving truth:

She had a choice to make. She could stay stuck, or she could try and find new roads that would lead to the peace and joy she was looking for.

With a glimmer of hope, Dena embraced the gifts of curiosity and grace and began a journey of self-discovery. And she chose to believe in a new truth:

She was meant for more and could no longer settle.

In Road to Hope, Dena invites you to join her as she wanders the roads she traveled and take anything you need from her story to help you in yours. She shares how she grew from a woman who doubted her path to one who is confident and ready for the next adventure. And she wants you to experience a similar shift. And more than that, she believes you can.

CLICK TO PURCHASE: Amazon

This was my first audiobook of the decade and it did not disappoint. First off, I loved immediately connecting with her as a "number-crunching and rule-following auditor", even thought she might not still be one, I still felt that bond! Road to Hope was an extremely personal journey that was more to encourage than advise. She didn't necessarily sit there and list the steps on how to do things, but gave you an honest look into how she changed her life, bumps and all. Her struggles seemed to serve as a great checks and balance system to remind the reader to constantly look at your life from different perspective, making sure you are still on the path you originally intended. Dena's honesty inspired some personal introspection while also being a great road map in things that worked and didn't work for her, hopefully helping the reader and myself avoid just a few mistakes on their own journey. Her so openly discussing her marriage with its' tensions and brick walls from that family road trip to the highfiving kitchen one-on-one were my favorite parts of this book. It was brutal at times but it was hard to not empathize to some degree. It had me teary-eyed envisioning being in those situations and possibly seeing my marriage heading in that directions so her openness definitely gave me food for thought to make sure I'm always safeguarding my marriage and we are openly communicating. My only fallback on this was the beginning. It started off with an introduction, which was fine because that's where I found out right off the bat that we had similar career paths, but then she explained why she wrote this book and went on this journey and to me it was almost a little too much over explaining. We are all on a journey, if we know it or not, and you don't ever need to validate why your journey is worth sharing. Also, I'm reading your book hoping to find out for myself why you wrote this book and find my own meanings and interpretations to your journey. My only thought was that no groundwork was needed because I'm already here and ready to dive in.

Whether I purchase, borrow, or receive a book in exchange for a review, my goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive regardless.

Dena Jansen’s calling to lift others up is profoundly personal. She understands the fears and doubts that hold people back because she has them too. Her own path to fulfillment is a real-life journey that’s still very much in progress. As a CPA and retired partner from Austin-based CPA firm Maxwell Locke & Ritter, she launched Dena Speaks to inspire potential seeking individuals and businesses. Dena shares life and love with her husband, JP, and their two children, Trace, and Elizabeth in Buda, Texas. She loves romantic comedy movies, listening to podcasts, and spending time with her family and friends

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ONE WINNER: Signed copy + $10 Starbucks Gift Card + Dena Speaks swag TWO WINNERS: Signed paperback OR audio code + $10 Starbucks Gift Card JANUARY 21-31, 2020 (U.S. Only)