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Collide: Running Into Healing When Life Hands You Hurt
What if your pain is the place where healing begins?
Life doesn’t always turn out the way we hoped. Heartbreak, trauma, loss, shame—it can leave us feeling shattered, overwhelmed, and messy. We often try to run from our hurt, but we never get far. Our unresolved pain comes out sideways appearing as anxiety, unforgiveness, friendship break-ups, big feelings and discontentment. But what if healing our hurt is possible? What if our healing can help those hurting around us?
In Collide, Willow Weston invites you to bravely let Jesus run into your hurt—trusting it’s right there that He collides with your mess and brokenness to bring healing, freedom, and transformation.
Through Willow’s own broken and raw story—we are given permission to be real. She will help you understand how Jesus collides with the messiest parts of our lives, not to condemn, but to walk with us, heal what’s hurting, and begin the slow, beautiful work of making us whole.
With honesty, compassion, humor, and deep spiritual insight, Willow helps the roots of your past hurt and recognize how it’s shaping your presentconfront the harmful patterns and beliefs that keep you stuckdiscover that emotional healing begins not by avoiding your hurt, but by bravely stepping into itexplore what Scripture says about pain, weakness, and the nearness of Godexperience healing that not only transforms your own life, but also brings restoration to those around youCollide is a powerful invitation to run—limping, weeping, doubting, hopeful—straight into the arms of Jesus. Because it’s there, in the collision of your pain and His presence, that true healing can begin.
Life doesn’t always turn out the way we hoped. Heartbreak, trauma, loss, shame—it can leave us feeling shattered, overwhelmed, and messy. We often try to run from our hurt, but we never get far. Our unresolved pain comes out sideways appearing as anxiety, unforgiveness, friendship break-ups, big feelings and discontentment. But what if healing our hurt is possible? What if our healing can help those hurting around us?
In Collide, Willow Weston invites you to bravely let Jesus run into your hurt—trusting it’s right there that He collides with your mess and brokenness to bring healing, freedom, and transformation.
Through Willow’s own broken and raw story—we are given permission to be real. She will help you understand how Jesus collides with the messiest parts of our lives, not to condemn, but to walk with us, heal what’s hurting, and begin the slow, beautiful work of making us whole.
With honesty, compassion, humor, and deep spiritual insight, Willow helps the roots of your past hurt and recognize how it’s shaping your presentconfront the harmful patterns and beliefs that keep you stuckdiscover that emotional healing begins not by avoiding your hurt, but by bravely stepping into itexplore what Scripture says about pain, weakness, and the nearness of Godexperience healing that not only transforms your own life, but also brings restoration to those around youCollide is a powerful invitation to run—limping, weeping, doubting, hopeful—straight into the arms of Jesus. Because it’s there, in the collision of your pain and His presence, that true healing can begin.
272 pages, Paperback
Published March 10, 2026
About the author
Willow Weston
8 books33 followersWillow Weston is an author, speaker, podcast host, and founder of Collide, a Pacific Northwest ministry creating spaces for women to encounter Jesus and experience healing, hope, and transformation. With over 25 years in ministry, she brings passion, truth, and story into every room.
She is the author of Collide: Running into Healing When Life Hands You Hurt, where she vulnerably shares her own story of brokenness and beauty, inviting readers to courageously face unresolved pain, find healing in Jesus, and embrace lasting hope.
If you’re navigating hurt, longing for healing, or wanting to grow in your faith, you’ll find a safe place here.
When she’s not writing or speaking, Willow is a wife and mom who loves coffee, the beach, sunset skies, meaningful conversations, and gathering people together.
She is the author of Collide: Running into Healing When Life Hands You Hurt, where she vulnerably shares her own story of brokenness and beauty, inviting readers to courageously face unresolved pain, find healing in Jesus, and embrace lasting hope.
If you’re navigating hurt, longing for healing, or wanting to grow in your faith, you’ll find a safe place here.
When she’s not writing or speaking, Willow is a wife and mom who loves coffee, the beach, sunset skies, meaningful conversations, and gathering people together.
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July 16, 2026As someone who grew up with many similar experiences to the author, I thought this book would really resonate with me, but unfortunately I felt it missed the mark.
My first issue with this book is that, in my opinion, there is nothing unique or profound about it. The advice is very standard. There are very few practical, actionable tips. Instead, Weston often says “Just do it. Just forgive. Just collide with Jesus. Just start healing.” It sounds so great and simple, but if it was that easy, no one would even need to read this book. All of the Biblical references she uses are also very well-known and much discussed. I don’t think Weston’s commentary added anything new to the mix.
Secondly, Collide reads more like the author’s memoir than a spiritual growth or Christian self-help book. The vast, vast majority is dedicated to stories and anecdotes from the author’s life. I can understand including a few anecdotes to illustrate various points, but this amount really kept the focus on the author and made it difficult for me to process my own experiences as I read. The sections about the author’s mother in particular made me question what the point of the book was. Weston would list problematic incidents from her life involving her mother, and then follow it with paragraph after paragraph of positive stories about her mother taking her canoeing or cooking her a delicious meal. It came off as if Weston was trying so hard to convince the reader (or maybe herself?) that her mother was actually a good person? I was really confused by this pattern, especially because it was repeated so often in the book. It almost seemed like she spent more time trying to convince the reader that her mother was good than that Jesus can heal you.
Perhaps my biggest issue with this book is it does not address what I feel to be a MAJOR concern for anyone who grew up like I/Weston did: what to do with a person who wants to stay in or return to your life WITHOUT changing. One of the main stories in this book revolves around John, Weston’s mother’s abusive ex-boyfriend, who contacts Willow out of the blue several decades after they last met to ask to meet with her. At this meeting, John apologizes and he and Weston reconnect, developing a healthier relationship than ever before. This is a great story and a testament to God’s healing power, but Weston does not address the fact that there are people in the world who either do not want to change or whom, for some reason, God does not see fit to change (at this point or maybe ever). What would’ve happened if Weston had met John and he had said “I decided I want to start abusing you and your mom again. I’m going to move in with your mom and lock her out in the cold again. I’m not going to apologize for what happened to you when you were younger, because I don’t feel bad about it.” How is a person to deal with a situation like this? It happens. As great as it is to encourage people to “just collide with other hurting people and start healing”, it’s virtually impossible to do that if the other person refuses to recognize their inappropriate behavior and change and heal, too. I’m not talking about forgiveness here - you can forgive someone whether or not they repent and change their behavior. But allowing them to stay in or return to your life at the same time is a totally different matter.
This brings me back to the point about Weston’s mother. This entire book is supposed to be about healing ourselves, then healing and helping those around us, particularly those who have hurt us because they were hurting. Weston starts the book by telling an anecdote about hiding in a closet to avoid her mother who was a neglectful alcoholic during all of Willow’s childhood. This incident prompts Weston to begin therapy (more on that later), and after this it seems Weston assumes some sort of renewed relationship with her mother. We, however, get no details of this. Since the author spent so much time telling stories about her life in general, I found it really odd that she gave no specific details about what it was like to reincorporate her mother into her life. Did Willow sit her mother down and explain how she had been hurt? Did Willow’s mother promise to change? I’m sure there were stumbling blocks, but where and how often? The damaged relationship between a parent and child is one that so many of us deal with on a daily basis. I think including these details would’ve been very helpful for many people. Then again, towards the end of the book it did not seem like Willow was able to heal her relationship with her mother very much. After her mother’s death, Weston makes a comment that her mother lived in denial, playing pretend and blaming Willow for her problems. Willow and her mom never talked about this? Or did they and we just don’t hear about it? Then Willow notes that her mother moved closer to her near the end of her life “but far enough away that I didn’t have to deal with her drinking on the daily”. I found this really odd considering a few chapters previously Willow was encouraging us to “get out of the boat” and actually follow Jesus’ example by dealing with difficult, unpleasant people to help them heal (“...you can’t say you follow Jesus and not follow Jesus into the places He goes” pg. 177). Willow didn’t want to deal with her mom?? Again, if she had addressed in this book what to do about a person who does not want to change, maybe this would be less confusing to me… It was just so strange to me how in a book about helping to heal those who hurt you, Willow was apparently unable to help heal her mother, and this was glossed over.
Now, about therapy/counseling. As mentioned previously in my review, Weston decided to attend a therapy session after hiding in a closet to avoid her mother. In this session, Weston says she experiences a Presence and begins referring to God as “the Counselor” versus the counselor who she was paying to talk to. Basically, she says that in the session she realizes the counselor was useless, and she just needed to follow the Counselor. That’s great, but I really thought this part was rude to mental health professionals who work so hard to understand and help their patients. I also thought it was strange because at the very beginning of the book Weston lamented how other Christians just slap a Jesus band-aid on any problem and call it good, but that’s basically what happened here. Instead of attending routine therapy to work through problems, she was visited by the Counselor. That can and does happen, but not to everyone, and not all the time. Why not be a bit more encouraging about the process of seeking therapy and/or counseling? So many Christians discredit this type of help, saying you can just “pray for healing” or ask God to take away your burden and - poof - it’s done. Even if Weston herself didn’t continue therapy for her problems, I would’ve liked to see mental healthcare promoted in a more positive way instead of saying “I tried it, but I didn’t actually need it, because I have Jesus!”.
I also found the writing style extremely difficult to connect to. It was casual to the point of seeming like a rough draft, and several times the author threw in phrases that I thought were quite irreverent ("getting up in Jesus’ grill”, for example, or talking about Jesus “clapping back” at someone). To be clear here, I’m not someone who believes that we need to spend every moment quaking in holy awe of God, but I also think there’s a good middle ground between proper reverence and treating Him like our buddy from down the street. I was frequently distracted by the author’s deeeciiiision tooooo typpeeeee liiikkeeee thisssss. I’m really not sure what that style was supposed to convey, but it made me read every line that was written that way in the tone of a whiny-teenager.
There was some unusual interpretation of Scripture in this book, too. At one point Weston writes that “things [in the Garden of Eden] were perfect and then Adam, the first father, blew it…” I think that here she was trying to compare Adam to her own father who had a largely negative impact on her life, but I have never heard anyone interpret The Fall as “Adam blowing it”. Later she mentions the centurion from Matthew 8 as suffering from negative self-belief and feeling unworthy. I’m not sure how she got that interpretation from what we’re given in Scripture. It’s well-known that Jews did not associate with Gentiles, considered them dirty, etc., but there’s no evidence that this particular Roman felt inferior to Jews in any way (as a Roman he could’ve actually felt superior, but in his desperation he wanted to try anything to heal his slave). The centurion probably discouraged Jesus from coming into his house because he knew it was forbidden for Jews to visit Gentile homes and he was trying to be culturally sensitive. I’m not sure that being unworthy comes into it at all. Also, would someone who had negative self-belief feel comfortable getting “right up in Jesus’ grill”, as Weston puts it? I don’t think so.
If you are looking for a similar book with a different writing style and more actionable advice, I recommend Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst.
My first issue with this book is that, in my opinion, there is nothing unique or profound about it. The advice is very standard. There are very few practical, actionable tips. Instead, Weston often says “Just do it. Just forgive. Just collide with Jesus. Just start healing.” It sounds so great and simple, but if it was that easy, no one would even need to read this book. All of the Biblical references she uses are also very well-known and much discussed. I don’t think Weston’s commentary added anything new to the mix.
Secondly, Collide reads more like the author’s memoir than a spiritual growth or Christian self-help book. The vast, vast majority is dedicated to stories and anecdotes from the author’s life. I can understand including a few anecdotes to illustrate various points, but this amount really kept the focus on the author and made it difficult for me to process my own experiences as I read. The sections about the author’s mother in particular made me question what the point of the book was. Weston would list problematic incidents from her life involving her mother, and then follow it with paragraph after paragraph of positive stories about her mother taking her canoeing or cooking her a delicious meal. It came off as if Weston was trying so hard to convince the reader (or maybe herself?) that her mother was actually a good person? I was really confused by this pattern, especially because it was repeated so often in the book. It almost seemed like she spent more time trying to convince the reader that her mother was good than that Jesus can heal you.
Perhaps my biggest issue with this book is it does not address what I feel to be a MAJOR concern for anyone who grew up like I/Weston did: what to do with a person who wants to stay in or return to your life WITHOUT changing. One of the main stories in this book revolves around John, Weston’s mother’s abusive ex-boyfriend, who contacts Willow out of the blue several decades after they last met to ask to meet with her. At this meeting, John apologizes and he and Weston reconnect, developing a healthier relationship than ever before. This is a great story and a testament to God’s healing power, but Weston does not address the fact that there are people in the world who either do not want to change or whom, for some reason, God does not see fit to change (at this point or maybe ever). What would’ve happened if Weston had met John and he had said “I decided I want to start abusing you and your mom again. I’m going to move in with your mom and lock her out in the cold again. I’m not going to apologize for what happened to you when you were younger, because I don’t feel bad about it.” How is a person to deal with a situation like this? It happens. As great as it is to encourage people to “just collide with other hurting people and start healing”, it’s virtually impossible to do that if the other person refuses to recognize their inappropriate behavior and change and heal, too. I’m not talking about forgiveness here - you can forgive someone whether or not they repent and change their behavior. But allowing them to stay in or return to your life at the same time is a totally different matter.
This brings me back to the point about Weston’s mother. This entire book is supposed to be about healing ourselves, then healing and helping those around us, particularly those who have hurt us because they were hurting. Weston starts the book by telling an anecdote about hiding in a closet to avoid her mother who was a neglectful alcoholic during all of Willow’s childhood. This incident prompts Weston to begin therapy (more on that later), and after this it seems Weston assumes some sort of renewed relationship with her mother. We, however, get no details of this. Since the author spent so much time telling stories about her life in general, I found it really odd that she gave no specific details about what it was like to reincorporate her mother into her life. Did Willow sit her mother down and explain how she had been hurt? Did Willow’s mother promise to change? I’m sure there were stumbling blocks, but where and how often? The damaged relationship between a parent and child is one that so many of us deal with on a daily basis. I think including these details would’ve been very helpful for many people. Then again, towards the end of the book it did not seem like Willow was able to heal her relationship with her mother very much. After her mother’s death, Weston makes a comment that her mother lived in denial, playing pretend and blaming Willow for her problems. Willow and her mom never talked about this? Or did they and we just don’t hear about it? Then Willow notes that her mother moved closer to her near the end of her life “but far enough away that I didn’t have to deal with her drinking on the daily”. I found this really odd considering a few chapters previously Willow was encouraging us to “get out of the boat” and actually follow Jesus’ example by dealing with difficult, unpleasant people to help them heal (“...you can’t say you follow Jesus and not follow Jesus into the places He goes” pg. 177). Willow didn’t want to deal with her mom?? Again, if she had addressed in this book what to do about a person who does not want to change, maybe this would be less confusing to me… It was just so strange to me how in a book about helping to heal those who hurt you, Willow was apparently unable to help heal her mother, and this was glossed over.
Now, about therapy/counseling. As mentioned previously in my review, Weston decided to attend a therapy session after hiding in a closet to avoid her mother. In this session, Weston says she experiences a Presence and begins referring to God as “the Counselor” versus the counselor who she was paying to talk to. Basically, she says that in the session she realizes the counselor was useless, and she just needed to follow the Counselor. That’s great, but I really thought this part was rude to mental health professionals who work so hard to understand and help their patients. I also thought it was strange because at the very beginning of the book Weston lamented how other Christians just slap a Jesus band-aid on any problem and call it good, but that’s basically what happened here. Instead of attending routine therapy to work through problems, she was visited by the Counselor. That can and does happen, but not to everyone, and not all the time. Why not be a bit more encouraging about the process of seeking therapy and/or counseling? So many Christians discredit this type of help, saying you can just “pray for healing” or ask God to take away your burden and - poof - it’s done. Even if Weston herself didn’t continue therapy for her problems, I would’ve liked to see mental healthcare promoted in a more positive way instead of saying “I tried it, but I didn’t actually need it, because I have Jesus!”.
I also found the writing style extremely difficult to connect to. It was casual to the point of seeming like a rough draft, and several times the author threw in phrases that I thought were quite irreverent ("getting up in Jesus’ grill”, for example, or talking about Jesus “clapping back” at someone). To be clear here, I’m not someone who believes that we need to spend every moment quaking in holy awe of God, but I also think there’s a good middle ground between proper reverence and treating Him like our buddy from down the street. I was frequently distracted by the author’s deeeciiiision tooooo typpeeeee liiikkeeee thisssss. I’m really not sure what that style was supposed to convey, but it made me read every line that was written that way in the tone of a whiny-teenager.
There was some unusual interpretation of Scripture in this book, too. At one point Weston writes that “things [in the Garden of Eden] were perfect and then Adam, the first father, blew it…” I think that here she was trying to compare Adam to her own father who had a largely negative impact on her life, but I have never heard anyone interpret The Fall as “Adam blowing it”. Later she mentions the centurion from Matthew 8 as suffering from negative self-belief and feeling unworthy. I’m not sure how she got that interpretation from what we’re given in Scripture. It’s well-known that Jews did not associate with Gentiles, considered them dirty, etc., but there’s no evidence that this particular Roman felt inferior to Jews in any way (as a Roman he could’ve actually felt superior, but in his desperation he wanted to try anything to heal his slave). The centurion probably discouraged Jesus from coming into his house because he knew it was forbidden for Jews to visit Gentile homes and he was trying to be culturally sensitive. I’m not sure that being unworthy comes into it at all. Also, would someone who had negative self-belief feel comfortable getting “right up in Jesus’ grill”, as Weston puts it? I don’t think so.
If you are looking for a similar book with a different writing style and more actionable advice, I recommend Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst.
April 14, 2026
This is probably a solid 4, maybe a slight 3.5⭐️ I did really like this. There was so much truth in her words and she gave incredible biblical examples! My only thing with this book was that she talked about her unstable upbringing and the trauma with that. And I can’t relate to that on a personal level (thankfully!). Obviously, this book is for everyone and is applicable to everyone, not just individuals with trauma or deep hurts from their childhood. But it did, at times, make it a little harder to connect. Don’t get me wrong: I think she did great and I so appreciate her vulnerability and honesty in this book. She is showing her wounds and not letting them hold her back because she is healed by Jesus and I love that. She is so strong and gives examples of service and forgiveness. And sometimes I thought to myself “wow that would be so hard to do,” but we, as Christians, are called to do hard things and called to forgive and serve and love (not saying those are solely Christian things, but they are important of the Christian faith). So I admired her ‘examples’ and her real-life testimony of forgiveness and service and love and peace. It’s one thing to write a book like this - giving sort of Christian self-help vibes - but it’s another to live by the things she says/practices and to live like Jesus. I also really valued how she had Scripture throughout her chapters. Yes, the Holy Spirit can speak through us, and we love that, but bringing it back to Scripture is always a slay and we stan! I hadn’t heard of her ministry before, so I think this book could be such a big opportunity for her ministry and ‘movement’ of Collide to really expand. Willow lives on the West Coast, so I think it’s really cool to hear about her ministry from this book as an East Coast girlie. I loved the principle and guiding theme of her book and of her ministry, Collide. Despite my one small negative of relating to this book, I learned a lot and took a lot away from it. She had so many good one-liners that HIT and if you know, you know. A good one-liner can stop you in your tracks. I think this is a nice quick Christian read for anyone! We all have wounds, we all carry hurts of some form (whether we want to admit it or not), and Willow has done a great job of being sensitive/gentle with the reader while sharing her story and the ultimate Healer of our wounds, Jesus Christ.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, Tyndale, for this open-hearted, faith-filled ARC!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, Tyndale, for this open-hearted, faith-filled ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I cannot even express how incredible this book is. Willow is a phenomenal speaker and writer. She absolutely bears her soul and all of the pain she has faced so that we, as her readers, can see how much Jesus wants to collide with us. I truly believe everyone needs this book. If you are lost and need healing or think you are doing fine but really need healing, or are a human being, you need to read this book.
July 22, 2025
Willow holds nothing back in this perfect book that reaches right in our most sacred scared places. I was completely gripped by her story and related to so many “lessons” we learn from a very young age. Are you “moving on or moving with the pain” and were you also taught that “silence is strength?” Willow invites you to revisit trauma, grief, and heartache and to see all of the ways that Jesus collides with us in all of the messy places. This is a book full of reflection, and hurt, and heartache. It’s also a book of hope, and comfort and healing. As a pastors wife, I am incredibly thankful for this resource and will be putting it in the hands of many. Thank you Willow for telling your story with such openness and tenderness and inviting us in to your hurt and healing so we can begin our own journey of healing in the arms of Jesus.
July 18, 2026
One of the great dichotomies of the Christian life is that the places we work hardest to hide are often the very places where Christ desires to meet us most deeply. Willow Weston understands this paradox well, and in Collide, she invites readers to wrestle with this reality and find healing in Christ with candor, literary elegance, and bold biblical hope.
Part memoir, part discipleship guide, and part pastoral invitation, Collide doesn’t settle for self-help clichés, superficial “Christian-ese” encouragement, or formulaic calls toward healing. Instead, this book is fresh, vibrant, honest, and teeming with wisdom that’ll make you perk up, grab your highlighter, and think—Wow, that’s good.
Weston wields her pen with honesty, patience, and vulnerability as she walks alongside readers through the complex landscape of hidden wounds. She illuminates this territory by sharing her own. She usesd uses it to share the biblical reality that genuine healing begins not by pretending our pain no longer exists, but by courageously bringing it into the presence of our healer, Jesus Christ.
Storytelling is among Weston’s greatest gifts as a writer. Few Christian authors possess the ability to transform difficult personal experiences into narratives that feel at once intimate, universally resonant, and spiritually instructive. Her unforgettable opening account of hiding in a closet with her infant daughter immediately establishes both the weight and sophistication of the book. Throughout these pages that unfold, moments of heartbreak are balanced with wit, warmth, and disarming honesty, creating a reading experience that is as creative as it is spiritually formative.
Among this book’s many strengths, what impressed me most was Weston’s pastoral gift for communicating gospel truth through story. Her personal testimony—and the entire arc of Collide—serves to illuminate the greatest story of the Gospel. She consistently points readers to Jesus, revealing His faithfulness, compassion, tenderness, and unwavering goodness in ways that feel natural and accessible. Naturally and gently, her story redirects the reader’s gaze to Christ, illuminating the facets of His character that wounded hearts most need to know to heal.
Jesus emerges from these pages as He does through the lives of faithful disciples: through the honest witness of those who have encountered Him, been transformed by Him, and now speak from the overflow of His living water, welling up within. Weston writes as one who has drunk deeply from the living water Christ offers the weary. It is this ability to shepherd those who are hurting to the heart of Christ—not just merely describe Him—that makes Collide stand apart in today’s Christian publishing landscape.
Weston also offers a needed corrective to a tendency that has quietly found its way into many Christian circles: the temptation to substitute spiritual or encouraging language for genuine healing. Her reminder that faithfulness is not the absence or avoidance of pain, but the willingness to invite Christ into it, is an important contribution. In an age increasingly aware of trauma yet often unsure how to integrate emotional health with biblical discipleship, Collide provides a thoughtful work that is theologically grounded, pastorally tender, and genuinely transformative.
This book isn’t only for the hurting; it’s for all of us living in the tension of the already and the not yet, learning to know and cling to Christ in a fallen world. I didn’t expect Collide to touch me as it did. But this book shepherded me softly toward honest self-examination and a deeper appreciation of Christ’s character and His healing work on the cross. It helped me recognize wounds I had long overlooked and gave me the courage to place them into the loving hands of my Savior. Long after I finished reading, I found myself reflecting not merely on Weston’s story, but on my own—the places where I still need to reach out and grasp the hem of His robe with faith in who His word says He is, and who He says I am. Whether readers are walking through suffering or simply longing to know Jesus more, I believe they will come away from these pages encouraged, challenged, and drawn closer to Him, as I did.
I would especially recommend Collide to women seeking a refreshing and restorative read, women’s Bible studies, pastors, biblical counselors, ministry leaders, small groups, and believers navigating unresolved grief, family brokenness, shame, or seasons of spiritual weariness. More than a book about healing, it is a robust discipleship resource that invites readers into the presence of Jesus. Weston has saturated her story with remarkable wisdom, humility, and Gospel hope, offering the Church a work that is timely, memorable, and well worth reading!
Part memoir, part discipleship guide, and part pastoral invitation, Collide doesn’t settle for self-help clichés, superficial “Christian-ese” encouragement, or formulaic calls toward healing. Instead, this book is fresh, vibrant, honest, and teeming with wisdom that’ll make you perk up, grab your highlighter, and think—Wow, that’s good.
Weston wields her pen with honesty, patience, and vulnerability as she walks alongside readers through the complex landscape of hidden wounds. She illuminates this territory by sharing her own. She usesd uses it to share the biblical reality that genuine healing begins not by pretending our pain no longer exists, but by courageously bringing it into the presence of our healer, Jesus Christ.
Storytelling is among Weston’s greatest gifts as a writer. Few Christian authors possess the ability to transform difficult personal experiences into narratives that feel at once intimate, universally resonant, and spiritually instructive. Her unforgettable opening account of hiding in a closet with her infant daughter immediately establishes both the weight and sophistication of the book. Throughout these pages that unfold, moments of heartbreak are balanced with wit, warmth, and disarming honesty, creating a reading experience that is as creative as it is spiritually formative.
Among this book’s many strengths, what impressed me most was Weston’s pastoral gift for communicating gospel truth through story. Her personal testimony—and the entire arc of Collide—serves to illuminate the greatest story of the Gospel. She consistently points readers to Jesus, revealing His faithfulness, compassion, tenderness, and unwavering goodness in ways that feel natural and accessible. Naturally and gently, her story redirects the reader’s gaze to Christ, illuminating the facets of His character that wounded hearts most need to know to heal.
Jesus emerges from these pages as He does through the lives of faithful disciples: through the honest witness of those who have encountered Him, been transformed by Him, and now speak from the overflow of His living water, welling up within. Weston writes as one who has drunk deeply from the living water Christ offers the weary. It is this ability to shepherd those who are hurting to the heart of Christ—not just merely describe Him—that makes Collide stand apart in today’s Christian publishing landscape.
Weston also offers a needed corrective to a tendency that has quietly found its way into many Christian circles: the temptation to substitute spiritual or encouraging language for genuine healing. Her reminder that faithfulness is not the absence or avoidance of pain, but the willingness to invite Christ into it, is an important contribution. In an age increasingly aware of trauma yet often unsure how to integrate emotional health with biblical discipleship, Collide provides a thoughtful work that is theologically grounded, pastorally tender, and genuinely transformative.
This book isn’t only for the hurting; it’s for all of us living in the tension of the already and the not yet, learning to know and cling to Christ in a fallen world. I didn’t expect Collide to touch me as it did. But this book shepherded me softly toward honest self-examination and a deeper appreciation of Christ’s character and His healing work on the cross. It helped me recognize wounds I had long overlooked and gave me the courage to place them into the loving hands of my Savior. Long after I finished reading, I found myself reflecting not merely on Weston’s story, but on my own—the places where I still need to reach out and grasp the hem of His robe with faith in who His word says He is, and who He says I am. Whether readers are walking through suffering or simply longing to know Jesus more, I believe they will come away from these pages encouraged, challenged, and drawn closer to Him, as I did.
I would especially recommend Collide to women seeking a refreshing and restorative read, women’s Bible studies, pastors, biblical counselors, ministry leaders, small groups, and believers navigating unresolved grief, family brokenness, shame, or seasons of spiritual weariness. More than a book about healing, it is a robust discipleship resource that invites readers into the presence of Jesus. Weston has saturated her story with remarkable wisdom, humility, and Gospel hope, offering the Church a work that is timely, memorable, and well worth reading!
August 29, 2025
This was a great memoir about a woman who crashed into Jesus and learned how to keep getting up when life knocks her down, and she wants to help you succeed as well. Willow's mother is not the best, she's a hippie alcoholic who puts her daughter in danger and even sends her away at one point. For most of Willow's life she just wants her mom to stop drinking and she wants to heal. And just like we've heard in other's stories about how God works, Willow takes her pain and uses it to help other women heal as well. I appreciated the casual tone of the book and how she weaves in stories from the Bible along the way. She has a lot of wise words:
"If we don't get healing for what hurt us, our wounds start to wound and wound and wound. our wounds begin to speak. Our experiences conversations and memories have a voice and they start to tel us who we are, who others are and who God is. Our view of ourselves, others and God can become so ver wounded. We walk into job interviews, parties, churches, teams, first dates and committees expecting to be hurt again, which wreaks havoc on our lives. We self-protect by controlling, hiding, shutting down, and putting up walls. Some of us build such high walls that they put the Great Wall of China to shame. Nobody will ever climb them. And if someone tries to climb our walls, we will Taser them with our pain. That oughta keep them out!"
"We start blaming others , and we start blaming God for our pain and for not taking it away. Before we realize it, we've become the father we despised, the boss we'd hate working for, the friend we're annoyed by. Our marriages experience mutual destruction, our friendships are damaged by deep seated insecurity and our kids are handed wounded patterns with their breakfast. We pass the baton of hurt on to our children, who pass it on to their children and their children's children. we see history repeat itself and what we see we don't like."
"Jesus sees where you are and how you got here and He understands He makes room for us to have hope in who we can become despite who and where we've been."
"Before she changed a thing, before she even confessed to walking down some sketchy roads, before she went and tried to sin no more, Jesus made sure she knew: "You are already loved. You are already chosen. You are already worthy." Once a girl knows that she is loved, chosen and worthy, she knows she's wanted. She doesn't have to buy love at a discounted rate. She doesn't have to steal love from someone else. She doesn't have to walk down alleys, longing for someone to choose her. She doesn't have to drink to numb the pain of all the unwanted things she's done to feel wanted."
There were so many more that I highlighted but these were just a couple of the first things.
If you are a Christian I'd recommend reading this, or if you are searching for healing from life, I'd also recommend it or if you just like a good memoir and have a rocky relationship with your mother.
"If we don't get healing for what hurt us, our wounds start to wound and wound and wound. our wounds begin to speak. Our experiences conversations and memories have a voice and they start to tel us who we are, who others are and who God is. Our view of ourselves, others and God can become so ver wounded. We walk into job interviews, parties, churches, teams, first dates and committees expecting to be hurt again, which wreaks havoc on our lives. We self-protect by controlling, hiding, shutting down, and putting up walls. Some of us build such high walls that they put the Great Wall of China to shame. Nobody will ever climb them. And if someone tries to climb our walls, we will Taser them with our pain. That oughta keep them out!"
"We start blaming others , and we start blaming God for our pain and for not taking it away. Before we realize it, we've become the father we despised, the boss we'd hate working for, the friend we're annoyed by. Our marriages experience mutual destruction, our friendships are damaged by deep seated insecurity and our kids are handed wounded patterns with their breakfast. We pass the baton of hurt on to our children, who pass it on to their children and their children's children. we see history repeat itself and what we see we don't like."
"Jesus sees where you are and how you got here and He understands He makes room for us to have hope in who we can become despite who and where we've been."
"Before she changed a thing, before she even confessed to walking down some sketchy roads, before she went and tried to sin no more, Jesus made sure she knew: "You are already loved. You are already chosen. You are already worthy." Once a girl knows that she is loved, chosen and worthy, she knows she's wanted. She doesn't have to buy love at a discounted rate. She doesn't have to steal love from someone else. She doesn't have to walk down alleys, longing for someone to choose her. She doesn't have to drink to numb the pain of all the unwanted things she's done to feel wanted."
There were so many more that I highlighted but these were just a couple of the first things.
If you are a Christian I'd recommend reading this, or if you are searching for healing from life, I'd also recommend it or if you just like a good memoir and have a rocky relationship with your mother.
April 10, 2026
Thank you to the book’s publisher and NetGalley for the ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.
You know how the right things somehow regain their place when you’ve given up? I am three weeks into recovering from a concussion and have felt depressed the past several days. I am physically and emotionally hurting, and have become bored out of my mind from inactivity! Haven’t been able to enjoy much of anything that requires my eyes to focus, including reading.
Well, I rediscovered my old kindle that allows dark mode and no back light. Freedom from feeling stuck!
I chose Collide based solely on the title, and it ended up being about healing. To my surprise, I have never highlighted so much in a book ever! The author spoke to my heart and mind, which I valued as an anxious over-thinker currently having processing difficulties. There was a slight overuse of quirky humor, but I appreciated the levity it brought to a deep topic.
Read this book if you are a believer. Read it if you are questioning. If you seek healing. To improve relationships. Forgiveness.
Love to all, especially those with invisible struggles.
5 out of 5 stars and my sincere respect to the author.
You know how the right things somehow regain their place when you’ve given up? I am three weeks into recovering from a concussion and have felt depressed the past several days. I am physically and emotionally hurting, and have become bored out of my mind from inactivity! Haven’t been able to enjoy much of anything that requires my eyes to focus, including reading.
Well, I rediscovered my old kindle that allows dark mode and no back light. Freedom from feeling stuck!
I chose Collide based solely on the title, and it ended up being about healing. To my surprise, I have never highlighted so much in a book ever! The author spoke to my heart and mind, which I valued as an anxious over-thinker currently having processing difficulties. There was a slight overuse of quirky humor, but I appreciated the levity it brought to a deep topic.
Read this book if you are a believer. Read it if you are questioning. If you seek healing. To improve relationships. Forgiveness.
Love to all, especially those with invisible struggles.
5 out of 5 stars and my sincere respect to the author.
March 20, 2026
This book is a gift! Willow is a gifted storyteller who shares her story of trauma and her collision with Jesus. Whether you have small hurts or big T trauma; through raw honesty, humor and truth, she will lead you towards hope and healing that is found when we bring our wounds to Jesus. This would be great as an individual read or with a small group.
March 27, 2026
So Good ! could not put it down story after story of redemption through Jesus. Willow shares her story while weaving in stories of scripture where Jesus collided with people and their lives were changed forever. Stories are very vulnerable and hard to read at times.. but with so much purpose and emotion, tears and laughter. Well written and fun to read, but also life-changing.
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