Exhale: Lose Who You're Not, Love Who You Are, Live Your One Life Well

Amy Carroll and Cheri Gregory have brought each of their God-given, uniquely different strengths and talents together to create their new book. It is full of Biblical truths, practical suggestions, and real life experiences to help you walk through three stages of change, “Losing Who You’re Not”, “Loving Who You Are”, and “Living Your One Life Well”, to become the woman God truly created you to be. They remind you that you do not have to be the person others expect you to be or who you think you are. Amy and Cheri lead you to the real you, helping you to find your spiritual gifts and how to understand your true personality with a short personality quiz that is available on the book’s interactive website. I found out that I am a Connector! Learn how to stop making “Faux-pologies” and how to “Pray-cess” through change. Each chapter ends with a “Breath” an easy action step to take to help you absorb the material in each chapter. I highly recommend this book for those women who struggle with the lies that they are not enough, they are trying to be all things to all people, and are just worn out and ready to “Exhale”. I received a copy of this book in transcript format, as a member of the launch team. The opinions expressed above are my own and I have received no other remuneration than the aforementioned transcript. I have purchased a copy directly Amazon.

The title says it all; EXHALE! If we admit it, we are all just holding our breath, right? We are always trying to keep it all together, keep everyone happy, keep everyone from feeling anything negative, give to everyone else, and then we wonder why we are so strung out! We need to stop holding our breath. We need to release all the expectations we put on ourself, and we need to breathe! Jesus wants to see us breathing the breath He gave us! We need to know ourselves enough to accept ourselves and instead of thinking all the "shoulds" , know the truth of what God created us to be. This book truly helps you to find a path into "lose who you're not, love who you are, and live your one life well". Jesus wants us to live well!! To do that, we have to breathe. You will not regret getting your hands on this book! During this time of shelter in place, its been a valuable way for me to quiet down, listen to the words God has given these ladies, and readjust my thinking. It has definitely given me a lot of peace! Praise Jesus! And I know it can give you peace too!

Cheri and Amy invite you to breath and begin again. Exhale was written from the perspective of two people who have gone through the process of losing who you are not, loving who you are, and living one life well and are sharing the path they took with the rest of us. Exhale is full of insight from life and scriptures and written for you. Each section of the book guides you in the process of changing your mindset to live a fuller life. Part one guides you to release ways of thinking that hinder you, part two encourages you to see yourself as God sees you, and part three shows you how to seek God's direction. You don't have to navigate the journey (or book) alone. There is a companion leader's guide for women who want to lead a small discussion group. This is a great way to share and encourage each other and no group is too small. Cheri and Amy have resources for anyone who wants to lead a small group study. I bought my own copy of the book and study guide. I did participate in a manuscript development team and gave feedback on the book and study guide.

The co-authors do a wonderful job of honestly sharing there journey of learning to Exhale. It is refreshing when they share principles but admit they are not perfect . My only concern was some recovering control addicts may misunderstand Part Three and think they should begin “working” to livid one life well. YET, the title is worthy of a read and I even purchased a copy for a friend. When I was telling her about being on vacation he launch team of a new book, she said, “It sounds like I need to read that book.” She had an upcoming birthday at end of May, so I pre-ordered and told her it would be delivered on June 4th.

I don’t know about you, but it can be hard to just find the time to focus and read a book. But God used this book to do that for me. I put it on my elliptical machine to have motivation to exercise, and it worked! I was eager to see what the next chapter would bring. What wisdom would Amy and Cheri share? What mindset of mine needed to be reset? What did I need to “pray-cess” instead of worrying about? How could I be a “seed-sender” of what God was teaching me as I read? Good stuff, y’all. Stuff that sticks, that the Spirit continues to bring to mind even months later. I have given many of these books as gifts electronically and paperback! LOL It’s THAT helpful. There’s no better time than right now to read Exhale. It will confirm what God is teaching you through His word, and it will encourage you in your daily life. Consider not only reading the book but also joining the Exhale Facebook group and following the Grit ‘n Grace podcast for ongoing help and encouragement. You will be thankful that you did. 🙏🏾

If I had the authority, I would give this book "The Best Book of the Year Award." Why? The authors, Amy and Cheri, take us on a journey to "living our one life well." On the way to that goal, we learn to "lose who we are not, and love who we are." Both of these steps are so necessary. We can't skip them. I recommend reading through the entire book quickly and then going back and slowly reading and taking each individual step you find in the chapters. Find a friend or small group to join the journey with you. This book is so practical and the authors are so down-to-earth and relatable. You'll love their personal stories and the stories they share from the Bible. You'll laugh at the funny stories, and you'll empathize with the heart-wrenching stories. You'll see that they not only write about these truths but also even more importantly they live them out. I highly recommend this book for personal and small group study.