Hello, My Lovelies! On today's What I'm Reading Wednesday post I'm sharing Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken: Fighting for Faith When You're Falling Apart by Sydney Anne Bennett.
When asked to participate in this book tour I must admit that I was intrigued by the title. We are all familiar with the Bible verse about being "fearfully and wonderfully made," but broken?
About Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken: Fighting for Faith When You’re Falling Apart
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 28, 2026)
• Paperback: 240 pages
Are you battling chronic struggles—whether physical, mental, emotional, relational, or social? Are they eating away at your faith? Sydney Anne Bennett has been there.
She knows what it is to live in a body that is unraveling, a world that doesn’t understand, and a church that doesn’t always know what to say. With compassion, wit, and quiet strength, Sydney invites you to remember that some of life’s fiercest battles are fought flat on your back—and not one of them is wasted.
In Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken, Sydney shares her story of becoming disabled just two weeks after her honeymoon and learning to live with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)—a condition that disrupts the brain’s ability to send correct signals to the body, resulting in daily seizures, mobility loss, and chronic pain.
Learning to live with this disability, as well as the loss and pain that comes with it, has been one of her greatest struggles as well as the way in which God is building her strength. But Sydney doesn’t just talk about disability—she lives with it, coaches on it, and laughs through it, inviting her readers to join her journey. Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken aims to:
- discover practical strategies for coping with chronic struggles and limitations;
- make peace with questions and embrace the daily fight for faith;
- uncover strength in weakness and dignity in dependence; and
- receive heartfelt hope and encouragement to keep going—even when healing doesn’t come.
Sydney will be your unafraid guide through whatever valley you are walking through, normalizing doubt and the daily fight for faith, and recognizing the presence of God there.
About the author
Sydney Anne Bennett is a writer, disability advocate, and speaker who helps people struggling with chronic illness and pain find confidence and hope again—while pointing them to Jesus.
Two weeks after her honeymoon, Sydney became disabled and was later diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition that disrupts the brain’s ability to send correct signals to the body. She experiences daily seizures, chronic pain, and mobility loss—and often uses a wheelchair.
In 2022, Sydney began sharing her story on Instagram as a way of processing grief, faith, and the strange in-between of being both young and disabled. Today, she encourages a global audience of over 300,000 people with honesty, humor, and hope that leans hard on Jesus.
She lives in Idaho with her husband, Colton, their sweet daughters, Hadassah and Felicity.
My Thoughts
This book is primarily a memoir about Sydney's sudden onslaught of FND and how the chronic illness has affected her faith. Sydney went from perfectly healthy to having seizures and not being in control of her movements. These things happened shortly before her wedding and before she became an upperclassman in college. See does an excellent job of describing her crisis of faith, how she struggled to find the words to pray. Her practical ideas about making peace with questions and embracing the daily fight for faith are perhaps the most helpful because God doesn't always answer our questions. There are many lessons about dependence on God that we can learn from Sydney, and just because one doesn't suffer from a disability like her doesn't mean we shouldn't be as dependent on God as she is.
But what has really made an impact on me while reading the book and learning about Sydney is how, in spite of her disability, she has become an advocate for those with disabilities. Instead of dwelling on herself and wallowing in self-pity, Sydney has become an advocate, encourager, and minister to thousands of people around the world.
We can all learn from her example.
I have been encouraged and inspired by reading this book, and I think it would do the same for you, too.
Disclosure: I received a paperback copy of Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.
TLC Review Tour Schedule
Monday, May 11th: @chapterswithcollins
Wednesday, May 13th: @danamarielovestoread
Thursday, May 14th: @teaandbookstoo and Reading, Writing, and Pondering
Friday, May 15th: @readingpastdark.marcia
Monday, May 18th: @dana.loves.books
Wednesday, May 20th: @deannaturnsthepage
Thursday, May 21st: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Friday, May 22nd: @beckys_bookshelves
Wednesday, May 27th: The Bookish Dilettante
Thursday, May 28th: @gigithebibliophile
Friday, May 29th: @oilycaffeinatedmama
Sunday, May 31st: @nissa_the.bookworm
Until next time...
Happy reading!
Ricki Jill
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