Brave Is the New Beautiful: Finding the Courage to Be the Real You

by Lee Wolfe Blum

$15.99

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Author: Lee Wolfe Blum

Publisher: David C Cook

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1434710300
ISBN 13: 978-1434710307

In a culture that bombards women with "thinspiration" messages and pressure to "do it all" while wearing the mask of perfection, women are left feeling alone and overwhelmed. How can they stop comparing themselves to others? How can they live out who they really are?

Lee Wolfe Blum offers stories from everyday women who have answered these questions with their lives—and found true beauty in the process. In Brave Is the New Beautiful, Blum weaves reflections from her own journey with inspirational stories from everyday women who chose to take off their masks and live authentically. Through call-to-action questions and ideas, she encourages readers to be brave enough to be who they really are and the beloved that God knows they are.

Review

"If you're in a season of life where you need a new brand of courage and a deeper sense of God's faithfulness, read Lee's beautiful book."

Susie Larson, national speaker and author of Your Powerful Prayers

In today's 'be everything to everybody' society, women find the idea of being brave and beautiful a foreign thought when they are struggling just to survive. Blum shares her stories, as well as those of many women whom she admires, to encourage readers to not compete but to become who God wants them to be.

Blum is a mental health practitioner who works with patients facing eating disorders and addictions. Her passion of hope and freedom is shown throughout this book as she reminds readers that they aren't necessarily here on earth to be happy but to honor God and become more Christlike.

The heartwarming stories of strength and bravery are excellent for a personal study as well as for a group study. Additional ideas are found in the reflection questions and thoughts at the end of each chapter and the thorough notes section at the end of the book.

(Donna Watson) This quote was from Publishers Weekly.

“In Brave Is the New Beautiful, Lee Blum invites you to join a girl’s club of a new kind: one that encourages each member to move beyond the shallow waters of insecurity and strive toward a place of depth, courage, and authenticity.” -Gwen Smith, cofounder of Girlfriends in God and author of I Want It All and Broken into Beautiful

“Bravery looks different on all of us. Maybe for your, bravery is facing your fears so you can step out in faith. Maybe for someone else, it’s the willingness to give others access to her story or the courage to leave a job that props up her identity. We all have mountains to climb and giants to face, but we never go it alone. Jesus is with us, and bravery orginates from him. He continually calls us upward and onward. If you’re in a season of life where you need a new brand of courage and a deeper sense of God’s faithfulness, read Lee’s beautiful new book. You’ll be reminded afresh that you are not alone and that you get to be a work in progress, without condemnation. Isn’t that the best news ever? We’re cheering for you!” -Susie Larson, national speaker, talk radio host, and author of Your Powerful Prayers

“All of us strive to be beautiful, but even on days when the image in the mirror shines, we still don’t feel pretty because of the pain, shame, hurt and loss we carry inside. Lee Wolfe Blum shares women’s stories, including her own, to peel back the layers. This book is a beautiful representation of the hope that follows the compassion, care, and bravery of sharing our stories. A worthy read!” -Tricia Goyer, author of more than sixty books, including Life, In Spite of Me with Kristen Jane Anderson

“The notion that anyone’s life is easy is a mirage,” wrote Lee. This is a timely message for all who need reminding that our most enduring beauty often lies just beneath the surface of our brokenness.” -Constance Rhodes, founder and CEO of FINDINGbalance and author of Life Inside the “Thin” Cage

“In Brave Is the New Beautiful, Blum deftly dismantles the barriers that keep us from being our true selves- from being vulnerable and real with others. Without cliches and with real impact, Blum reminds us that life is messy and we need one another. You will find yourself in these pages, and you will find your friends. And you will find your unique courage.” -Shayne Moore, founder of Redbud Writer’s Guild and author

“Though age has eroded my addiction to the culture of youth and beauty, I still sigh for wrinkle-free skin from time to time. Lee Blum has nailed the healthy alternative for women of any age: courage to go deeper. Her heroines are women who rose above disfiguring accidents, who tore themselves away from destructive relationships, who endured the death or illness of a child. I especially resonated with the chapter on reinvention, a path I have traveled and highly recommend. Read this book and be inspired to find your own brave beauty.” -Carolyn Miller Parr, MA, JD, retired judge and coauthor of In the Secret Service

“Lee Wolfe Blum helps her readers understand that courage is not denying, coping, or white-knuckling it but is accepting our brokenness as a gateway to joy. She skillfully guides us through narratives of loss, disappointment, and pain so that we might develop a more authentic faith and become the beautifully brave women God created us to be.”
-Dorothy Littell Grego, author of Making Marriage Beautiful

“In this refreshing and beautiful book, Lee guides readers to embrace their authentic selves, noting that it’s not as easy as it sounds and takes tremendous courage. Full of first-hand experience and dozens of anecdotes, Lee paints a vision for how powerful women can be when they embrace life fully and freely.” -Kirsten Haglund, community relations specialist at Timberline Knolls Treatment Center and Miss America 2008

About the Author

Lee Wolfe Blum is an energetic and passionate speaker who loves to help women find hope in healing from perfectionism and addictions. She works as a mental health practitioner in the field of Eating Disorders and Chemical Dependency. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and three boys.

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Brave Is the New Beautiful: Finding the Courage to Be the Real You