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Ashley’s Year In Books

Ashley’s 2025 Year in Books

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Ashley Hofmann

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April 2010

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Ashley Hofmann’s books

Average rating: 5.0 · 1 rating · 1 review · 1 distinct work

The Daring Girls

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions

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Midnight Hallelujah: Why Hope is Still Worth the Risk

by Ebie Hepworth

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Ashley said: " A lovely, little book with a whole lot going on. Hepworth, no stranger to disappointment, sorrow, and waiting in the unknown, writes convincingly on the “risk” of hope, particularly during those darkest times. Tenderly, empathetically, she validates A lovely, little book with a whole lot going on. Hepworth, no stranger to disappointment, sorrow, and waiting in the unknown, writes convincingly on the “risk” of hope, particularly during those darkest times. Tenderly, empathetically, she validates lament and grief. Readers are not exhorted to think positively, count their blessings, or shrug and say (cheerfully) everything happens for a reason. Instead, Hepworth describes hope as an active, wrestling thing. A risky but worthwhile thing.

Imaginary conversations with Sarah of the Old Testament brought an interesting angle. I wasn’t sure the approach would work, and these scenes are indeed a tad overwritten, but the Sarah thing worked for me, mostly.

Some minor quibbles. For maybe the first third of the book, I had trouble figuring out where we were in time or in the trajectory of events when Hepworth was in memoir mode. (“Wait, after WHAT surgeries?” or “Wait, so Asa’s treatment already started?”) Second, and perhaps this would only bug me, Hepworth has a writing habit that sets up many, many sentences with “It’s not X; it’s X." Sometimes four or five times on a single page. This structure can be very effective when used judiciously, but not at the frequency seen in this text. Lead with the truth, not the “not” thing! Of course, once you’re annoyed by the set-up, you can’t stop seeing it. And that’s distracting.

I particularly liked Hepworth’s view of “testimony” (I prefer the term “telling,” because the other word is a little too evangelical youth group-y, but that’s a personal thing): “This is why testimonies must be normalized in the life of faith. Not whispered. Not postponed until resolution arrives. But spoken with the same reverence as the miracle on the mountaintop. Because there are saints who will not see restoration on this side of heaven, and their staying [hoping, awaiting] is no less faithful” (p. 201). Current suffering, wrestling with hope, and taking yet another chance for disappointment should be shared, validated, and for the love of all that is good, not dismissed with platitudes. Throughout, there’s a strong sense of in-the-thick-of-it-ness that will surely resonate with many readers.

Recommended.

(Thanks, NetGalley, for the preview and chance to review.) ...more "

2 hours, 17 min ago · see review

Ashley is currently reading

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

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Apr 22, 2026 09:28AM

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Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy

by Frances Mayes (Goodreads Author)

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Apr 12, 2026 04:43PM

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Ashley rated a book really liked it Midnight Hallelujah: Why Hope is Still Worth the Risk by Ebie Hepworth	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A lovely, little book with a whole lot going on. Hepworth, no stranger to disappointment, sorrow, and waiting in the unknown, writes convincingly on the “risk” of hope, particularly during those darkest times. Tenderly, empathetically, she validates ...more
2 hours, 17 min ago · like · see review
Ashley rated a book really liked it We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Premise: Ash's BFF since forever is dying of cancer, and it is SAD. Skillfully, brilliantly, disarmingly, and rather hilariously, Newman writes of Edie's final time in hospice without schmaltzy teariness or over-the-top emotional predictability. Oh, ...more
21 hours, 37 min ago · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ashley rated a book liked it The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I got to the end of this book with the slightly uncomfortable feeling that I didn't particularly LIKE Thomas Merton. He came across as entitled (of course, this part was in his wayward youth), judgmental, and too certain of things. And his attitude t ...more
May 25, 2026 02:33PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ashley rated a book really liked it Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A 3.87899. The timeline bouncing felt choppy and disorienting at times. There was A Big Reveal toward the end that I didn't think was quite necessary--it seemed a little gratuitous, and the writing and other plotting was strong enough without it. But. ...more
May 25, 2026 11:02AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ashley rated a book liked it The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I got to the end of this book with the slightly uncomfortable feeling that I didn't particularly LIKE Thomas Merton. He came across as entitled (of course, this part was in his wayward youth), judgmental, and too certain of things. And his attitude t ...more
May 22, 2026 02:47PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ashley rated a book it was amazing Reframing Intimacy: A Faith-Filled Guide to Sex, Desire, and Connection by Kelsey Mathias	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I have VIEWS on how the church has approached sex, particularly the insidious ways in which those in power have reduced women to mere bodies and then hated them for it. I loathe purity culture. And on and on—and there are plenty of books out there th ...more
May 21, 2026 03:29PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Reframing Intimacy by Kelsey Mathias. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Reframing Intimacy by Kelsey Mathias <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Ashley wants to read Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Ashley wants to read The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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