Finding Beautiful by Rebecca Friedlander

Monday, June 03, 2019

About:

Let's redefine beauty for our world!
What is beautiful? We spend our money on beauty products, weight-loss programs, and age-defying medical interventions to attain beauty. We set impossible standards and feel bad about ourselves when we don't reach them. Is beauty truly that elusive? Or could it be that our idea of what's beautiful is simply too narrow?

Through engaging personal stories and dramatic before-and-after photography, filmmaker Rebecca Friedlander uncovers the true beauty of twelve women from around the world, empowering us to shatter the lies of rejection, doubt, and low self-esteem. Utilizing compelling biblical truth and questions for personal reflection, Friedlander helps us identify our own personal battlegrounds, celebrate our uniqueness, and embrace God's definition of beautiful.

Description from BakerPublishingGroup.com

My Review:

This world is so messed up. What God sees as beautiful the world sees as weak, even ugly, and it has made true beauty into something to be rejected. Rebecca Friedlander's mission- to tell the stories of women who struggled and show true beauty- shines with the love and care she puts into it. Originally, these ladies were photographed and filmed for a TV show, but she's put pen to paper to translate their stories for book form, and does it very well. Each lady's heart and story shine under Rebecca's rendering.

I've always struggled with body image, identity and true beauty, so books and other material addressing these topics appeal to me. Rebecca has no easy answers or formulas for life's problems, but instead, she simply shares the stories of women from around the world. What makes them beautiful and the story they share comes first; how the makeover photoshoot went; a little anecdote of something she's learned; and lastly to end each chapter, a Bible story- lesson and story intact but re-imagined in storytelling form by Rebecca.

The book combines fun makeovers in beautiful dresses- an element of fun and symbolism- with a spiritual message that goes deeper than the skin to the heart of the story. Truly, Rebecca and each woman she interviews is beautiful, inside and out.

I received this book from Baker Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Check out the trailer ↘