True You (Book Review)

By Benjamin H. Liles

          Michelle DeRusha has a new book coming out on Amazon here soon published by Baker Books titled True You. I have done my best in reading it to give it as much a thorough reading and fair review. For me it comes down to saying I believe she's getting at the fact we need to move past ourselves and allow God the right to mold us into the people He desires us to be. I can't put words in her mouth as much as I can even change the word of God.

          Yet through the whole of the book she says such things as: "[we] in particular base self-value on [a] level of productivity and accomplishment" alongside "[I created] the identity 'producer' and 'achiever', [which] was not the identity God gave me when He wove me together." Overall, I agree with her assessment on the issue of both busyness and how God designed each of us.

          Close to the beginning of the book she tells of an instance where a guy pulls out a well-renowned violin he bought at a pretty price. He starts playing a gorgeous song on it, all the while people are bustling about, pulling their children away, and completely shying away from even being around such a pleasant sound. Some of those people, even sadly, talked louder on their cell-phones describing his performance as "noise."

          Here's the whole point: God created each of us for something far deeper, including Him and that is relationships! We are meant to put aside our busyness, our schedules, the "hustle" in our lives to doing something far greater. I love how James puts it in his letter to the church: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (italics emphasis, James 1:27, New King James).

          It seems to me Michelle is saying with her book True You that we ought to take time to slow down, to cultivate relationships with one another, to get to know each and every heart we come across so that the glory of God may be revealed. I may be wrong on that, but that's how it comes across. Other than that it's a pleasant book to read even if once over. I can't say it's a book I'd fully recommend. But she makes her point as best as she can.

          Michelle DeRusha has authored a few books: 50 Women Every Christian Should Know, Spiritual Misfit, and Katharina and Martin Luther, which is a finalist in the Memoir/Biography category for the 2018 Christian Book Awards. She also writes for the Lincoln Journal Star having a column on religion and spirituality and listening to your soul on her blog, Michelle DeRusha.

          I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker Books to provide a fair and honest review.