Finding freedom (by Joyce Huggett)

(Amazon UK link)

I had very much appreciated the books I had previously read by Joyce Huggett, and I reread them from time to time. So when I saw another of her books, ‘Finding freedom’, on the shelves of friends who were giving away books, it was an easy decision to acquire it. Joyce Huggett and her husband lived in Cyprus for six years while we were here, but I don’t think I ever met her.

The subtitle of this book is, ‘becoming the person God made me to be’, and each chapter focuses on an aspect of freedom - from false expectations, from sin, from past experiences, and more. As with the author’s other works, this book is biblically sound, with plenty of scripture references. The writing is good, and well organised too. 

But I have to admit, I found it a bit heavy-going in places, and mostly not really relevant to me. Not that I disagreed with anything as such. But perhaps it’s intended for rather younger people, or those new to faith. The first chapter, for instance, simply covers the essence of the gospel - of the freedom we find when making a commitment to trust and follow Jesus. The author gives a few examples of people who experience release from past sins, and from feelings of guilt, often far in excess of what was done wrong.

And yes, this is an essential starting place for anyone who is not a believer. But it seems to me unlikely that anyone who is not a Christian would pick up this book to read. The second chapter may be more useful for those who have made a commitment, but who have not found real freedom. It concentrates more on the gradual aspects of our transformation, as we spend more time with God, and allow him to change our hearts and minds.

Subsequent chapters introduce the Holy Spirit, stressing the importance of listening to the third member of the Trinity, and also focus on the importance of reading, studying and meditating on the Bible. None of it new to me; and for some reason it didn’t even read like a useful reminder or inspiration. It’s more of a factual book in a sense, covering a lot of information in the Christian life, with some examples, but not much that I could relate to at this stage of my life.

I was also mildly irritated at the repeated invitations to ‘envisage’ or ‘imagine’ certain things. Many people (including myself) don’t have the ability to close our eyes and ‘see’ images. Aphantasia is a cognitive variance that apparently affects between one and four per cent of the population. Imagination is more cerebral, and trying - for instance - to review the past twenty-four hours like a movie is completely impossible for those with aphantasia, though I can, of course, recall concepts, words, ideas and so on. 

At the end of each chapter there are a few ideas for ‘personal reflection’, some of which were mildly interesting, others of which I mostly skipped over.  And the final chapter looks in some detail at oppression, temptation and more, and ways of overcoming the evil one. 

While I’m glad I read ‘Finding freedom’, it’s not one I’m likely to turn to in future, nor one I would recommend in general. On the other hand, for someone new to the Christian faith, or struggling with past burdens, it might well offer a positive way forward. Joyce Huggett and her husband spent a lot of time working with students, so this may be more appropriate for people at university, or in their twenties.

This book is no longer in print, but can sometimes be found used at a reasonable price. 

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