Synopsis:
Life took your innocence, but shame is snatching everything that remains.
Maybe someone took your choice, or perhaps you regret the choices you made, but with dysfunctional sexual incidents on the rise, so are the numbers of women living with the shame incurred from these detrimental experiences increasing as well. Until now, your best options have remained guarding your story and masking your pain–at least, that’s what your shame insisted.
But it’s time to improve your prospects.
Your circumstances might seem too awkward or embarrassing to address, yet author Laurel Burns was once a captive of shame too. Offering discreet support, A Purely Wrong Story halts shame’s infiltration and accompanies your journey to:
- Acknowledge and accurately assess your experiences and the resulting trauma or guilt
- Discover motivations and beliefs preventing your healing
- Demolish barriers keeping you, as a non-believer or even as a believer, from approaching Scripture to access an under-emphasized game-changer
- Free yourself from self-doubt while ousting shame as the defining word of your life
Why bother trying to hide or erase your life’s details when they’re perfect for writing a purely wrong story?
Given this social issue’s vast reach, A Purely Wrong Story includes reflection/discussion questions as part of its bonus material for additional growth and support. These questions are suitable for an individual’s personal development as well as a social group study. A step toward healing, in any capacity, marks progress toward eradicating sexual shame–one story, one woman, one life at a time.
Favorite Lines:
“I can see other girls and women still in the ocean of life. Some are leisurely bobbing, unaware of the infested waters. Others are exhausted from swimming and barely treading water.”
“You have heard that voice deep down in your heart and mind, whispering, ‘There’s a better way.’ Please, grab hold.”
“A pastor, who holds dual master’s degrees in therapy and counseling, once told me that what we feel follows what we believe. What we believe to be true, what we hold as the truth, directly affects and causes our feelings in response.”
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
I want to start this review off with a trigger warning. This book discusses heavy topics surrounding sexual assault and may not be suitable for some readers.
It has been awhile since I have read any sort of self-help or advice book and I admit that I have never read one related to sexual shame. As I read, I noticed that while I may not have the same story, I have a similar enough one that what Burns wrote about resonated with me. I imagine that most women have had some experiences or thoughts that are similar to those mentioned in this book and it was, I am going to use the word relieving, to know that we are not alone in how we think and feel about these things. Plus, there is a passage about buffalos and eye sight – you’ll know when you get there – that made me chuckle and is a great example Burns providing some light to illuminate some otherwise dark places.
This book touched on religion and used it as a guide which was unfamiliar to me as a non-religious person. However, I still found it interesting in kind of an “outside person looking in” type of way. Nonetheless, there was more religion/spirituality throughout this book than I was expecting and felt it was important to point out in case that isn’t your vibe as it took me a bit by surprise.
Summary:
Overall, while not a typical read I still found this to be interesting and have points I could relate to. I would describe this as a self-help meets inner reflection meets spiritual counseling book surrounding the topic of sexual shame and how to rid yourself of it in order to heal and live a more fulfilled life. Happy reading!
Likely Story 