Book Review and Giveaway: My Big Bottom Blessing

~~ This Giveaway is Now Closed ~~

How about a giveaway to end the week? Sounds like a good idea to me. Today I have another book review and giveaway for you thanks to the good folks at Worthy Publishing. This time the book isn't necessarily geared towards moms although they aren't excluded either because I think every woman I know has dealt with the issue this book's topic addresses.

The name of the book is My Big Bottom Blessing and it is written by Teasi (Pronounced Tea-See) Cannon. Have you guessed what the subject of the book is yet? If not, then let me fill you in. In this book Mrs. Cannon discusses her struggle with weight gain and weight loss and being generally unhappy with her looks and how she overcame her feeling of low self-worth and began to love herself from the inside out. Sounds like something you might be interested in? I hope so because this book was a really good read and I found it to be very relatable.

I don't know about you, but personally I hate the emphasis the magazines, etc. of today's society place on being thin and beautiful. To me beauty is more than skin deep and a person can be beautiful at any size. (Side note: this is one of the reasons I love buying Dove products because they are supporters of being beautiful no matter what size you are.) Now, I would be lying if I told you I was never self-conscious about my weight because I am. I may believe with all my heart that beauty can come in all shapes and sizes but that doesn't mean I don't have days where I nit-pick myself about not being a size smaller than I currently am.

Mrs. Cannon has struggled with weight issues throughout her life and so she knows what it's like to feel guilty about eating another chocolate chip cookie or giving up on a diet or skipping a work out because you don't feel like going. She also knows what it's like to hate what you see in the mirror and to not feel good about yourself because of what is looking back at you - saggy belly, large thighs, a lazy eye, whatever it is that you may see and not like.

In the book, Mrs. Cannon describes her struggle with these low self-esteem demons, if you will, and tells of her journey on how she overcame them. She describes times throughout her life when she wasn't so nice to herself because she had an intense need to feel loved and waned. She writes about being a single mom and the struggles that came with that part of her life. She also tells us how she met her husband, the man of her dreams and how she was self-conscious about the way she looked when they became intimate on their wedding night. Mrs. Cannon goes on to tell of the years-long battles she had with these self esteem issues and eventually how she was able to overcome those issues through the love of our Heavenly Father.

Mrs. Cannon's husband took her to a seminar which was the beginning of the change in her life. Now, obviously, I'm not (nor is she) saying you have to run out to a seminar to grab up some high self-esteem; but, i her journey, that's where it all started. Who knows, maybe your journey will start with her book. As she began to open her heart to God and realize that He had already given her a wealth of gifts, she discovered how to use those gifts and in turn changed the way she saw herself and felt about herself.

The book provides insightful and intimate detail into the struggles Mrs. Cannon dealt with and how she ended up conquering her demons. After each chapter there are a series of questions for the reader to answer that relate to the subject matter that was just covered. She then provides another thought and a series of scripture to reflect on before moving on to the next topic.

As mentioned, I found this book to be relatable on so many levels. Although I don't necessarily struggle with low self-esteem, I am self-conscious about my weight from time to time and could easily put myself in the author's shoes. While every experience she writes about was not something I could relate to, I was still able to see the authors struggles and be sympathetic and at times even come up with other scenarios that were similar.

If you have ever struggles with your weight or self-esteem then I think this book would be a good read for you. If you are interested in winning a copy of the book, My Big Bottom Blessing, then just leave a comment at the bottom of this post and you will be entered to win. The contest will remain open until Friday, June 08 at 9:00 p.m. Central time. A winner will be announced Saturday, June 09. Thanks for reading and good luck!

If you would like to read a sample chapter from the book click here.