Book Review: I Blame Eve by Susanna Foth Aughtmon

Susanna Foth Aughtmon writes in such a way one feels as if she’s sitting in the audience at a women’s conference. With her conversational voice and incredible sense of humor, I Blame Eve is a book I could chew off in small bites at a time and swallow easily.

Bringing the funny to perfectionism, control issues and our tendency to listen to the lies of humankind’s biggest enemy, Susanna feeds us Scripture that will nourish our souls, fill our spirits and cause us to walk away from the unfulfilling things in our lives.

In chapter one, Susanna includes her list of forty reasons she wishes Eve hadn’t taken that infamous bite out of the fruit. Be warned: Don’t read this list if you need to use the bathroom or have a mouth full of your beverage of choice. Some of my favorite reasons are:

1.       Female facial hair (mustaches, unibrows, etc.)
2.      Exercise videos
3.      Bad fiction
4.      Body shapers (i.e. girdles – let’s just call them what they are)
5.      Bloating

(If you buy the book for no other reason, this list is worth it!)

The timing of I Blame Eve couldn’t have been better. Susanna touches on several hot spots throughout the book. I’ve been talking to God a lot these past few months about my cravings for things that get in between me and Him (like chocolates – not quite an apple, but just as tasty). She touches on our personal forbidden tree and those things we crave in chapter four, aptly titled “I Crave Apples and Other Things That Don’t Satisfy Me.”

In chapter twenty-two, “I Am Not In Control,” she writes about the choice we have to make between letting God call the shots or doing things our way. Considering I just blogged about allowing God to change us from the inside out and how we need to be patient and not try to take control again, my spirit screamed, “Yes!” as I read this chapter.

The book wasn’t all I expected it to be, but it certainly covered the issues of perfectionism and control and lying serpents very well. I think I expected a bit more “how-to” than Susanna provided, but it doesn’t detract from the value of the book at all. If you’ve struggled in any of these areas or claim them to be part of who you are, you won’t be disappointed if you take the time to read I Blame Eve.

There are study guide questions at the end of the book. These are some of the most fun questions I’ve read in a long time. And I’ve read many reflection questions recently. I think you’ll find yourself looking at them with humor, which reflects throughout the book. It’s nice to be able to take my downfalls and poke some serious fun at them for a change.

I appreciate Susanna’s transparency, her witty look at life as a perfectionist/control freak/snake entertainer. I’d highly recommend I Blame Eve, and if you read it, I’d love to know what you thought.

*Note: I received a copy of this book from Revell. I am not required to give it a good review, only to express my humble opinion of the book. I hope you found my review helpful.

** Available April 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

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