Book Review: The Dirty Little Secret

It's something a lot of people (perhaps even a majority of people) in this day and age struggle with, yet nobody wants to talk about it. If you don't struggle with it, you know someone who does - even if you don't know that you do. Pornography.

In his book The Dirty Little Secret author and founder of XXXChurch Craig Gross tackles the problem of pornography head on. Yet he does it in a way that is foreign yet fresh (and refreshing) from the Christian community. Rather than vilifying those within the porn industry or offering 3 easy steps to breaking free from porn, Gross takes the approach of putting a face on porn. Telling stories of porn addicts, porn stars, porn producers, as well as family members and friends of the a fore mentioned, he takes the readers behind the facade of the glitz and glamour trying to get to the truth about porn and its affect on individuals, relationships, and society. Along the way he gives bits of helpful advice, but his focus is clearly on telling real-life stories.

Overall I found the book to be quite good. What I love in particular about Craig Gross and XXXChurch is their approach of love and grace, and their invitation to conversation about this taboo subject. My only observation/concern (although perhaps, unfortunately, due to the availability and easy access of porn today it is more than likely a moot point) is that in trying to be explanatory this book could inadvertently do what some other well-intentioned books on this topic have done, and actually be offering ideas to readers through detailed descriptions, i.e. names of people, websites, companies, etc. Due to this fact I would advise cautionary discretion for potential readers. It is definitely for mature audiences as Craig pulls no punches when sharing the painful truth about porn.