Finding Beautiful: Discovering Authentic Beauty Around the World by Rebecca Friedlander

ABOUT THE BOOK

Americans spend millions on beauty products, weight-loss programs, and age-defying medical interventions each year. We set impossible standards and feel bad about ourselves when we don't reach them. Is beauty truly that difficult to attain? Or could it be that our idea of what's beautiful is simply too narrow?

With engaging personal stories and dramatic before-and-after photography, filmmaker Rebecca Friedlander uncovers the true beauty of 12 women from various ethnicities and backgrounds, 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.

Anyone who loves a great makeover story or who wants to explore their unique identity will love this eye-opening book. Let's stop letting the world define beauty and start being a voice that tells the world what true beauty actually looks like. 


MY THOUGHTS.....

Finding Beautiful: Discovering Authentic Beauty Around the World by Rebecca Friedlander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a book that will speak to so many women because most of us are very conscious of our appearance and sadly, our society is obsessed with physical beauty. In the introduction of Finding Beauty the author expresses her hopes that this book will 'tell the age-old truth in a fresh way: you are loved, you are valued, and you were created to carry true beauty that will never grow old.' (p. 13) In the next twelve chapters she uses photographs and word pictures to indeed show that true beauty does not grow old. Each chapter has a different woman as the subject but all the chapters have My Story, God's Story (selected scripture), a True Beauty Tip and Questions for Reflection. These women are from all over the world and as different as they all are, they are still very similar. After years of seeking, struggling and feeling unworthy, they have discovered the true source of beauty. They have allowed God to be their stylist; they have chosen God's makeover and they have found their own beautiful!

Rebecca Friedlander's talent as a photographer is very evident in the featured photos and her personal relationship with God is very obvious in her narrative. Finding Beautiful is inspiring and eye-opening and it is perfect for reading alone or reading in a group setting. I can see it being used for a women's Bible study and it would be a valuable tool in a teen youth group. Friedlander chooses to end her book with this prayerful thought: 'May you not only find beautiful but also let it overflow to others as you share it with a world that longs for authentic beauty.'

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and I have chosen to write this honest review.

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