Well, “This Is Awkward” – The Story Of How I Didn’t Want To Review This Book, But Did

A few days ago, a guy named Sammy Rhodes asked me if I would help shed some light on his new book titled, This Is Awkward: How Life’s Uncomfortable Moments Open the Door to Intimacy and Connection. If the name sounds familiar, you’ve probably read some of his funny tweets @sammyrhodes, or maybe you heard about the controversy he was in where he was accused of plagiarizing some of his material from other comedians. He’s a campus pastor at The University of South Carolina.

I should start by saying I don’t know Sammy personally. I only know him through his Twitter feed and I’ve always liked the idea of a pastor being genuinely funny (not “Christian-funny”) as opposed to posting bible verses and cheesy inspirational quotes.

I didn’t feel all that compelled to help him out. I don’t really know the guy, and part of me is just a little worn down by friends and mere acquaintances asking me to promote their stuff. After giving it some thought, I told Sammy to send me his book. After all, I needed the same courtesy extended to me last year from others during the launch of my book.

I received the book on Thursday and packed it in my bag early Friday morning before heading out the door to the airport. I had a 2 hour flight to Charlotte that morning and I was exhausted after waking up at 4:30 a.m. Before closing my eyes on the flight and sleeping my way to Charlotte, I thought I’d pull out the book and read the first chapter.

Well, it hooked me from the beginning. Instead of sleeping, I spent the next two hours entranced. Sammy communicates in a way that is so utterly refreshing and very un-pastor like. He shares some of his most private battles with shame, depression, lust, body image as well as his unhealthy addiction to Twitter and the acceptance he was seeking from strangers. Sammy talks about these struggles with his unique brand of satirical humor, yet he’s still able to communicate God’s message of restoration and redemption. We can all relate to his story on one level or another.

So let it be known, I’m not writing this blog post as a courtesy to Sammy.

I’m writing it because I believe his book is great and want people to read it. I know there are so many of you hurting out there and I think this book just might help ease some of that pain.