Endorsements
If you feel lost in your own life, this book is an invitation to pull over and wait for directionsnot to drive faster or more frantically but to become comfortable with letting yourself feel lost for a while. Michelle is a good and safe person to sit with as you wait. Im so grateful I did.
Lisa- Jo Baker , bestselling author of Never Unfriended and Surprised by Motherhood
In True You Michelle DeRusha paints the ordinary world as something worthy of our attention, inviting us to uncover hidden beauty as we uncover within us the image of God. This journey to our truest self is paved with small moments, attentiveness, and gut-level honestypayment we can all afford, though not without discomfort as we go. True You made me want to slow down, tell the truth, and set up camp in the wide, wild presence of God, where anything is possible. I am grateful for this luminous book.
Shannan Martin , author of The Ministry of Ordinary Places and Falling Free
Michelle has done an incredible job of gently, practically, and beautifully teaching us to calm the restlessness within. So many of us sense there is not only more to life but more to uswe just havent been taught how to create space for our true selves to thrive. This book is your guide to uncovering the pathway to who you were truly meant to be.
Deidra Riggs , author of One and Every Little Thing
Ever since I began reading this book, I keep finding myself looking up at the trees. Not because this is a book about trees but because the trees hold compelling truths about what it means to live as my essential self. Michelle DeRusha uses words as if they are pruning shearscutting away what gets in the way of truest you ... what gets in the way of real intimacy with God. I was deeply moved by this book, which is rich with metaphor and incisive wisdom. At times I knew I needed to slow down my reading so that the truths might set in, yet I found myself utterly unable to resist turning the page. I didnt want this book to end and will return to its pages again and again. I highly recommend True You .
Jennifer Dukes Lee , author of It s All Under Control and The Happiness Dare
Captivating and convicting, True You is a beautiful discovery on how to come home to ones true self. Writing with a caretakers heart, Michelle DeRusha is a compassionate, hopeful voice coaxing us to stop, beckoning us to see, reminding us of the truth, and leading us toward rest. In a noisy world consumed with busyness, this book will help you think about silence and solitude differently.
Shelly Miller , author of Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World
This book stopped me in my tracks. Im a huge fan of Henri Nouwen, and the same gentle spirit he wrote with can be found in the pages of DeRushas True You . She challenges our culture of busyness with such kindness and grace, inviting us instead of guilting us, showing us that all is well on the quiet, simple path. I cant recommend this book enough.
Shawn Smucker , author of Once We Were Strangers
Pruning is a powerful metaphor for spiritual transformation, but our understanding of it is too often superficial. Michelle DeRusha gives depth and richness to a familiar theme, and the result is a book of rare wisdom and insight. True You is a book about the necessity of silence, solitude, and stillness, but it is written by someone with little natural affinity for those contemplative spiritual practices. The result is a compelling personal story shared with rare candor that reveals an accessible path toward deeper intimacy with God. This is a book for hungry, restless souls.
Christie Purifoy , author of Roots and Sky and Placemaker
Title Page
Copyright Page
2019 by Michelle DeRusha
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks. com
Ebook edition created 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1628-8
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled Message are from THE MESSAGE, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Some names and details have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.
The author is represented by the literary agency of Books & Such Literary Management.
Dedication
For Noah and Rowan
Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Acknowledgments
Introduction: A Tale of Two Trees
Part 1: Know the Tree
1. Leaves and Branches: How We Clutter Our Lives, Minds, and Souls
2. Beneath the Canopy: Hearing Whats Been There All Along
3. Broken Limbs: Do You Want to Get Well?
4. Seeds of Desire: Facing Your Deepest Brokenness
Part 2: Fukinaoshi of the Soul
5. The Hard Prune: Letting Go of the Last Handhold
6. The Far Side of the Wilderness: Following God, Even When You Cant See the Way Through
7. Rooted: Practicing the Discipline of Staying in Place
Part 3: Shaping
8. Twine and Splint: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
9. Way Opens: On Coming Alive
10. Water, Wood, Air, and Stone: We Are Better Together
Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Acknowledgments
This book was a long time in the making, which means I am grateful to a whole lot of people who helped all along the way.
Chad AllenI wouldnt be anywhere close to this point in my journey as an author if it wasnt for you. Thank you for always being in my corner.
To Michelle RapkinI knew we were a good fit from our first telephone conversation (and the fact that you are two l s too). Thank you for your insightful editing and for all you did to help make this book shine.
To the Baker Books editorial and marketing teamsRebecca Guzman, Jessica English, Julie Davis, Mark Rice, Erin Smith, Abby Van Wormer, Brianne Dekker, and Patti Brinks. Thank you for your pursuit of excellence. Your creativity, talent, and input made all the difference.
To my agent, Rachelle Gardneryou gently prodded me to work and rework the proposal for this book again and again. Thank you for your perseverance, for your refusal to submit something thats good enough, for your astute insights, and for your uncanny ability to know whats working and whats not. I am so grateful for you!
To my Tuscany Writers Retreat fellow sojourners, especially Jenni Burke and Jamin Gogginthank you for receiving my brokenness with compassion and love. Thank you for being a window into Gods presence when I couldnt see.