Laura Tremaine - Share Your Stuff. Ill Go First.: 10 Questions to Take Your Friendships to the Next Level

I have been waiting for this book for YEARS. Laura is brilliant and brave and creative and wise. Weve been friends since we were teenagers with ponytails and crushes, and these days, shes still the first one Ill text for a book recommendation. This book will be the starting point for so many meaningful conversations, because Laura knows connection comes from sharing our stories. Shes been sharing her stories with me for more than twenty years, and Im thrilled that so many people will be able to join that conversation nowits one that has instructed me, challenged me, and healed me a thousand times over the years. Buy a copy of this book for every person in your life that you want to know in a deeper, more meaningful way.

Shauna Niequist, New York Times

bestselling author of Present Over Perfect

To the person who is afraid of being seen but desperately wants to be known, this book is a love letter to vulnerability, sparkling on every page. Laura goes first, masterfully telling her own stories, enthusiastically and lovingly pulling us by the hand to do the same, and youll willingly follow her. The path is clear, the questions are illuminating, and deeper connection is inevitable. Its seriously such a great book.

Kendra Adachi, New York Times

bestselling author of The Lazy Genius Way

and host of The Lazy Genius Podcast

In this insightful, generous, and life-giving work, Laura Tremaine shows us how channeling her words into meaningful sharing changed her lifeand how we can learn to do the same. Wise, warm, and relatable, this is the perfect read for anyone interested in exploring how to use their words to deepen their relationships.

Anne Bogel, author of Dont Overthink It:

Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing,

and Bring More Joy to Your Life and host of

the What Should I Read Next? podcast

Listen, you need Laura Tremaine in your life. She has such a gift for the real, deep, life-changing sort of friendship that eludes so many of us. If female friendship has felt like a foreign land without a map, Laura is your best guidefunny, warm, knowledgeable, honest, relatable, and just the right sort of best-friend-bossy. She will guide you not only to deeper friendships with other women but to a deeper understanding and compassion for yourself. I love this book.

Sarah Bessey, author of

Jesus Feminist and Miracles

and Other Reasonable Things

Ive always loved Laura for her curiosity and for the way she pushes people into deeper conversations, whether its on Instagram or her podcast or at a table of friends. While the details may be different, I think most people will recognize their own story in Lauras, as she stirs readers on to consider their own narratives on everything from faith to friendship to love and parenting. This is a book youre going to want your friends to read, one that will be a catalyst for amazing conversations.

Kristen Howerton, author of

Rage Against the Minivan: Learning

to Parent Without Perfection

Laura Tremaine is a phenomenal storyteller, and her debut book is now officially one of my all-time favorites. Beyond Lauras honest vulnerability and graceful charm, the true gift of this book is the delightful alchemy that emerges at the end of every chapter where, after reading her story, I was compelled to share my own. Five stars! Three cheers! I adore this book.

Emily P. Freeman, Wall Street

Journal bestselling author of

The Next Right Thing

As a self-proclaimed open book, even I had yet to go to the places Laura Tremaine leads us when it comes to opening up. I am forever changed by her words and her invitation to share my stuff. Tremaine knows there is more depth and richness to be had in our relationships and she graciously leads us by sharing her own raw, sometimes suspenseful, and tender stories. Share Your Stuff. Ill Go First. is a masterclass on how to open up, share with vulnerability and grace, and in return connect with those around us in ways we could never imagine.

Bri McKoy, author of Come & Eat:

A Celebration of Love and Grace

Around the Everyday Table

Laura is the consummate host and hand-holder as she invites you to share who you are, where youve been, and what youve experienced. But she does not ask you to be this vulnerable without going first. Laura opens each chapter with her own intimate stories of joy and triumph and loss and fear so we can see exactly how its done. In Share Your Stuff. Ill Go First., Laura gives us the manual to create connections with new and old friends, and most importantly, with ourselves.

Jamie Golden, cohost of The Popcast with Knox

and Jamie and The Bible Binge podcasts

ZONDERVAN BOOKS

Share Your Stuff. Ill Go First.

Copyright 2021 by Laura Tremaine

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Zondervan titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email SpecialMarkets@Zondervan.com.

ISBN 978-0-310-35987-6 (audio)

Epub Edition December 2020 9780310359869

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tremaine, Laura, 1979- author.

Title: Share your stuff. Ill go first. : 10 questions to take your friendships to the next level / Laura Tremaine.

Description: Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2021. | Summary: Despite our hyper-connected culture, women are lonelier than ever and often shamed for being vulnerable. With intriguing storytelling and thoughtful questions, popular blogger and podcaster Laura Tremaine presents Share Your Stuff. Ill Go First., a guide to cultivating the authentic connection with others that only comes from sharing yourself-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020036114 (print) | LCCN 2020036115 (ebook) | ISBN 9780310359852 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780310359869 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Female friendship. | Vulnerability (Personality trait)

Classification: LCC BF575.F66 T77 2021 (print) | LCC BF575.F66 (ebook) | DDC 177/.62--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020036114

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020036115

Any internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The names and identifying details of some individuals discussed in this book have been changed to protect their privacy.

The author is represented by the literary agency of Alive Literary Agency, www.aliveliterary.com.

Art direction: Curt Diepenhorst

Cover design: Faceout Studio | Spencer Fuller

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

Printed in the United States of America

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For Jeff. Who hears me despite all of my words.

And for Lucy and Finch