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 … 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.
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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.
Really beautiful book highlighting God’s love for us through 12 women & their stories. The author has beautifully showcased the stories with before and after photographs of each woman. Very uplifting and an extremely important message, especially to women. No matter where you’re from, where you’re at on your journey or how well you think you are we all seem to be a little more self-conscious and doubting of our value. This book lifts women up and drives home the love our Father has for each and every one of us.
I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
– [ ] When I learned that Rebecca Friedlander wrote a book, “Finding Beautiful” I quickly signed on to the launch team. I have followed her videos for some time now and was sure her book would be that of quality and have great photography in it. I was not disappointed, this book is beautifully put together. “Finding Beautiful” is a book for women of all ages. There are 12 stories of 12 truly beautiful women. Their stories are all different yet all have the same grace of God weaving through them. I was unable to choose just one favorite story, but I do have it narrowed down to chapters 8 and 11. Rebecca Friedlander summed it all up in the Conclusion with a quote; “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Finding Beautiful not only challenged me to see beauty with fresh eyes in my own life, but, also challenged me to seek new ways to share beauty with others. This book has such an impact on me that I had every woman possible read just one chapter of this book. All but one have ordered at least 1 copy of “Finding Beautiful”.
I thoroughly enjoyed Finding Beautiful by Rebecca Friedlander. Although I was not familiar with Radical Makeovers, the television show related to this book, I was intrigued and inspired by the stories of the women in this book. In the introduction it says that the book “shares far more details than included in the show.” So, for those who have seen the show, this book should still be interesting.
At times, the women’s stories moved me to tears. I liked how the Rebecca Friedlander shared each woman’s personal story, information about the photo shoot, her (Rebecca’s) own story, a story/topic from the Bible, and questions for reflection. The narrative was creative and well-written. The full color photos complemented the featured stories and accented the theme of each chapter.
I recommend Finding Beautiful by Rebecca Friedlander to any woman. The diversity of topics, engaging narrative, and inspiring stories will appeal to many women. With it’s hard cover, glossy pages, and full-color photos, it would also make a great gift.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The idea of identity is such a big thing in our world today and Finding Beautiful addresses that issue through the powerful stories of these beautiful women. Along the way, Rebecca Friedlander includes bits of her own personal experiences. She states that she takes artistic license with Bible passages to include a section of Biblical fiction relating to each chapter. Throughout the book, the author asks thought provoking questions. I definitely think that this book would make for a great small group because the content easily lends to discussion. The group could read one chapter a week and have plenty to discuss. My advice is to read this book slowly as these stories of transformed lives are rich in lessons that will touch your heart. I was given a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to Just Read Tours for selecting me to be part of the tour; and to the publisher Baker Books for sending this inspirational book.
This is a Christian Living/Women’s self-help book by worship-leader, film-producer, and award-winning photographer Rebecca Friedlander.
This book explores the search for “true beauty” and highlights the best of the stories from “Radical Makeovers”.
Friedlander got the idea after hearing a model’s story about feeling like a piece of meat and Friedlander’s comparison of how butcher shops discarded unwanted carcasses vs. the “meat-market” of today’s society.
The book tells about the various women and their beauty, along with their spiritual intervention with God. The “themed” chapters are told about the subject – their history, explaining the photo shoot, the author’s story relating to the theme, God’s (bible) story relating to the particular chapter, a “true beauty tip”, along with questions for reflection.
Traveling the world; from Paris, Hawaii, England, California, Israel, Ireland, places across the US and Mexico; Friedlander teaches us to not define beauty from outward appearances. She instead has us rely upon uses God’s definition to discover what true beauty is and where our transformation can begin.
Admittedly this book was outside my genre and I really don’t do the “self-help” type of books. But, something about this book seemed to reach out to me.
If you enjoy an inspirational read with Christian inspiration as well as biblical quotes, you will definitely enjoy this read. I honestly couldn’t put it down once I got it! I had to force myself to stop so I could soak it all in and really receive the messages in it. I definitely felt myself changed by it and do feel better about myself after reading it.
I’ll definitely be re-reading it again – especially for the reflection questions.