The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World

by Hannah Brencher

No matter what you do for a living, how much time your apps save you, or how much entertainment your phone brings, it is possible to unplug--and find an even better life on the other side.

In the spring of 2021, Hannah Brencher found herself depleted and exhausted--and she knew the culprit was her constantly plugged-in lifestyle. Like so many of us, Hannah had been turning to her phone to cope with life in a time of isolation and uncertainty. Those coping mechanisms had calcified into habits she didn't know how to break. Sound familiar?

That's when the nudge happened. Turn off your phone and keep turning off your phone. And a challenge was 1,000 unplugged hours in one year. Soon after she shared her tracker sheet on her website, thousands of people downloaded it and signed up for their own 1,000-hour challenge.

Now in The Unplugged Hours, Hannah demonstrates how the act of powering down changed her entire life. It's a strikingly small thing to do and a surprisingly difficult habit to maintain, but turning off your phone has a substantial impact on your mental health, relationships, time management, and outlook on the world. A powerful weaving of memoir, cultural commentary, and spiritual insights, this life-changing book helps

Reclaim your ability to be present and engaged with the world around youSwap the hurried, constant pace of technology for a steadier, more rooted way of livingEstablish your own unplugged rituals and rhythms in daily lifeUncover the magic within the ordinary awaiting you just beyond the screenThe Unplugged Hours gives you the practical ideas and spiritual inspiration you need to stop scrolling and start living.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Technology, Parenting, Christian, Christian Living

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2024

About the author

Hannah Brencher is the author of four books, the founder of The World Needs More Love Letters, and an online educator who teaches others how to establish important disciplines in their lives.

Her newest book, The Unplugged Hours, is about cultivating a lifestyle of profound presence. It will be released on September 17, 2024.

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Lane, and their little girl, Novalee.

Reviews

[Ashlee Gadd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is Hannah Brencher at her finest. Honest. Relatable. Full of grace. If you're ready to take your eyes off your phone and put them back on your life, start here! I’d give this 6 stars if I could.

[Shannon Evanko · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s safe to say now that I have read many different books on “unplugging”, phone use, etc. from many different angles. I’ve read the stats, the pushes, the admonishments, the rebukes. I’ve taken two full years without social media and seen the pros and cons, myself. But I have not encountered a book like this!

Hannah is a friend wrapping an arm around you and walking around a calm lake, all while regaling you with lessons learned offline and easy encouragements. She’s not guilting you, throwing in more stats and noise about the issues with technology. She’s honestly opening up about her experience with unplugging and seeing if you may feel the same way. I related to her and her journey soooo much, even down to being “recovering perfectionists”.

I took three full pages of notes (because I’m a nerd who takes notes when I read nonfiction), but I’ll leave you with these quotes (if you’ve made it this far lol)— “We must be the ones to pump the brakes”.
“Different seasons will call for different boundaries”.
“Staying a spectator is how you miss a life”.

I’m so thankful this was my first read of the new year, and I will reference frequently.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise behind the book is solid. Yet feels like this book is aimed at 30 something young moms. As a single without kids, I grew weary of stories about motherhood, marriage and toddlers. May be a good fit for others not for me.

[Whitney Newby · Rating 4 out of 5]

“My life is right in front of me, and I’m determined not to miss it.” This book was super encouraging and had so much more depth than I expected!

[Summer Beichley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ I wanted to love this book but didn’t. Often I felt like it was the same points drawn out over and over again. A lot of good thoughts but was not my fav.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Are you overloaded by all the noise? Do you feel it too? Do you feel this same alarming pressure to always be "on"?”

These questions from “The Unplugged Hours” resonated in me so deeply. I love modern amenities, thank you very much, but I’ve been in a 5 year love-hate relationship with social media and constant accessibility. If you feel that discontented pull, too, this book will provide a deep sigh of being seen and a kick in the butt to finally take action.

It’s not a scientific book full of studies. “The Unplugged Hours” is Hannah’s story, the lessons she’s learned from her own unplugged hours. It unravels like a friend sharing with you over coffee what she’s learned from having forged the path ahead of you. You take a deep breath. You don’t feel alone in these desires for a less tethered life.

I heard Hannah on Annie F Down’s “That Sounds Fun” podcast recently. (Episode 914–Worth a listen!) They pointed out what Hannah shares is descriptive, not prescriptive. This is not one-size-fits-all advice, but an invitation to continue the conversation started in these pages to find what unplugging looks like for each of us— and that may change at times— but the beauty we’ll find in unplugging is worth it!

I appreciate that Hannah is upfront— there will be a temptation to make this an achievement, or to quit if you fail. This is a process, and different seasons call for different boundaries. Unplugging is not about arriving. There are heaps of grace because Hannah herself is still in process.

I’m so grateful Hannah wrote this book so we all could be encouraged in unplugging. There are so many reflections that hit me while reading this and I will definitely be re-reading it at some point soon. The above questions she asked resonated so deeply that something finally clicked in me, and after a year of toying with the idea, I changed all my notification settings. Has it been life-changing yet, no. Has it made me feel less stressed and “always on”? Yes!

If you want to trade mindless scrolling, comparison stress and anxiety, and discontent for more contentment, more presence, for slowing down and savoring, sit down with “The Unplugged Hours”. You will be encouraged.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been following Hannah Brencher for years now, and I think I’ve read all of her books so far. She is one of the first people I remember finding on the internet and reading her blog. This was a good book, a good reminder to get off my phone and be present in my life. Love that she read the audiobook too.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was definitely a breath of fresh air and a great reminder of all the things we lose when we get lost in our phones. I didn’t agree with all the theology in this book but overall, it was an excellent read that made me think and reconsider how and when I use my phone.

[Rachel Secor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This was just the book I needed to read. At the start of 2024, I selected the words “(at)tend” to be my words for the year because I want to pay more attention to, and tend the good things in, my life. I’ve somewhat done so but not to the extent I would have wanted. Enter this book. It not only painted a picture of the kind of life I want to live-unplugged from technology, present with myself and those around me-but gave practical tools and encouragement to that end. As I reflected upon what I’ve learned through reading this book, the thought struck me that part of the reason this is so important is that to not attend to your life is to pridefully expect that God is just going to give you all the time you want in this world. But as James teaches, we don’t know what the future holds: “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”” Or, as God says in Jesus’s parable to the man who stores up his wealth, “Tonight your soul is required of you”-we cannot know when we will be called to eternity, to give an account for how we spent all of our resources, including our time. This book, then, has encouraged me and challenged me to be rich toward God by taking back my time. Highly recommend!

[Emily Ramey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how this book reinforced my reasoning to want to put my phone down more. Ever since becoming a mom, I didn’t want to be hooked to my phone because I know I only get one shot at parenthood and this was it. I wouldn’t get memories or time back if I was on my phone. I was already trying to be more present while listening to this book, but this reinforced everything I want.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think there are better books out there on this subject.

[Bethany Beasley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tidbits to ponder


My phone was the thing I woke up to, the thing I went to bed with, the thing I checked at all hours of the day. I didn’t realize how much it had taken from me until I started intentionally unplugging and slowly putting technology back in its place.

It’s a story of learning to find a balance between being plugged in and being powered down.

The more I’ve pressed in over the course of the journey, the more I’ve realized it was not just a call to be unplugged. It was a call to be relentlessly present in my life and the lives of others. It was a call to recover lost parts of myself. It was a call to create rather than just consume. It was a call to see the blessing in the mundane bits of daily life. It was a call to step back into connection, wonder, and devotion while breaking free of the constant stream of hurriedness that left me feeling anxious and restless. It was a call to relentlessly check into my life—and keep checking in. I pray you will experience some of the same calls and even more on your own journey.

the unplugged hours will be a teacher to you all on their own, if you let them.

What would you gain by unplugging more often? What is not working in your life that you want to change? How might unplugging help you do that one thing you’ve been wanting to do?

Our culture often focuses on the result rather than the process, but in the case of the unplugged hours (and most things in life), the really good stuff lives in the process. That’s where the wonder emerges. That’s where the joy takes shape. That’s where the growth occurs.

The thing about the stories that change our lives is that they often have multiple starting points.

The devices we hold make it so we never have to slow down, be alone with ourselves, or find a way to sit in the uncomfortable stillness that is supposed to come with daily life.

Resistance rising within us isn’t a sign that we’re doing something wrong. Often it means we’re doing something right. We’re on course. We met a tiny fork, and we chose the road that would grow us beyond who we’d been up to that point in our story. Our uncomfortable feelings—the ones we most want to escape—often yield the most significant growth moments. But there’s a catch: We must stay in the discomfort long enough to see hard-earned growth emerge.

…magic exists mainly in the ordinary. There is so much magic in the everyday walking-around rhythms and routines of daily life.

Every day, your choices reveal what you’re fighting for. Whether that’s presence or togetherness, wellness or the things of God—what you do with each day’s allotment of hours will be the makings of what poet Mary Oliver once described as your “one wild and precious life.”

we’ve adopted a household mantra that applies to all of us: we honor all feelings, but we don’t honor all behaviors. The feelings are important. They tell us things. They’re indicators, nudging us to pay attention. But where the feelings want us to go—that’s usually where things get dicey.

At the end of the conversation, I ask her the same question I ask every time: Are we ready to try again? She nods her head and says, “Yes, Mama. Try again. We try again.” She and I both feel a moment of redemption when that question is posed: Are we ready to try again?

Just imagine how much you’re going to learn.

We always say comparison is the thief of joy, but it steals so much more than just joy. Left undealt with, comparison robs us of nearly all the abundance life offers. It taints the way we see the world. It changes how we see ourselves. It gets in, and something deep within us starts to rot. But the truth is, no one stands to win when we’re holding measuring sticks. To evaluate ourselves and others based on useless little metrics is to admit that someone will always have to be below us for us to feel secure. That’s no way to live.

Writer Rebecca Webber explains,
“Social media is like kerosene poured on the flame of social comparison, dramatically increasing the information about people we’re exposed to and forcing our minds to assess. In the past, we absorbed others’ triumphs sporadically—the alumni bulletin would report a former classmate having been made partner at the law firm or a neighbor would mention that his kid got into Harvard. Now such news is at our fingertips constantly, updating us about a greater range of people than we previously tracked, and we invite its sepia-filtered jolts of information into our commutes, our moments waiting in line for coffee, even our beds at 2:00 a.m.”

I’m convinced we could be the happiest people in the world, celebrating our greatest victories in our favorite places on earth, and still, if we left the moment and began to scroll when we didn’t plan to—boom…
small snippet of someone else’s day can instantly implode yours.

What’s wild about the scrolling is that we know it’s not benefiting us after a certain point, but a lot of us continue anyway. It’s there, in that addictive spiral, that we need to remember that our struggle to stop scrolling is no accident. These portals we’re holding were designed using the same techniques gambling businesses use to keep their customers placing bets. And according to research, “their methods are so effective they can activate similar mechanisms as cocaine in the brain, creating psychological dependencies.”

I power down in an aggressive effort to spare my heart. To center my soul. To remind myself, You are not called to live that person’s life—you need to be busy living yours. I like social media, but I’m also determined to keep it in its place. If it ever starts to act like the driver, I step away.

I do something physical to break me away from the digital and to remind myself: This moment needs your attention.

We can learn to swing the door wide open. To do that, we must be willing to lay down our standards of perfection. We have to forsake the aesthetic for what actually matters: the chance to get better at showing our love and kindness to one another.

In these spaces of stillness, I often find myself writing down one of a series of questions: What do you want me to do today? Who do you need me to see? What do you want me to know?

In his book The Sabbath, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes, “Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone Else.”

“What are the sparks that restore us and bring us back to life after a long week?”

Presence, along with the cultivation of a deep appreciation for this life we’re living, has become the deep, thudding heartbeat of our Sabbath.

Henri Nouwen suggested that maybe the idea of “picking up our cross” was a call to stand inside the hard thing we’re facing and not run from it or distract ourselves. He wrote that maybe picking up our cross is inviting God into the hard thing and realizing it won’t destroy us.

God reassures Moses, “You’re looking for something that qualifies you to step into what’s coming next, and it’s right here. It’s me. I’m going with you. Of all the things I could offer you, this is the most important thing, the thing that will allow you to be okay in all of this: my presence.”

Author John Ortberg defines slowing as “cultivating patience by deliberately choosing to place ourselves in positions where we simply have to wait.”

In her book Bored and Brilliant, journalist Manoush Zomorodi writes, “Creativity—no matter how you define or apply it—needs a push, and boredom, which allows new and different connections to form in our brain, is a most effective muse.”

Creativity is a muscle. Muscles must be trained and flexed and built and repaired. The muscle of creativity doesn’t grow from watching what others have created. It grows from practice. It grows from letting our minds wander off. It grows from taking time to breathe and think and take in the world around us. It grows from experimentation and the willingness to dig deep enough to be original when it would be easier, in today’s copy-and-paste culture, to imitate what everyone else is doing.

We consume without realizing the consequences—that everything we take in, every image and video, impacts our souls. Each fifteen-second clip or three-minute video is another thing that can alter how we think, feel, and interact with the world around us.

➡️AUDIO BOOK

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75🌟
This book was just what I needed in this season of life. The author is very gifted with words and it was deeper than I thought it was going to be. The one thing that knocked it from a five-star read for me personally was that I felt it could have had more scripture and there were sometimes when I was thinking "Oh you could have added a verse here." But overall it was very well done.

Our culture often focuses on the result rather than the process but in the case of most things in life the really good stuff lives in the process.

"Before I could properly open my eyes or even turn to look at my husband's sleeping beside me, I was scrolling. I was allowing other people's fingerprints - their agendas, opinions, praise, and problems - to get all over my day before my feet even touch the ground. "

"We often talk about contentment as if it's already wired within us. But Paul doesn't claim he became content with the snap of a finger. He learned it, meaning he practiced it like anything else. There were likely stops, stalls, do overs, and Grace to cover it all. Learning to be content with our circumstances - what we have and who we are becoming - is an ongoing process, not a one time occurrence."

"Duty- what you should be doing at any given time, in whatever place God has put you."- Catherine Doherty

"People always say we are what we do when no one is watching, but who are we if we give others access to watch us at all times?"

"Could it be that on the days we feel like we're producing nothing, God is producing something valuable and resilient within us?"

"I like social media, but I'm also determined to keep it in its place. If it ever starts to act like the driver, I step away. "

"We always say comparison is the thief of joy, but it's still so much more than just joy. Left undoubt with, comparison Robb's of nearly all the abundance life offers. It taints the way we see the world. It changes how we see ourselves. It gets in, and something deep within us starts to rot. The truth is no one stands to win when we're holding measuring sticks."

"6 days a week we wrestle with the world, ringing profit from the Earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to someone else. "-Ahraham Joshua Heschel

"Do I believe God's presence is full and constant? Or do I believe it is stingy and running out? God's presence is highly concentrated and complete it's all encompassing. It's an 'I can't take my eyes off you' kind of presence."

"Are we going to order our inner worlds, our hearts, so that they will radiate influence into the outer world? Or will we neglect our private worlds and, thus, permit the outer influences to shape us? this is a choice we must make every day of our lives. " Gordon McDonald

"Don't believe a lie that you don't have enough time. I recently heard someone remark that saying we don't have enough time is really just an excuse. Instead, we should say, 'this just isn't a priority for me right now, 'and see how that feels. It might shift some things into perspective and force us to reevaluate where we've been spending our time and energy."

"To savor something is to enjoy it slowly.To Take it all in- maybe from multiple angles. It's focusing our awareness on the moment at hand, without distraction or hurry. It's the practice of sitting with a sliver of time will never have again."

[Fern Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book filled with authenticity, nuggets of wisdom and plenty to keep you thinking about long after you’ve read the final page. I think this is almost certainly Hannah Brencher’s best book yet!

At a surface level this book is about unplugging from technology and screens more and focusing on being present in everyday life. Hannah writes of her goal of having 1000 ‘unplugged’ hours within a year and what this was like for her; the practicalities, the difficulties, the benefits and what it was like to do. I think so many people do want to cut down their screen time but it is difficult and honestly can be a bit scary. What do you do when not on a screen? Will you miss out? Is an achievement the same if you’re not sharing it and being validated by others? This book offers a map showing what it can be like on the other side of that decision. More deeply though this book is really one about values. What matters, what do we prioritise, what do we really focus on and live out in our daily lives? After all our life isn’t in the big moments it’s in all the individual minutes and how we spend them does count. Sometimes when we centre ourselves around to do lists, a long list of achievements and whether our life looks enviable on social media we loose a sense of who we actually are and veer off on a path that perhaps isn’t always the best one for us. Hannah offers an insight into what a life that is centred on deep values but applied to everyday moments can look like.

What I appreciated is at no point does this book offer itself as a quick fix, easy to do or even a one size fits all solution. Instead it acknowledges life is not simple, it’s messy and it will never be perfect. However we do all have choices to make and we can choose what are anchors in the centre of our life are, what ideals we want to strive for and what ultimately we will cling to each day. This book is a series of nudges making you evaluate how much you pay attention to your own life and whether it might be the right moment to fine tune some things, let go of some habits and build some strong, solid life rhythms.

This is a book I know I will return to again and again. It has left me with lots to think about and plenty of questions about exactly how I want to define my own life and how I will spend the time that I do have. Thanks for writing it Hannah!

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I came across Brencher's work. This is the second book of hers I have read, and I enjoyed it.

I appreciated how she doesn't say that you can never be connected or use social media ever again. It's much more about being fully present in your life. To use technology and media more mindfully instead of just mindlessly consuming it. Learning that it is enough to just be present in the moment. If you see a pretty sunset, or visit a beautiful place, or see a cool thing, you don't have to automatically share it online. It is enough to have just witnessed it fully in that moment of being present.

Brencher shares a quote from 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal, "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." He wrote that in 1654. 1654!! And they still fit perfectly in our time today, in 2024.

I highlighted a lot of little nuggets of knowledge in the book, and will definitely be referring back to it as I continue with my 1,000 Unplugged Hours challenge and beyond. My long-term goal isn't to necessarily be off social media forever and forever. But to use it more mindfully. To use it to build connections that lead to in-real-life friendships. I would love if checking my Instagram (it's the only social media I have) were to become something that's an afterthought, something that I forget to do. Not something that I go to whenever I am bored or anxious or hiding from my own thoughts.

Overall, a good book if you're looking to start being more present in your life.

[Kendra Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read!! I highly recommend to anyone who is starting to realize their focus is split and they aren’t truly being present. The best quote from the book in my opinion: “You have enough time. Don’t believe the lie that you don’t have enough time. Change it up to truly say This isn’t a priority for me right now and see how that feels. It might shift some things into perspective and force us to react where we have been spending our time and energy.”

[Olivia Martin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book definitely sparked something in me to start turning my phone off and putting it in a drawer to rediscover the Olivia I was before tech. While I’m definitely not great at it, these unplugged hours have allowed me to me more present with my son, my home, my family, and my art/design—which feels really good.

Loved it and would highly recommend!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Grace Gladstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

So refreshing & inspiring

[Kristi Pharaon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually started this one a month ago…another of Kayci’s recommendations that is a life-changer. 🧡

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodness, I really needed this book. It stirred something in me... Creativity maybe?

[Lauren Burbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got so much more out of this then just “put down your phone”. Seriously everyone needs to read this one!

[Beccy Braun · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don’t write many reviews on GR, but this one is worthy of paragraphs and paragraphs. HB has been one of my favorite authors for years, so much so that i begged her to meet me for coffee once in college and drove an hour and a half to say hi in atlanta, and she so graciously asked questions about my life and let me soak in these precious moments with her- i’ll never forget that day.

this book feels a lot like sitting across from her at any of the coffee shops in atlanta: the quiet noises of the interstate or midtown outside, but cozy inside as we cradle our coffees and chat, phones turned off, about what the last few years have looked like.

honestly, i felt tempted to rush through my reading of this book so i could share all the things i love about it sooner than a month out from its release, but taking it chapter by chapter on quiet mornings has felt much more authentic and more unplugged, and i know that’s where hannah’s heart is, too!

i know it’s going to take me months, years honestly, to put into practice everything hannah brings up in this book, but that’s not new when it comes to her writing- i’m always inspired, always challenged, and always in awe that the Lord uses her to bring so much light and truth into all the places her books are cracked open 🫶🏼

i think unplugging is desperately desperately needed in our world today, and if we just give it time, if we take our time to savor, we’ll see the benefits of it piling up greater than the highest ROI we could have imagined.

would recommend this to literally anyone 😊

[Frank Bonfiglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a timely and impactful read. “Proceed quietly. Take your time.”

[Lauren Eisenhart-Purvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the last section of this book, but the majority of it was just random stories from the authors life that loosely connected to the theme of unplugging from digital content and being more present. Not a lot of practical advice. Felt like a lot of fluff

[Julia Case · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Hannah’s other books but this one felt like a repetitive journal with a big emphasis on being a mom (which wasn’t in the description and isn’t relatable to everyone)

[Laura Sopchak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hannah always seems to be able to verbalize what we are thinking and feeling, sometimes to the extent that we didn't even realize it.  Upon starting The Unplugged Hours, the topic of the book had been on my mind, but it wasn't until I started reading it, did I realize how much it truly resonated with me.  Hannah's words are completely digestible for a topic that could potentially be pretty dry or accusatory.  At no point did I feel like this book was a lecture to limit my screen time or make me feel bad for using Instagram. Hannah's style wraps you into a fuzzy blanket and chats with you over a warm cup of tea. As a new mom, I'm eager to implement the unplugged hours in our own lifestyles. Her descriptions of "purpose anxiety" and "notification fatigue" hammer home some of the feelings we may be feeling, but didn't know had an actual name. I cannot recommend this book enough and hope that our society does start to move in this direction. As she states, "You are allowed to sink your teeth into the life you're building." I hope with Hannah carving out this space, we can all sink our teeth into the lives we choose to build for ourselves.

[Kaylee Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just spent some unplugged hours finishing this book called “the unplugged hours” and like every hannah brencher book, it was everything i needed in the exact way i needed it. this book is all about being present, about putting our phones down to be engaged with what’s around us, to tune in to the groanings of our place, to see the delight in the snow falling outside our window, or to enjoy a meal with friends without the distraction of gif’s and reels and screenshots. it’s about learning “to live behind the call to constant connection and finding a path of balance that is better and more life-giving.”

if you’ve been feeling the prompting to turn down the noise of notifications and news and scrolling and posting, and to do more of what the quiet yearnings of your heart or whispers of God are calling you to, be it more baking, writing, or soul-work, this book is a wonderful guide. hannah is the best person to pick you up and dust you off, and her words will hug you just like they hugged me. 🔌

rating: 📖📖📖📖📖

[Emily Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

The author talks about taking intentional time away from our phones—unplugged hours—and learning to live in the present moment. She gave herself a challenge: 1000 unplugged hours in one year. I’ve started doing my own ‘unplugged hours’ challenge, keeping track with the chart provided in the book, and it truly is like the author states in chapter 29–like getting myself back. I’ve had moments of prayer where otherwise I’d have music blasting or an audiobook playing. I’ve noticed more, and bits of ideas for my own writing have surfaced, scenes appearing in my mind and dialogue weaving together.
I realized how much I reach for my phone without even meaning to, and how much peace and presence I’ve been stealing from myself. This was a great read, and a much-needed reminder of how the best parts of life happen when my phone is put away.

[Hannah Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read EVERYTHING that Hannah Brencher writes. So many times within her writing she talks about how she wishes we were sitting across from each other, drinking coffee, or on the couch wrapping in blankets as we talk, but that is exactly how her writing feels. What I love about this book is that it is a challenge. She is challenging us to unplug, to see the world around us again. But she is doing it while encouraging us too. I also love and appreciate that it's not "All phones are bad!" and she speaks to the positives of technology as well. But we have to recognize the toll phones are taking us and that we are allowing them to. We know what they're doing to us and we do not nothing to stop it. But Hannah did and she shows us how she found her way again and continues to find her way. We should all want that.

Highly recommend! Hannah Brencher is the best.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me realize that it's not only social media that's interfering with our ability to be present. It's texts, emails, app notifications and etc. that constantly draws away our attention. Doom scrolling reddit and Microsoft News certainly doesn't help either. I've always prided myself on being social media free and it has helped me to an extent but unplugging completely for a few hours a day seems like a good next step. I'm ready for the creative juices to start flowing again and for wonder to return. Maybe the worry, anxiety and fear will slowly dial down with it.

There were some religious parts that were a little lost on me and a few sections that seemed to drag a bit but overall a wonderful read.