To Be Perfectly Honest by Phil Callaway

Would I Lie to You? Not This Year.



Veteran author and speaker Phil Callaway is no stranger to daunting challenges. He has been laughed at—repeatedly—by large crowds of people from Halifax to Hong Kong. He fathered three children in three years, spent much of last year on airplanes built by the lowest bidder, and flipped an out-of-control ATV, which doesn’t mean he sold it for a profit. So who better than Phil Callaway to boldly accept a challenge that would make the average person run and hide?


Phil promised to tell the truth for an entire year, and he wasn’t joking. Twelve months later, his journal was crammed with successes, near-successes, and outright failures. During his year-long experiment with veracity, he made a disastrous financial investment, fielded hundreds of intrusive questions from friends and strangers, attended a thirty-year class reunion, and waded into possibly the most revealing—and hilarious—situations he has ever documented.


Find out what happens when a follower of Jesus does his level best to always tell the truth. There is no doubt you’ll be entertained. But don’t be surprised if you are left with a question: how might your life be changed if you sold out to the truth—with no exceptions?

My review:
I love Phil Callways books. They are always humorously written, yet get a message and point across. I admit I was a bit dubious about this one, as I like to believe any true Christian is always honest, but since I like his books, I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed.

This book is funny, but that is to be expected from Callway, but it made me think. He is bluntly honest in the book and it made me realize how so many of us aren't perfectly honest. Oh, we may not outright lie, but we find ways around telling the truth.

The book is written in journal form, with each entry being a differtent day from day 1 up to day 365. At the end of the book is discussion questions for each chapter.

I did thoroughly enjoy this book, and recommend it to anyone who wants to be entertained, convicted, and challenged at the same time, for this book will do all three.

About the author:

Phil Callaway is an award-winning author known worldwide for his humorous yet perceptive look at life. He is president of Laugh and Learn, Inc., and the author of twenty books, including Laughing Matters and Family Squeeze. Callaway is a wildly popular speaker who keeps being asked to appear at churches, couples’ nights out, healthcare conventions, and corporate events. He also is a repeat guest on national radio and television shows. Phil and his wife, Ramona, have three grown children.


To Be Perfectly Honest is available from Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing.

Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for the review copy.