Book Review: The Next Right Thing

By Emily P. Freeman
Revell, 2019
256 pages

The subtitle for the newest book by Emily P. Freeman is a concise, accurate description of the contents of The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions. Chapter by chapter, she teaches you how to examine your heart and name the things that are holding you back from making decisions and doing “the next right thing in love.”

This post contains affiliate links, which means I might make some fancy coffee money at no extra expense to you if you buy something through one of my links. Read more about that here. 

Thanks to Revell for sending me a copy of The Next Right Thing to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Out of all the gentle wisdom imparted through this book, I think my biggest take away is her conclusion that “the decision is rarely the point”. In most cases, the end result is far less important than the journey of self-reflection you travel to get there. Now, I’m going to go on record as saying I’m not a touchy-feely person as a rule. Which is why I was a little surprised to find that Emily’s suggestions for exploring your fears, motivations, and beliefs about yourself really resonated with me.

A concept that stood out to me from the beginning of the book is the idea of soul minimalism. This idea pops back up throughout The Next Right Thing and it gave me a lot to think about, encouraging me to find ways to create space and eliminate distractions that lead to that squirrelly, always on feeling that is the opposite of peace.

Another thing that spoke loudly to me is her suggestion that you employ the question “Am I being led by love or pushed by fear?” to help you determine your path in the face of a difficult decision. As someone who is often fearful and lacking in confidence, this seems like an excellent question to use in discerning motivation behind a reaction to an opportunity. Are you turning down something you are drawn to because you are scared or because you really believe it isn’t the next right thing for you in this season? Or perhaps you are considering agreeing to something that you don’t want to do because you are afraid of the backlash or that you might miss out if you pass on it.

The Next Right Thing is full of gems like these that can help you evaluate where you are and where you want to go, all through the lens of drawing us closer to God. Making decisions can be done one step at a time with a healthy measure of grace for yourself and the help of your friend Jesus. I loved this book and will be recommending it frequently. It would make a great graduation gift, and the hardcover version is so gorgeous, you could just tie a ribbon around it and save your wrapping paper.

Side note: This has nothing to do with the contents of the book, I just want to point out that this is a hardcover book without a dust jacket. I hate dust jackets and I wish all publishers would print directly onto the cover the way this book was. It’s so pretty and you don’t have to mess with a paper cover that flaps around in your way as you read. I just love the way this book looks.

Other books to inspire you:

• Stretched Too Thin
• Shift Your Thinking For Success: 77 Ways to Win at Work and in Life
• The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

Buy your copy of The Next Right Thing right here.