Book Review: Choosing Gladness

Julie Anderson’s 1999 book, Choosing Gladness, was meant for ladies, but we men might need to read it, too! The book’s subtitle, Letting God Occupy Your Heart, speaks to the nature of the book.

I like the use of the word “choosing” in the title. Anderson does a good job of making the point that gladness is a choice, and she does so quite often in the book. That is something, I feel, those of us who preach need to present more often.

The theme verse for the entire book is Ecclesiastes 5:20:

He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

This verse is found in chapter 1, then opposite the beginning page of each of the remaining twelve chapters.

In my opinion, the book got better (more helpful) as I read it. The thoughts presented from about chapter 8 onward were things I needed more than were the “introductory” things of the first few chapters. Those were interesting, and worth reading, but I found the last half more practical.

Another positive of this book is that Anderson stays on subject. “Gladness” is a broad topic, but one that could lead to a lot of rabbit chasing. Obviously using her subtitle as a guide, Anderson does well to stay within the topic of God and gladness.

There are a couple of drawbacks to the book. Personally, there were some references to certain things, such as the Holy Spirit, that were a bit uncomfortable for me. I’m not uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit, but how He works. I think Anderson uses some liberties with that topic.

Also, on a much lesser note, if you are thinking of teaching this book, be warned that the chapters are all different lengths. Some are just a couple of pages, while one was so long that I almost feel asleep reading it. It was not because the content was boring, it was just so much longer than the other chapters that I wasn’t prepared for it.

Overall, the book is a good read and a book that you will enjoy. There are a couple of issues that you will need to take with a grain of salt, but the book is worth your time.