One of the things that made Lacey Sturm so instantly compelling as the founding frontwoman of Flyleaf was her story. She wore her journey of depression, suicide, addiction and ultimately miraculous redemption on her sleeve, choosing to make herself vulnerable in order to let her life serve as evidence of a relentless, infectious love. It's that same quality that made her first book The Reason excel, as well as her solo debut album Life Screams. Now that rawness is being channeled into her second book The Mystery: Finding True Love In A World of Broken Lovers.

As someone who has connected deeply to everything Lacey has created for a decade now, but who also has a deep, innate distrust of oft-formulaic and shallow dating books, I had mixed expectations when I started reading The Mystery. Lacey's raw, honest storytelling quickly disarmed my doubts. What I found in the pages of The Mystery is not another simplified, to-do list style book about dating. This is ultimately a book about every kind of relationship: family, significant others and spiritual community, with her humble account displaying clearly how all of these relationships stem from and lead back to our relationship with a loving God. 

One of the many areas in which Lacey's prophetic insight promises to cut to many readers' core is the way she lays out how her relationship (or lack thereof) with her father would eventually impact every other relationship she had. Her struggle to know God as a Father, to internalize what that actually practically meant, is a challenge commonly faced but rather discussed. Her journey of learning and unlearning is laid out with so much frank, relatable clarity that it promises to shed light into the process others are walking through as well. 

Another area in which The Mystery uncovers rare and vital truths is that of the necessity to set emotional boundaries. Through her own heartaches, Lacey unveils how often emotional abuse and codependency are confused for love. She explains how dangerous it is when we try to play God for someone else and offers examples of boundaries she chose to set in different relationships in order to better honor God and His relationship with her.

Throughout the story, The Mystery is sprinkled with notes from Lacey's friends, notes aimed in particular at teenagers and young adults. Although well-known names like Korey Cooper, Jen Ledger and Brian Head Welch are present, there are also notes from people who played a significant personal role in Lacey's story. These notes and the diversity of writers Lacey chose to write them reveal another strength of this book: there is never a moment when it feels like the memoirs of a distant rockstar, speaking down from a pedestal of experience or fame, elevating a certain kind of person above another. The Mystery feels instead like a conversation with a friend. You can practically picture Lacey brushing off the "rockstar" title with a laugh, choosing to dig her hands into the mess of living and loving right alongside her readers.

If you only buy one book on relationships this year, or even in the next five years, I would recommend that it be this one. Although largely aimed at young adults, the truths presented here can be soul-shaping for adults as well (I was challenged and encouraged even as a married 20-something). Much of The Mystery's strength lies in the fact that Lacey Sturm chooses to tell a story about grace instead of simply listing distant, impersonal principles. Lacey Sturm's open-hearted honesty, her ability to address relationships with a healthy awareness of the reality that all relationships are interconnected, and above all her complete dependence on and gratitude for the overflowing love of a gracious God all make The Mystery a soul-impacting read.