Beauty Begins by Chris Shook, Megan Shook Alpha Publisher: WaterBrook Press (2016)
Hardcover (208 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2016
Synopsis
You are, and always have been, beautiful.
“Beauty begins. That’s the point of this book. Our understanding of beauty got started somewhere and somehow, and probably due to someone. Now that may have been a good start, but then again it may not have. But regardless of what your past looks like, we want to offer up this word of hope: it’s never too late to make peace with your reflection.”
We live in a culture that’s obsessed with beauty. Walk by any magazine stand, turn on a television, or visit the local shopping mall, and you’ll be bombarded with the images and ideals that our culture believes are the epitome of what it means to be beautiful. And if you’re like most women, you’ve probably spent countless hours trying to measure up to this standard of beauty whether you realize it or not.
But if you don’t make peace with your reflection, you’ll end up declaring war on yourself.
That’s where mother-daughter team, Chris and Megan Shook, want to help. In Beauty Begins, they explore the origins of beauty (hint, it didn’t start with a fashion magazine) and challenge each of us to trade the pressure of perfection for God's perfect love.
Poignant, relevant, and relatable, Beauty Begins is for every woman who wants to reclaim what it means to be truly beautiful.
Do you feel beautiful?
When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Others may tell you that you’re beautiful, but do you believe them? Why not? Don’t let another day go by without believing and knowing that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.
It’s time for you to exchange society’s cookie-cutter suggestions for what is beautiful and instead discover and reclaim what true beauty looks like – and the One who created it.
In Beauty Begins, Chris and Megan Shook share with you their own experiences and struggles with appearance and body image, as well as equip you with the wisdom to distinguish what’s artificial beauty and what’s real. Filled with heartfelt encouragement, insightful challenges, and undeniable truth, after reading Beauty Begins, you’ll never look in the mirror the same way again.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
My Review
I really enjoyed reading Beauty Begins. It is about true beauty and positive self-image. This is such a necessary topic in our society where everyone is pushed to compare themselves to others. It is written by a mother-daughter duo as well.
The book is divided into three main sections. The first section, The Beautiful Truth, focuses on where beauty comes from… God. The second section, The Beautiful Struggle, focuses on the daily struggles we face in the midst of our messy lives. The third section, The Beautiful Rebellion, focuses on changing our mindset and daring to be different than society expects.
There is also an addendum at the end of the book written by our authors’ husbands. It is entitled A Challenge to Men which is a nice addition to this book.
This is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it and liked the reflection questions in each chapter quite a bit. They make great journal prompts.
If you pick up this book, don’t expect to breeze through it in a weekend. Take some time to really reflect on what you are reading. It is too important of a topic to rush it.
I received this book for free from the publisher via Blogging for Books for
review consideration. This in no way affects my opinion of the title
nor the content of this review.
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