Book Review: What Are You Waiting For? By Dannah Gresh: Keeper/Pass-Along

Dannah Gresh seemed to catch the heart of young women perfectly in her candid work, What Are You Waiting For?- The one thing no one ever tells you about sex. She gracefully answers questions I hear being asked over and over again by young women. Gresh so clearly grabs the issues and targets the pinnings of the female heart; it’s as if she is sitting across the cafe table and offers to share her best kept secrets. She captured the issues and questions perfectly. Gresh didn’t back down from the hard or popular questions; nor did she shy away from telling her own story of confusion. 

From the perspective of a college campus missionary, this book is handy go-to book for the women I spend time with. It is an easy read, so it won’t take much time to consume. On certain pages, small boxes of extra information were popped in, which gave the book almost a magazine feel. Gresh kept the life changing information from getting heavy and burdensome by sticking to the point and keeping it simple. She wasn’t wordy. 

I found two memorable and noteworthy things in this book. First, I LOVED her explanation of yada and shokab. Very good and meaty information. Second, I connected with her story of Lauren (on page 151) so easily- because it is my story, or better  yet- mine and my husbands story. I’ll give you a summary: Lauren met Kevin in college and he told her that he wanted to wait to kiss his bride for the first time on his wedding day. Lauren laughed. Kevin explained that he had fallen before and knew his limitations. He wanted to be the guy that protected girls, especially the girl he most loved. That meant he had to take kissing off the table because it was too much for him. So, his rule was no kissing until I do. Of course, the girl he married was Lauren. The author was present at their wedding and she witnessed, along with a fe hundred others, Kevin and Lauren’s first kiss. “What power was in that kiss. It was ecstasy and forgiveness. Knowing and discovering. It was sexy and holy. It was a faithful beginning.” (pg. 152)

From my own rating scale, I’d give this book “Keeper” AND “Pass Along” status. I give it  a keeper grade because I want to keep the title around to refer women back to it, but I also give it a Pass-Along, because I know other leaders that work with women that I feel should also read it so they can refer young ladies to Gresh. 

Nice work Dannah Gresh, nice work. 

You can get your own copy Here. 

Moltnomah provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.