As y’all probably know, my first book, Real Recovery: What Eating Disorder Recovery Actually Looks Like, came out a month ago! This is an exciting season of life, but it also feels oddly mundane. Life goes on as it always has. I still juggle a full-time job, time with family and friends, church, writing for TTT, and so much more!
Still, I wanted to open up about why I wrote this book. I feel like the why behind a book is sometimes just as important as the what inside a book. Why did I specifically choose to write Real Recovery? Here are two of the main reasons:
1. I couldn’t not write a book about eating disorder recovery.
The funny thing about Real Recovery is that I actually wrote parts of it while I was still really struggling with anorexia and recovery. Writing was (and is) an outlet for me—a way for me to express myself and how I’m feeling. I felt like I just had to get my thoughts and ideas on paper. I wanted to write a book about my struggle because it’s all I knew for years of my life.
But of course, the bigger reason that I wrote Real Recovery was…
2. I wanted a book deal so badly.
Y’all know that being a published author has been my dream for forever. As a little girl, I wrote stories on paper and soon transitioned to using my BFF, Microsoft Word. Sometimes I wonder if God placed such a strong desire to write inside of me because that’s what He designed me to do. Obviously, I can’t know with 100% certainty that He destined me to write. But I’m glad that He knows what He destined me to do and is sovereign over it.
My desire to be a published author was like a burning fire inside me, and I couldn’t extinguish the fire until I signed a book contract. In the summer of 2021, a small Christian publisher named Ambassador International sent me a book contract. And here we are now.
That Fire Inside You
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (James 1:17 NASB1995)
I’ve used this Bible verse in multiple blog posts, but I want to emphasize—yes, as I have before—that God’s gifts to you matter and you need to use them! I’m not saying that you need to turn your God-given talents into a career. In fact, I might advise against that. (After all, it’s essentially impossible to live on writer’s wage—seriously!) But don’t let your gifts remain unused simply because you can’t use them in your career.
Honestly, Real Recovery was a book that I had to get “out of my system.” Writing it wasn’t a cake walk, but I believe that God enabled me to write it and provided a publisher to publish it. I also believe that He can use your gifts to impact the church—and the world.
So friends, here’s to Book #2. (*dramatically raises glass of blood, sweat, and tears because she is indeed a writer at her core*) Cheers! Also, if you haven’t yet ordered your copy of Real Recovery yet, all you have to do is click here!
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 