I am seeking representation for my book about healing the hurt that comes from poor self-image and relating to our bodies in better and Biblical ways.
My book differs from other books on the market because it’s not a diet book, nor is it a book about simply feeling better about yourself. It’s a Biblical look at the concept of shame associated with body image and the freedom from that shame that can only come from Christ. The book frames hating your body for the spiritual battle that it is, and that our only clear hope for peace and freedom is in Christ and not the scale. It’s a personal narrative that dives into a difficult subject with a good dose of humor and hope.
Quotes From the Book
Exploring this new train of thought is exciting, because I never thought it was possible. I thought I was doomed to hate the sight of myself until the day one of my many diets worked, and I was in the range of a socially acceptable body weight. I did not see my body as lovable.
Chapter 1: It’s the End of the World as We Know It
Somehow, because I grew up being bullied for my weight, losing the weight took on a different burden. It wasn’t for my health; it was so that people couldn’t hurt me. And every day I was not unhurtably thin, my body failed me. And I hated it for that.
Chapter 3: Misery Loves Company
Living with fat shame is me trying to gain worth, peace, and freedom by moving the scale, and the only successes are measured in pounds and inches. On the other hand, body acceptance is realizing my worth and freedom in Christ and His love for me, and deciding to care for my body out of that peace and a joyous desire to want to love and serve God more. One deals with the outward appearance, and one deals with the heart. One is penance, and the other is praise.
Chapter 6: Romantic Comedy Me
I want a body that has a flat stomach, a stomach that has never carried a child and stretched to accommodate that miracle. A stomach that has never been sliced in an emergency C- section, saving both our lives. I want different skin. Skin that wasn’t burned at the summer cabin. That didn’t stretch that has never known cellulite.
I want different hair. I want hair that doesn’t gray. That doesn’t show that I am almost forty, and I have the years of experience and wisdom to match that particular shade.
What I want is a body that is not mine. That doesn’t bear the markers of the life I have lived, or the person it houses. When I think of the body I want; I simply wish myself away.
Chapter 6: Romantic Comedy Me
