The Real Reason I Wrote Real Recovery

As y’all probably know, my first book Real Recovery: What Eating Disorder Recovery Actually Looks Like came out a month ago! This is a very exciting time of life, but it also feels oddly mundane. Life goes on as it always has. I still juggle a fulltime job, time with family and friends, church and ministry, writing blog posts for TTT and Wholehearted Quiet Time…and so much more!

Still, I wanted to open up about why I wrote it. 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 about eating disorders and recovery? Why did I 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 hardcore struggling with anorexia and recovery. Writing was (and is) an outlet for me—a way to express myself and how I’m feeling. I felt like I just had to get _____ thought and _____ idea on paper! I wanted to write a book about my struggle because it’s all I knew for many years of my life.  

But, of course, the bigger reason I wrote Real Recovery was…

2. I wanted a book deal so badly.

Y’all know that being a publisher author has been my dream for forever. I was writing stories on paper and on the computer soon after I learned to write. Sometimes I wonder if God placed such a strong desire in me because that’s what He designed me to do. Obviously, I can’t read His mind or know with 100% certainty that He destined me to be a writer. But I’m glad that He knows what He destined me for 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 had 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.

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—as I have before, yes—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. (It’s essentially impossible to live on writer’s wage—seriously, y’all!) But just because you don’t use God’s gift in your career, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it at all.

Honestly speaking, Real Recovery was a book that I had to get out of my system. Writing it was not a cake walk, but I believe God enabled me to write it and have it published. I also believe that He can take your gifts—whether you’re passionate about writing, playing an instrument, playing a sport, shopping, cooking, etc.—and use them to impact His 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: What Eating Disorder Recovery Actually Looks Like, all you have to do is click here. Amazon’s got you!