An honest review of Stasi Eldredge’s book, Becoming Myself: Embracing God’s Dream of You

Every once in a while, you'll read a book that resonates with you. It's a book so good that you simply have to share it! Family Christian Bookstore's blogger program sent a copy of Stasi Eldredge's book Becoming Myself: Embracing God's Dream of You, to me for an honest review. After reading it, I found that it is one of "those" books that is SO good that you have to share it! 

So without further ado, here's my review...

“It’s good to dream. We can’t out-give God. We can’t out-love him, and we can’t out-dream him. Give yourself permission to dream big! Dream deep. Dream wide. Because the thing about dreams is, dreams come true.”~Stasi Eldredge, “From Accepting to Embracing” (Ch. 6, page 101).

It is good to know that there is a God and He encourages us to dream. Such is the theme of Stasi Eldredge’s book, Becoming Myself: Embracing God’s Dream of You. In the 250 pages of Eldredge’s book, she bares her soul through the intimate storytelling of childhood memories and adult experience. The author shares stories from her life. Stories of searching for beauty, enduring drama, experiencing trauma and healing from pain. Eldredge does not hold back on giving in-depth illustrations about the lessons she’s learned along her life journey.

The first pages of the books are filled with a personal story that involves Eldredge’s mother-in-law, body image and a free massage at the spa. The author explains her anxiety about allowing someone to see what she thinks is her imperfect body, even if it’s just for the purposes of a relaxing massage. The scenario becomes embarrassing for Eldredge because of various obstacles she faces when she arrives at the spa such as barely being able to cover herself with the bathrobe provided by the spa, the same complimentary robe that fit the other women perfectly.

As a woman and writer, I think Eldredge does a good job of setting the stage for the rest of her book—an honest portrayal of how we as women see ourselves and a wonderful lesson of why it is important to ask God to help us to realize our true value and worth because we are all beautiful in God’s eyes. My favorite part in the book was the chapter “From Accepting to Embracing” in which the author spoke in-depth about the value of dreams and trusting God with the outcome in life. Eldredge’s story resonated with me as a female who’s struggled with self-image and realizing my true worth in God’s eyes. I found hope and encouragement in the pages of this book.

The only aspect of this book that I think could use improvement is the structure and flow of the storytelling because at times it seemed like too much information at once and there is a need for better transitions from story to story within each chapter. I think there are a few sections in Eldredge’s book that would be even more powerful if the words were arranged in a more precise and concise manner. However, it does not take anything away from Eldredge’s skill as a writer and her honest portrayal of her life journey as a woman seeking perfection in a world that is not perfect.

Ultimately, I believe the author accomplished her objectives in telling this story and inspiring women who get lost in these pages of Eldredge’s book to discover God’s dream for them and realize that they are enough, they are more than enough in God’s eyes. The author did a beautiful job of encouraging my heart and helping me to remember that my value is within what God thinks of me and knows to be true, not the lies the negative forces in this world will tell me to believe.

Therefore, I recommend this book to every woman, especially young women, as a source of real-life encouragement for your life journey. I believe this book deserves a rating of four-stars.

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Visit Stasi's official website for more info on "becoming myself"

http://www.becomingmyself.com/