I’ve read lots of books on body image, insecurity, self-esteem–with lovely Christian authors who attack these issues and encourage women who desperately crave healing in this area.

Most of them helped me a little. Some, helped a lot. Others, didn’t help at all. But, generally, I never found answers satisfying enough to actually change my thinking. I still longed for more beauty and didn’t know how to stop that longing, cease my striving.

That’s why I wrote Compared to Who? I believe God showed me some different–dare I say, meatier–answers than those I read other places. Here’s what you’ll find in Compared to Who?

1. Compared to Who Will Shock You With Its (Humorous) Honesty.

How many times have you read an author confess that she struggles not to walk into a room and assess who’s thinner than she is? Yep. I’m not proud of it, but I share it! Oh, there are some embarrassing stories in there too. Like the time I got a seaweed wrap and really thought it had made my thighs two inches thinner in 55 minutes. That one may make you laugh. (Maybe you’ve tried something similar?)

Or, maybe you can relate to the fact that I have about four hundred bottles of inferior, clearance-rack hair products, but refuse to spend the $17 on the one bottle that would probably control my frizz appropriately. {Sigh.}

If you are looking for a book by an author who doesn’t claim to have it all together or have a perfect history of always remembering her value is in Christ, the blunt honesty of this book (as well as the humor) may interest you.

2. Compared to Who Won’t Teach You To Love Yourself More.

There are lots of books out there that will teach you to love yourself. This isn’t one of them. Why? Two reasons. First, I don’t believe anyone who struggles with body image issues can just flip an internal switch and suddenly go from shame and self-despairing to body love. It just doesn’t happen like that for most. Second, I don’t believe body love is the way out. I explain more on that here. But, I promise you, this book will not tell you, “Just love your body. Love your cellulite. Appreciate what you’ve got.” That’s not the premise of this book.

3. Compared to Who Won’t Leave you With the Responsibility to Change Yourself!

One of the biggest challenges I find after reading a “self-help” type book is feeling overwhelmed with trying to change myself. I can’t do it. If I could do it, I would have already done it. You can give me steps, plans, programs, and diets and I can stick with them for a few days – maybe two weeks even. But, I have no power to change myself. I always fall back to my old habits. Compared to Who? doesn’t ask you to change yourself. Rather, it assumes the opposite, that we are powerless to change without the power of the Holy Spirit–It’s Christ who has to do the work in us if we ever want to see our issues differently. The book doesn’t leave you hanging, but it certainly won’t overwhelm you with all you “have to do” to get better.

4. Compared to Who Offers No Diet or Exercise Tips!

Speaking of diet and exercise tips, you won’t find any in Compared to Who? Why? Because there are lots of other books out there if that’s what you are looking for. Instead, Compared to Who? aims to help you get off the “more beauty needed” treadmill. Though there’s nothing wrong with healthy habits, Compared to Who? isn’t going to give you tips to eat cleaner and strategies for sneaking in exercise. Instead, it’s going to look at your heart and help you analyze the root of your struggle with comparison and/or body image issues.

5. Compared to Who Will Give you Practical Advice and Even Questions for Group or Individual Study.

Don’t you hate it when you read a good book that’s all theory and no practical application. Just like a good Sunday morning sermon, we all need to hear truth and then see how it could directly apply to our lives. Compared to Who? gives you some truth bombs, but then takes the next step and shows you how you can start applying them to your life in the pursuit of freedom in and through Jesus Christ.

Interested to hear what others are saying about Compared to Who?

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Order your copy of Compared to Who? here or pick up a copy at your local Lifeway Christian store.

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