Audio Book Review: Feeding the Soul By Tabitha Brown

We cook by the spirit… If you need an exact recipe every time you cook, you don’t trust yourself. Let’s trust ourselves.

—Tabitha Brown in A Note From Tab

 

Actress and author Tabitha Brown‘s ☛FEEDING THE SOUL (BECAUSE IT’S MY BUSINESS): FINDING OUR WAY TO JOY, LOVE, AND FREEDOM [pub: William Morrow] dropped back in September. Admittedly, I just recently finished delighting in Tabitha’s syrupy southern voice via her audiobook version. But now, I gotta get my hands on the hardcover just so I can highlight, quote and refer to it whenever I or a loved one needs some spirit-lifting and some joy-spreading.

This book is my way of modeling freedom through testimony… I choose freedom. Freedom to be. Freedom to trust. Freedom to be able to say, ‘because it’s my business’ and really mean it. And that honey is what I want most for you…to get free and stay free and never apologize for it.

—Tabitha Brown in Introduction: Hello There

 

Complete transparency: I borrowed Feeding The Soul from my local library and still put off listening it. Didn’t think I’d enjoy it. Ha! I was so into her transparency that while savoring it on a walk, I paused to send one of my besties a Duo video convincing her to buy it (see below). Tab had me at the first, “Hello there.” My shoulders dropped as I inhaled through my nose, exhaled out my mouth, opened my mind and allowed myself to receive some good life reminders like putting myself first so that I’ll “have enough to share when it comes time to pour out those amazing gifts.”  The vegan influencer adds doses of personal testimony while peppering this memoir of sorts with TSAs—Tabitha Service Announcements—such as, “you’re never too old for your dreams to come true.”

 

Whatever changes we long for in our lives, we have to do our part… And please know that I’m not judging you one bit, but I do love you enough to suggest that if you choose to still do those things, you have to right-size your expectations of divine intervention when the outcomes align with your choices and not your heart’s desires.

—Tabitha Brown in You Have To Fix It First

 

Listen, when the empathy advocate said that simply saying, ‘Fix it Jesus,’ is not enough if you’re not taking ownership of your life, I thought, now this is the type of faith-based reality I can get with. The North Carolina native gives the example of a person with lung cancer still smoking. “How does that work honey,” she asks while reminding us that faith without works is dead. “You have to right-size your expectations of divine intervention when the outcomes align with your choices and not your heart’s desires.” Read that back slowly ’cause that’s a word. Let it sit. Marinate. Now meditate on it. 🧘🏾‍♀️🙏🏾

 

We go to church because we want to get right, but when we go we’re sometimes scorned because we aren’t right already. Who’s really ready? Neither perfection or utter devastation should be the determining factors for seeking God…I honor how impactful that foundational experience was in my upbringing, but I do not believe that guilt and shame is the way to bring people closer to God… Traditions are wonderful, but they can become weights when they’re imposed upon people.

—Tabitha Brown in I Changed My Mind And That’s Okay

 

I so appreciated Tab’s candor about not forcing religion on anyone including her children, despite the fact that she was made to go to bible school, Sunday school and church growing up. Church was mandatory. However, the proud mother of  three (including her bonus daughter) believes in “defining yourself for yourself” and promised herself at a young age that if she were blessed to have children, she would never force religion (or later, her vegan lifestyle) on them or anyone else. Rather, she’d introduce them to God and make sure they knew that “a relationship with the Creator is theirs to have.”

I’m not vegan or vegetarian for that matter—though I haven’t eaten red meat since 1989, but that’s my business.😉 Nevertheless, I can’t wait to try some of the easy, breezy vegan recipes scattered throughout—another reason to own the bound version. I laughed at Tab’s recollection of her husband Chase saying he’d need some chicken the following day after she announced that she was staying the vegan course after completing and reaping the health benefits of their 30-day vegan challenge. She used her sole choice as an example that everybody can’t go with you on your journey, particularly in the beginning.

While I was introduced to Tabitha’s acting skills on Showtime’s The Chi, it was actually the 43-year-old’s memorable performance on an episode of the hit television sitcom Will  & Grace that led to the creator of the show, Max Muchinich, not only shaking her hand and telling her that she was funny, but reaching out to her a year later to ask her what else she’d like to do. The proud believer immediately let him know that she wanted to be known as America’s mom who tells relatable, funny stories from the point of view of a woman, mother and dreamer. “I want to speak to the person that’s struggling to keep it together, while not losing herself in the process.” Guess what? The two of them are working on Tab’s show for the ABC network. 🙌🏾

I’ve pointed out the benefits of owning the bound edition of Feeding The Soul. However, one of the most precious gems the audiobook offers is the voice of Tabitha’s late mother speaking on recently discovered cassette tapes. It’s such an inspiring and encouraging gift to the listener…just like author and the actress. 

 

Check out Tabitha Brown reading an excerpt from Feeding The Soul:

 

Watch Tabitha do her acting thing on Will & Grace + more:

 

Take A Quick Look At My Personal Recommendation of Feeding The Soul:

 

Feeding The Soul (Because It’s My Business) Finding Our Way To Joy, Love, And Freedom Synopsis from HarperCollins:

Before Tabitha Brown was one of the most popular personalities in the world, sharing her delicious vegan home cooking and compassionate wisdom with millions of followers across social media, she was an aspiring actress who in 2016 began struggling with undiagnosed chronic autoimmune pain. Her condition made her believe she wouldn’t live to see forty–until she started listening to what her soul and her body truly needed. Now, in this life-changing book, Tabitha shares the wisdom she gained from her own journey, showing readers how to make a life for themselves that is rooted in nonjudgmental kindness and love, both for themselves and for others.

Tabitha grounds her lessons in stories about her own life, career, faith, and family in this funny, down-to-earth book, built around the catchphrases that her fans know and love, including:

Hello There!: Why hope, joy, and clarity are so very needed

That’s Your Business: Defining yourself, and being okay with that

Have the Most Amazing Day . . . : Choosing joy and living with intention

But Don’t Go Messin’ Up No One Else’s: Learning to walk in kindness even when the world doesn’t feel kind

Like So, Like That: Living life without measurement

Very Good: Living in peace and creating good from the bad

Rich with personal stories and inspirational quotes, and sprinkled with a few easy vegan recipes, Feeding the Soul is a book to share–and to return to when you want to feel seen, loved, and heard.