To Be Perfect Honest - Book Review

To be perfectly honest myself, I had never heard of Phil Callaway before receiving this book.  Apparently he is a rather well-known (as in award-winning) and prolific (as in more than 20 books) author and prominent speaker.  The description of the book intrigued me, I won't lie . . . "One Man's Year of ALMOST Living Truthfully."  Hard to resist, right?  Phil accepted his editor's challenge to see if he could tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth for an entire year, and write a book about it.  His editor said, "It will make for a great book."  His editor was so right.

Spoiler:  The book is written in a diary-like format, and begins on Day 1.  Phil makes it all the way to Day 2 before catching himself in a lie.  Wonder if I would make it even that far.

Much has been said about the book's humor, and Phil's comedic style in general.  And the book IS funny.  My husband actually banned me from reading it late at night, due to my sudden - and apparently loud - bursts of laughter while he was trying to sleep.  The book is also incredibly convicting, thanks in large measure to Phil's authenticity and transparency.  He doesn't hide the "ugly" human nature stuff, although sometimes his descriptions of the ugly stuff can be excruciatingly funny.  He deals with hot-button issues such as lying to your spouse, struggling with lust/temptation, addiction issues (he happens to be addicted to Pac-Man, while trying to get his son's friend to end his smoking addiction), prayer, anger/revenge, and, err . . . how to deal (or how not to deal) with Mormons.

Day 82 was a fascinating example of trying to surprise someone (his wife) and resorting to lying "in a purposeful sort of way."  In a slightly pathetic attempt to protect the surprise from his wife until the appointed time, he winds up telling multiple lies in rapid-fire succession and then wonders "Why did I need to tell five lies when I could have stopped at one?  It's like I'd gone without chocolate for a year and was eating it by the fistful."  Day 83 was more of an epiphany day for him.  Phil writes:  "I'm learning that you should never tell a lie to your spouse, but you shouldn't always tell the truth either.  As my dad used to say, 'A closed mouth gathers no foot.'"  That's just awesome.  He also offers an acrostic that he finds helpful in this regard - THINK:

T--Is what I'm about to tell her True?
H--Is it Helpful?
I--Will it Inspire her?
N--Is it Necessary?
K--Am I Kind about it?

Good advice for all.  The book is divided by chapters, and not every day is included (not sure why that is and found myself wondering if Phil simply slept through an entire day or two), but the format and chapter division work quite well.  One of the most enjoyable/meaningful/convicting/encouraging parts for me was the inclusion of what the author calls "Honest Confessions" at the end of each chapter.  An excerpt from Honest Confession #3 (at the end of Chapter 3: How to Tell the Truth and Still Have a Place to Sleep) reads as follows:

"I didn't want to write about lust.  It's easier to appear to have it all together and leave readers with lofty thoughts of me.  But this is a book on honesty.  When I was a teenager, I thought, If I live to be forty, then this lust thing will vanish and I can live in complete victory like the forty-year-olds around here who look like they have one foot in the grave and the other on a skateboard.  Unfortunately, after more than four decades as a believer, I find there are time when I still fail in this area."  Phil goes on to say that "few topics bring out the modern-day Pharisees in greater force than the sins of others," and that when he sins, he "confess[es] immediately and gives thanks that the One who called the Pharisees' bluff is on my side."  There is more to that confession, but only for the sake of my sleeping husband did I stifle an obnoxiously emphatic cheer upon reading the above portion. 

Day 226 was another favorite.  Phil received a four-page letter in response to one of his previous books,  Laughing Matters.  The author of the letter writes, in part, "Where do you read about the apostles trying to make jokes in order to reach people?  Do you think they were hated by the world because they MADE PEOPLE LAUGH?  The Bible contains no humor, why should you use it?" [Note:  I actually choked a bit upon reading that last sentence.]  Two days later, Phil found himself still troubled about whether the letter-writer was correct about God's lack of humor, and emailed a doctoral candidate friend about it.  Phil's friend provided a lengthy response, and I particularly like his last few lines:  "You don't get invited to as many parties as [Jesus] did by sucking on prunes all day.  And he hung out with twelve guys.  Do you really think they didn't laugh?"  Yes, we can debate the theological accuracy of this . . . OR, we can revel in the fact that God has an INCREDIBLE sense of humor.  I choose the latter.  But then again, I like to laugh.   

Certainly, I've read books that were convicting and had humor in them.  But never anything like this. The fusion of sheer honesty (including the honesty about slipping up and lying), levity, wittiness and Biblical truth creates a book that is wonderfully readable and more than worth your time.  No lie.

At the very least, consider the question - honestly, of course - of how long you could go telling the truth and nothing but the truth?  I did, and the answer was definitely not pretty.  Either way, if you want some good laughs or laughs plus something more, I highly recommend this book.  


Disclosure:  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  The opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for this book.