Boozeless Book Club: Wake Up by Jen Hatmaker

What happens when the life you were trained for stops making sense? In this deeply honest Boozeless Book Club conversation, Amy Liz Harrison sits down with Dr. Sarah Michaud to unpack Wake Up by Jen Hatmaker—a raw exploration of religious conditioning, patriarchy, shame, betrayal, and the long road back to self-trust. Together, they examine how repression breeds rage, why recovery often begins with grief, and what it means to finally choose agency over obedience.

Takeaways

• Patriarchy and religious conditioning often strip women of agency long before adulthood
• Shame thrives in systems that reward silence and compliance
• Rage can be a healthy, clarifying emotion in recovery and deconstruction
• Codependency often begins as “goodness” disguised as self-erasure
• Rebuilding identity means learning to ask: What do I actually want?

Key Timestamps

• [00:01] — Introducing the Boozeless Book Club + Wake Up
• [00:06] — Religious conditioning and the loss of self
• [00:10] — Shame, obedience, and the “good Christian girl” myth
• [00:15] — Rage, repression, and addiction as rebellion
• [00:18] — Betrayal, divorce, and discovering agency

Notable Resources

Wake Up by Jen Hatmaker

Dr. Sarah Michaud — Leaving CrazyTown

Amy Liz Harrison — Eternally Expecting, Eternally Awkward

CTA

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Visit www.amylizharrison.com for books, memoir courses, and soulful recovery resources.