This didn't meet my expectations, unfortunately. I think I was expecting a different type of book from the title, but it fell flat for me and I didn't love it, sorry.

I’ve been spiritually challenged by every Brant Hansen book I’ve read. The Truth About Us is no exception.

Hansen's basic premise in this book is that we're not as good as we think we are.

“We desperately want to be a good person in our own eyes, and we will rearrange everything to make it happen.”

One giant obstacle is our own self-righteousness. Pride is one of the things that Jesus warns us against again and again. Yet we often remain addicted to it.

Hansen explains many different confirmation biases about how we fool ourselves into thinking we're so good. And how those biases hurt us, including the Confirmation Bias, the Hostile Attribution Bias, and the Actor-Observer Bias. We use these to help us sort the "Good People" and the "Bad People," always putting ourselves into the "Good People" category, of course.

As a result, Hansen says we should fire our own PR firm.

“We need to become more aware of how we think, because our thought processes are skewed. Our reasoning is a tool, and it’s not the precise, calculating, impartial tool we like to think it is. Every waking moment, it’s put to work to defend us and our conception of our good selves.”

But the book isn't a bad news book. It's very good news, as the subtitle suggests. When we admit, “I am not a good person,” we no longer have to protect our egos or justify our actions or be judgmental of others. That is a blessing from God.

“If we begin to understand God’s blessing over us, we can be freed from so much of this. There’s simply no longer any need to defend our supposed goodness.”

Trusting in Jesus’s goodness instead of our own brings rest. It requires laying down our pride.

“According to Jesus, there are no good people, only humble people and proud people. He favors the humble and opposes the proud.”

When we stop using our energy to defend ourselves, from trying to prove we’re right, to up our moral ranking, we can accept that we are “loved by Someone who already knows the truth about us.”

“Our value to God isn’t determined by our goodness at all. He loves us because that’s what he does. He loves. Yes, I’ve heard that a thousand times, and maybe you have too. But it’s only when I begin to believe it that I can not only admit I’m not a ‘good person’ but do it joyfully, knowing my value isn’t attached to my morality.”

Anyone with an attitude of moral superiority never made a good impression on Jesus. Including us. Our claims of, “But at least I don’t…” don’t get anywhere with him. But dependence on him does.

“Dependence isn’t weakness. The denial of our dependence is.”

Humility frees us to lean on God instead of our own self-righteousness.

In the last chapter of The Truth About Us, Brant says this about himself. Maybe we can each substitute our own name for his.

“So, yes, I’m Brant Hansen, and I’m not a good person. I seem like a good guy, maybe, but you don’t really know me. You don’t know my thoughts. You don’t know all my real motives, and you know what? Neither do I. But I’m convinced the only one who really knows me loves me more than anyone else. More than I can imagine. It’s a big relief.”

I highly recommend this book.

My thanks to Net Galley for the review copy.

I am still processing and having a hard time coming up with the words to describe how AWESOME and RELEVANT this book is, especially in today's culture - both in "church" and in society as a whole. This book has the potential to change your life if you let it, but you have to be willing to let go of "self" and that isn't something most people are interested in. I will be re-reading again soon.

Also, while you are at it, order Brant's other 2 books - Unoffendable and Blessed are the Misfits. You won't be disappointed.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3LP13VVWJO10H/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0801094518

I'm sure it's out there, but I can't think of another book that truly "tackles the topic" of humility and self-righteousness. How does one humbly write about humility? How do you structure a book about "how very bad we are" and keep the reader engaged - and smiling - throughout? And yet, Brant Hansen strikes the right chord.

Weaving together a substantial amount of research with humor that had me laughing out loud multiple times, I found myself thinking "he is exactly the right author for this book." If you've listened to his radio show or podcast with Sherri Lynn, Brant's voice will be familiar to you already. Although I think you'll enjoy the book more if you can hear it in his voice, but it's written well and is both approachable and enjoyable whether you've heard him before or not.

You need to read this book. It's the kindest, most hopeful book about self-righteousness and humility I've ever encountered. The tone is friendly-- as Brant often reminds the reader, we are all in this together and he is sharing things he's learned and continues to learn rather than preaching from a place of moral superiority. With psychological studies and Bible verses working in tandem, the book works to gently convict while offering hope in the only hope there really is- Jesus Christ. I will always buy Brant's books; they make me laugh and they help me learn to be a better person. I highly recommend all books by this author!

The Truth about Us is by Brant Hansen, a Christian radio personality and self-proclaimed misfit. This book is an ‘odd but (very) true’ book sprinkled with humor (which might include his love of accordions, puppets and toast). He takes an honest look at God’s grace and our guilt, motives and need for humility. In fact the subtitle for this book is “The very good news about how very bad we are”. And he does not pull any punches, he means all of us. And to give an example, a couple of the chapter titles are: Your very own PR firm and why you should fire them and Follow your heart: the worst advice ever.
If you listen to Brant on the radio, you can hear him speak the words as you read this book. It is convicting and inspiring and I think everyone should read it. In fact I will try to make at least some of that happen! I recommend it highly!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Net Galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was incredibly delighted to get to be on the launch force—sorry, I mean, Strike Team—for this book. Incredibly.

I was in no way disappointed.

What if you found out that you weren’t a good person? What if you found out that you were, at your core, judgmental and spiteful?

That’s what Brant Hansen asks us all to think about in The Truth About Us. He asks us to step back and realize that we really aren’t better than everyone else... and, thus, radically change our way of thinking so that we actually love others more. So that we love like Jesus. So that we love like we’re meant to.

This book was brutally honest, and yet, incredibly gentle and earnest in delivery. It was deeply convicting, and incredibly inspiring.

It was also probably the funniest book I’ve read, besides the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. No lie! And there were Lord if the Rings references. Also he talks about Rocky. And Kermit. It’s amazing.

It’s not every day that you find a book that tells you to NOT follow your heart. Especially in this culture! It’s very counter-culture, and very much what I think Jesus wants us to do. Not following your heart is actually the hardest and best thing you can do. Because you know what? We’re tiny humans who think we’re amazing and aren’t. And God is God and He doesn’t have to think He’s amazing, because He just is. And He’s got this. And He just wants us to trust Him.

I received an advanced reader copy of Brant Hansen's new book The Truth About us. I really enjoyed Brant's insight into an important fundamental Christian view. That we are not good, but that's okay because God is! All of the ideas in this book are things most Christian have heard. The scriptures have been repeated a lot. But do we really understand what they mean to us? Brant takes scriptures, studies in human behavior, and personal experience to bridge what we know with how to live it. I wanted to highlight this whole book, because it is so true. "The more righteous we think we are, the more we diminish who God is, and the more we minimize what he's done for us". There are many experiences in this book that I related to. Especially how we treat each other on social media. "Try this on social media sometime: When someone says something stupid or wrong or just obnoxious, respond with something genuinely complimentary. You'll instantly like the person a little more". I enjoy Brant's sense of humor, and tasteful references to The Lord of the Rings. It makes hard hitting ideas easier to digest. "When I take myself too seriously, I get stressed about things that should be enjoyable". I definitely recommend reading this book!

P.S. It is helpful to read Unoffendable as it is referenced a few times in this book. Though, you do not need to read it in order to understand this book.