Book Review: Savor

A review of Shauna Niequist’s 365-day devotional, Savor: Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are.

Last year, after putting Shauna Niequist’s Savor: Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are on at least two of The Bookery’s seasonal reading lists, I decided to read the devotional each night before I went to sleep. Yep, there were a few nights when I had to read a couple of devotions (or more) to catch up, but I managed to read the final devotion on Dec. 31 before I fell asleep unceremoniously early on New Year’s Eve. 

The overarching theme of Savor is an invitation to savor each day as it is, whether you feel stuck in the tedium of life, are grieving the loss of a dream or a job or caught up in your own list of to-dos. Like most of Niequist’s books, Savor included recipes, which was one of the things I loved most about the devotional. The poppyseed cake is delicious and the green chile strata was so yummy I made it for an annual brunch I host with longtime friends at my home each year before Christmas.

Savor features daily readings written by Niequist, as well as a passage of Scripture and a prompt designed to help readers put what they’ve read into action in their own lives. If you’re looking for a devotional that digs deeply into Scripture, this probably isn’t the guide for you. Personally, I focus on studying the Bible—usually delving into a particular book in content over the course of several weeks—each morning. I wanted to read Savor as a way to refocus my heart and mind before I went to sleep. 

Niequist loves deeply and that love is on display in this 365-day devotional. One of the things I appreciated most (in addition to the recipes) was her honestly. She talks about hard times, following God when you’re mired in a season of grief and opening your home and table to those you love. If I’m being honest with you, 2024 wasn’t the easiest year for me, and Niequist’s honest voice helped me to look at my own griefs from a new perspective, something I sorely needed on more than one occasion. 

Savor isn’t a deep Scriptural study, but it is an invitation to open our eyes to how God is at work in the reality of our daily lives—when it’s easy and good and when it isn’t. It’s an invitation to stop looking for the “next big thing” and simply rest in the reality of the abundant life God has given each of us who follow him. As someone who often finds herself looking for the next big thing or trying to push through grief or hardship as quickly as possible to get to the other side, Savor was a book I needed in this season. Rather than rushing through 2024, I was invited to savor the moments I’d been given, and it was a powerful lesson in the good times and the bad. 

The Bookery Rating: 📙📙📙📙

A 365-day devotional that invites readers to savor all the moments of their lives in seasons of joy, hope, grief and disappointment. 

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