Unleashed by Sonja Corbitt

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Unleashed and the spiritual journey Sonja Corbitt takes us on as we learn how to let go and rediscover our interior life. Each chapter has a review for important points, an invitation to apply scripture and the chapter to our lives and a God prompt for specific ways to get closer to God. The author suggests keeping a journal with our thoughts and questions regarding the content of the book. The title Unleashed has several meanings such as our desire to have the Holy Spirit unleashed within us and our desire to unleash that which holds us back from going forward from our past. Each chapter quotes a question from Jesus in scripture to us today. For example the first chapter is “What do you wish?” from Matthew 20:21. Jesus is ready to come onto our lives and because of free will; he wants to know that we seek him in our life. We are to discern what is really important to us (our values) and be true to seeking that which brings us closer to this. Sonja Corbitt asks thought provoking questions taken from scripture that bring us closer in our relationship with God. Within Unleashed, the author points out that St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross have described the Holy Spirit’s action as outward to inward and an upward spiral action. I mostly identify with the letting go of childhood survival mechanisms that are no longer useful but can be actual barriers to our growth in our spiritual life. Another interesting facet of the book is discovering what the author describes as our “predominant fault” that keeps us at bay from our true relationship with God. This book is steeped in scripture with an almost Lectio Divina attitude toward scripture and bringing it into our lives and making it relevant for us today. The author uses personal experiences and scripture to help the reader discern what we want for ourselves and our relationship with God. There are group questions at the end of the book that help to unpack the richness of the book content. From the beginning to the end I would recommend this book to you.