An extended review of a 2024 book by Merry Lin
Note: Our print issue contains a shorter version of this review. Faith Today welcomes your thoughts on any of our reviews. We also welcome suggestions of other Canadian Christian books to review: Contact us.
Baker, 2024. 208 pages. $25 (e-book $19, audio $20)
ReBecoming is the latest book by Merry Lin, a clinical psychologist in the Toronto area. In the book she considers reasons that, as human beings, we do the things we do and how often we choose to hide our true selves. Along the way, she shares about her own journey from secrecy and darkness into openness and light.
She got started writing this book in response to the #metoo and #churchtoo revelations from the past few years, which had profound effects on her, as well a tragic event which took place stateside.
As the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Lin grew up in Canada struggling with shame and regret and feelings of being ethnically inferior (she recounts times when she didn’t feel “white enough” to be acceptable). Her candour will resonate with other visible minorities and anyone who has felt disadvantaged simply because of who God made them to be.
The book uses self-revelation to help readers find the love, grace and forgiveness necessary to overcome deeply seeded thoughts and beliefs which create obstacles to living a true life. Lin’s explanation of her transformation and the grace she so desperately needed and eventually received – and the release she felt – will resonate with many readers.
She peppers each of the 16 chapters with anecdotes and stories, including memorable quotes from celebrity American therapist Brené Brown, a personal hero instrumental in Lin’s reclamation of her true self. Anyone who has ever lived with ridicule or self-loathing will find invigoration as they read page after page and discover how restoration is possible.
Lin invites readers to take specific steps at the end of each chapter using incisive questions on subjects such as fear, anger and trust. These are key to get the most out of the book in a therapeutic way. For maximum effectiveness Lin encourages carrying out the exercises with the help of a trusted friend, group or a professional counsellor.
There are other topics within ReBecoming such as the roles that insight, wisdom and transformation play in a life with a healthy trajectory. Using psychotherapeutic theory, science, theology and story, Lin exposes our tendencies to hide from God, others and even ourselves, shrinking behind false fronts and pseudo personhoods.
The way out which she offers requires commitment, effort, determination, patience and faith, but its rewards are illustrated in the testimonies in the book. Actual histories of how people have triumphed serve as sources of inspiration, raising belief and confidence that breakthrough is possible.
Not all of the stories have happy endings, and some emphasize the gravity of the consequences of our actions. However, the message of the book is clear – transformation is possible, and reclamation of what the sin of Eden threatened to rob us of can be rectified if we allow ourselves the means by which we can freshly receive God’s grace.
The book is friendly to both Christian and non-Christian audiences. Anyone would benefit from the principles it shares and will be well rewarded by following its advice on how to become more fearlessly authentic.
At just 200 pages, the book makes an ideal guide for people who want a beginner’s course in cultivating a healthier state of soul. It’s also the kind of book that warrants a careful and intentional second reading.
You can learn more about Lin by following her podcast The Fully Lived Life. Her activities outside of being an executive director of her own psychotherapy and coaching practice include helping survivors of human trafficking and assisting others in their journeys of healing.
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