Some books are hard to review. When I requested this book, I knew it would be hard to review. Yet I also felt that Shannon was writing on a timely subject—I’ve seen various posts about Fifty Shades of Grey all over Facebook, Twitter and the blogs I read—and that I couldn’t ignore this topic any longer.
I wanted to know what would make a book like that hit the bestseller lists and I knew Shannon would be the perfect person to answer that question.
In The Fantasy Fallacy: Exposing the Deeper Meaning Behind Sexual Thoughts
I’ll admit I started reading this book with a holier-than-thou attitude: I’m just reading this to be able to talk about this book that’s getting so much attention. I judged others because I don’t struggle with the same sexual fantasies they do. Shannon opened my eyes to the fact that we live in a world full of pain, and our brains have amazingly complex ways of dealing with that pain. The fantasies themselves aren’t necessarily the problem, but what we do about them. Shannon discusses how we can control our fantasies and get to the root of them, to understand them so we can find the healing—and answers—we need, rather than acting out on improper fantasies and getting hurt more.
Shannon is the author of nineteen books including the best-selling Every Woman’s Battle series and The Sexually Confident Wife. She has a master’s degree in counseling and is a frequent guest on television and radio shows. Shannon’s passion for pursing a godly sexuality stems from her own promiscuous teen years; just as she has found healing through Christ, she seeks to help others find healing as well.
Shannon closes The Fantasy Fallacy by saying, “We need to remember that our sexuality is a beautiful gift from God and is as unique as our own fingerprints, that sexual confusion comes part and parcel with being human, that sexual fantasies are perfectly normal, but we can control them rather than let them control us.”
With or without the chapter on Fifty Shades, whether or not you’ve read Fifty Shades, I believe Shannon has a message our world desperately needs and I heartily recommend this book to everyone.
“Thank God for Shannon Ethridge. In a world caught up with cravings for new and more exciting sexual experiences, Shannon writes a psychologically balanced and scripturally compatible book. You will find this response to what appears to be a universal mania to be enlightening and encouraging as well as affirming of healthy sexuality. I enthusiastically endorse this book.” ~ Marilyn Meberg, author of Constantly Craving and speaker at Women of Faith®
More reading on the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon:
- “I’m Not Reading Fifty Shades of Grey” by Leigh Ann Dutton
- “Why 50 Shades of Grey Is Bad for Your Marriage” by Sheila Wray Gregoire
- “How Do We Respond to the Fifty Shades of Grey Phenomenon?” (PDF) by Shannon Ethridge
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