Anyone who has seen my house, my hair, or how I dress would agree with me when I say that I am not a perfectionist. As a result, I was sure Breaking Up with Perfect: Kiss Perfection Good-Bye and Embrace the Joy God Has in Store for You by Amy Carroll,wasn’t “for me”.
However, when I was offered the opportunity to review this book, I jumped at the chance, and I’m glad I did.
In the Introduction (which you do not want to skip), Carroll provides an engaging and informative discussion of two types of women — Good Girls and Never Good Enough Girls — and their “lists”.
As I read, I found parts of me being described . . . well, perfectly, and I’m sure other readers will find the same to be true for them as well.
Carroll goes on to discuss the ramifications of being a Good Girl or a Never Good Enough Girl.
In exposing the lies of perfectionism, Carroll explains how a relationship with “Perfect” is both personally unhealthy and damaging to our relationships with God and the people in our lives.
Fortunately, she doesn’t stop there. Carroll goes on to explain how we can stop struggling with “Perfect” and rest in God’s perfect love. Her transparency in sharing her own, sometimes-humorous, struggles with perfectionism bring to life the discussions of topics such as restoring healthy relationships with others, establishing Godly values, and adopting a lifestyle that reflects those values.
Each chapter provides wonderful insight based on Biblical principles and ends with Transformation Points. These questions and prompts are useful tools for personal use or group study.
For those who want to delve further into the principles discussed in the Introduction and each chapter, Carroll has provided a “Going Deeper” section at the back of the book. The journaling or discussion prompts and Scriptural connections (in many cases, the Scripture is provided in the text) are outstanding tools for personal and group study.
In Breaking Up with Perfect: Kiss Perfection Good-Bye and Embrace the Joy God Has in Store for You, author Amy Carroll provides inspiration and tools to help a woman relinquish perfectionism.
I am so excited to be able to offer a free copy to one reader. To enter your name in the give-away, please post a comment in which you share something about your own relationship with perfectionism. It might be about how your own perfectionism has affected you, or perhaps you might share how you have been affected by someone else’s pursuit of perfection.
A name will be drawn at 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 3, and the name will be announced here Thursday, August 4, 2016.