Book Review: Your Secret Name

Motivational, Excellent, Captivating.

 

One of my favorite quotes is, “The true self is rooted in being, rather than proving.” There are so many small passages like this throughout the book that left me feeling hopeful, encouraged, and motivated in my faith. At times, it felt like God was speaking directly to areas of my life through what I was reading. At the heart of the book is a question I think we all ask ourselves at some point: Who am I becoming? Who am I meant to become? The author explores the identity God gave us from the beginning of creation, how that identity becomes distorted by the world and the people around us, and how God begins peeling back the layers and masks we have accumulated. I especially loved the reminder that beneath all of those layers, what God created was already enough.

Like the other books in this series, this book also returns to Genesis and explores the idea that there is something important we often miss when reading the creation story. I loved the way the author connected this back to identity and explained how it affects us not only as people and Christians, but as God's children. This perspective awakened me to something new in Scripture while also reigniting something in my own heart that I felt had been missing. Chapter by chapter, I was reminded that God has given me a name, He knows the deepest parts of me, and I do not have to construct my identity from labels, masks, accomplishments, successes, or what other people expect me to be. There was something incredibly freeing about that reminder.

I also appreciated how the book touches on things we may easily overlook. One of the smaller passages that stayed with me was about silence and stillness. It made me think about how surrounded we are by noise—not only literal noise, but expectations, opinions, distractions, and all the different voices competing for our attention. The reflection on silence reminded me how important stillness can be when trying to discern what truly matters. I also loved how naturally all of the subjects connect: who we are becoming, our names and identities, what God says about us through creation, who the world tells us to become, and ultimately redemption. There is so much wisdom packed into these pages, yet the author carries the reader through each subject with gentleness rather than making the book feel overwhelming.