A memoir by Jacob Wulff
Almost Understood
A Memoir of Grace I Wasn't Ready to Receive
A Christian memoir about grace, redemption, and the God who never looked away.
Releasing January 12, 2027 · Foreword by Devan Stuart Lesley
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How it begins
“I was old enough to talk and too young to tie my own shoes, and the last time I’d see my dad for years, he was standing in the rain with his hands in his pockets.”
The first line of Almost Understood
The story
Jacob Wulff spent most of his life almost understanding grace.
Almost Understood is the true story of a childhood in the blast radius of addiction, a violent father, and a dozen houses that never became home. It's also the story of the people who wouldn't let go, the man who kept showing up until Jacob finally called him Dad, and a God who had been listening the entire time.
Heartbreaking, sometimes funny, and full of faith, this memoir is for anyone who's ever assumed grace was for other people. Jacob spent most of his life almost understanding it. Now he does.
Early praise
What readers are saying
Almost Understood is a powerful, vulnerable read that reminds us how God's grace carries us through pain we don't always understand.
Cordarius WilliamsM.Ed. · Speaker & founder of Coach Williams UniversityExcruciatingly honest and deeply human, Almost Understood confronts the wounds we carry, the choices we own and the grace that makes redemption possible.
Devan Stuart LesleyJournalist and People correspondentA raw and emotional journey through broken families, Almost Understood reminds us our past doesn't have to decide how our story ends.
Tiffany RueAuthor of The Places My Heart Refused to Leave
The boy behind the book
“I didn't research it. I lived it.”
Thirteen schools. A mother who fought addiction. A grandmother who prayed for him his whole life. Every page of Almost Understood is Jake's own story, and these are a few pictures from it.
Inside the book
What you'll find inside
Honest, even when it hurts
“The hardest ones were the ones where I’m the villain. I left those in anyway, because a memoir that only flatters its author isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.”
—Jake
More humor than you’d expect
“It also has a lot of people who showed up for me when they didn’t have to, and more than a few things that still make me laugh.”
—Jake
What I know now
Every chapter closes with What I know now, the hard-won perspective that turns memory into meaning, and the Scripture that carries it.
Who it's for
If you have ever felt too broken, too late, or too far gone, this book was written for you.
- Anyone who grew up too fast
- Anyone still counting what they never got
- Anyone wondering if redemption is really for people like them
“Grace found me long before I was ready for it.”
Only here, directly from Jake
The signed first edition
- Signed by Jake
- A handwritten note in every copy
- Limited first-edition run
Preorder bonusEvery signed preorder comes with a limited-edition bookmark and a free gift.
Each button opens Jake's checkout on Ko-fi in a new tab.
Everywhere books are sold
Preorder at your favorite store
Paperback and hardcover (unsigned) at the stores below. More stores are on the way.
Every edition
| Format | Price | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback | $19.99 | ISBN 979-8-9983766-0-3 |
| Hardcover | $29.99 | ISBN 979-8-9983766-1-0 |
| Kindle ebook | $4.99 | ISBN 979-8-9983766-2-7 |
| Audiobook | Read by Jake. Coming soon. | |
(opens in a new tab)318 pages in print · Want signed? Get it from Jake
A note from Jake
From the author
Jacob Wulff
Author
I've told my story before, in bits and pieces. A piece to my wife. A piece to a friend at two in the morning. But I'd never told it all at once, in order, until a small group at my church in Texas heard it and told me the same thing, more or less all at once: "You should write a book."
So I did. I didn't research it. I lived it.
Some chapters wrote themselves in a day. Others took months. The hardest ones were the ones where I'm the villain. I left those in anyway, because a memoir that only flatters its author isn't worth the paper it's printed on. It also has a lot of people who showed up for me when they didn't have to, and more than a few things that still make me laugh.
This is my first book. I wrote it for my kids, so they'll always understand where they came from. And I wrote it for you, if you're in the middle of your own story right now, in the part that doesn't make sense yet.
Grace found me long before I was ready for it. Maybe it already found you too.
“I wrote it for my kids, so they'll always understand where they came from.”
From the blog
More from Jake
November 3, 2026 · 4 min read
What the Bible Says About Storms (and What I Learned in Mine)
What the Bible says about storms, from Jesus calming the sea to Isaiah 43:2, and what a layoff, six hard months and a lot of prayer taught my family about God in the storm.
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November 1, 2026 · 1 min read
The Almost Understood Launch Tee: A Limited Run
The Almost Understood launch tee is here in a limited run. A soft navy T-shirt with the title from the book's cover on the front.
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October 31, 2026 · 6 min read
How Do You Forgive Someone Who Hurt You? What the Bible Says About Forgiveness
Why forgiving someone who hurt you is so hard, what the Bible says about forgiveness, what it is and isn't, and how to start letting go of what they did.
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Good questions
Before you buy
Is Almost Understood a true story?
Yes. Almost Understood is a memoir, the true story of Jacob Wulff's own life. As he puts it, he didn't research it. He lived it.
Is Almost Understood a Christian book?
Yes. It's a Christian memoir and a personal faith testimony. Every chapter closes with What I know now, Jacob's hard-won perspective looking back, and the Scripture that carries it. It was written for people who didn't grow up with easy answers.
Is it a heavy read?
It's honest about hard things: addiction, broken family, anger, and forgiveness, including the chapters where Jacob is the villain. It also has more humor than you'd expect, and a lot of people who showed up for him when they didn't have to.
Can I get a signed copy of Almost Understood?
Yes. Signed first-edition paperbacks ($25) (opens in a new tab) and hardcovers ($40) (opens in a new tab) are available directly from Jake on Ko-fi, with free US shipping. Every signed preorder also comes with a limited-edition bookmark and a free gift.
Is there an Almost Understood audiobook?
Yes. Jacob is narrating the audiobook himself, and it will come to Audible after the print and ebook editions launch.
Releasing January 12, 2027
Get your signed first edition
Every signed preorder comes with a limited-edition bookmark and a free gift.
Free US shipping on signed copies · Other stores and Kindle