Jess Connolly - Breaking Free from Body Shame: Dare to Reclaim What God Has Named Good

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We need this conversation to happen. Our bodies are gifts from God, not something to starve, critique, or feel shame over. Jess has catalyzed this needed conversation so beautifully and candidly in Breaking Free from Body Shame. Read this book!

JENNIE ALLEN, New York Times bestselling author of Get Out of Your Head and founder and visionary of IF:Gathering

This is the message weve all waited for. A collective sigh for our souls from the prophetic voice that is Jess Connolly.

KENNESHA BUYCKS, author of Restoration House

This book is a generational anthem for women proclaiming all of Gods creations are unique, beautiful, and good. Its a heartfelt reminder that our worthiness isnt dependent on a number on the scale. Jess speaks truth and light over the lies and shame we believe about what is accepted as a beautiful body.

REBEKAH LYONS, bestselling author of Rhythms of Renewal and You Are Free

The most freeing, transformative, and refreshing book Ive ever read on the lies weve believed about our bodies and Gods truths that will set us free. Filled with grace, humor, and practicality, this is the book our generation needs to crush the enemys lies and live as the women we were created to be.

HOSANNA WONG, spoken word artist, international speaker, and author of How (Not) to Save the World

Ive read every book Jess has ever written because, with her love for God expressed in words, freedom rings! Our bodies are banged and bruised by this fallen world as we strive to reach unattainable and ever-changing ideals while the church either remains silent or struggles with what to say. Now more than ever, we desperately need to hear and see the glory of the Lord regarding these good bodies weve been given. In this book, Jess partners with God to help us fill our body home with more of heaven. Each chapter is a rope burner, burning away the cords that bind and keep us from living healthy, whole, and free. This book belongs on every kingdom girls shelf.

ALISA KEETON, founder of Revelation Wellness and author of The Wellness Revelation

If youve ever hated the mirror, felt uncomfortable in your own skin, or complained about the body God has given you, this message is for you. Freedom and a biblical perspective are ours, and Jess leads there courageously and vulnerably through this book.

RUTH CHOU SIMONS, bestselling author of Beholding and Becoming and GraceLaced

What an inspired message for women in this generation! Breaking Free from Body Shame is a bold war cry against the lies of the enemy that cause us to hide behind our bodies rather than rejoice in our uniqueness. Through her grace-based approach, Jess flips the script on what it means for our bodies to be good, and invites us to name and reclaim who we were made to be.

ALLI WORTHINGTON, author of Standing Strong: A Womans Guide to Overcoming Adversity and Living with Confidence

In my four decades of living, Ive had many conversations with friends about how much we dislike our bodies, what we wish was different about them, and how we want to change things. This book from my friend Jess is a game changer for women. She not only dares us to reclaim what God has named good, but she gives us practical ways to do this. I was challenged to talk about myself differently, I was convicted about the ways I have been consumed with not liking my body, and I was encouraged to speak and think differently from now on. This book is for all women who desire to truly love their bodies because of the simple fact that God created them and called them good.

JAMIE IVEY, bestselling author and host of The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey podcast

ZONDERVAN BOOKS

Breaking Free from Body Shame

Copyright 2021 by Jessica Ashleigh Connolly

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 978-0-310-35259-4 (audio)

Epub Edition April 2021 9780310352501

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Connolly, Jess, author.

Title: Breaking free from body shame : dare to reclaim what God has named good / Jess Connolly.

Description: Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021. | Summary: For women who love God but have a love/hate relationship with their bodies, join Jess Connolly to discover a bold new way to rest in Gods workmanship and heal the broken beliefs that have held you back from your fullest life Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021000401 (print) | LCCN 2021000402 (ebook) | ISBN 9780310352464 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780310352501 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Body image in womenReligious aspects. | Self-perceptionReligious aspectsChristianity.

Classification: LCC BF697.5.B63 C657 2021 (print) | LCC BF697.5.B63 (ebook) | DDC 306.4/613dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021000401

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021000402

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Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken 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.

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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.

Published in association with literary agent Jenni Burke of Illuminate Literary Agency, www.illuminateliterary.com.

Art direction: Curt Diepenhorst

Cover illustration: MURRIRA / Shutterstock

Interior design: Denise Froehlich

Printed in the United States of America

21 22 23 24 25 /LSC/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my mom: Deb Hopper

Being made in the image of my Father

brought me purpose and healing.

That He also made me in your image brings me joy.

I love looking and acting more like you as the

days pass. Thank you for doing the hard work of

breaking free so that so many in our family, for

generations to come, could simply step into it.

Contents

Were all searching for beauty. Were all searching for someone who will see us and know us and love us still. Were all searching for God. If God took on a body to be with us, then our search for Him should, in part, be found in and through our bodies. Yet, as is the case on many journeys to find God, obstacles abound, deception runs deep, and the false versions of what were really looking for seem to overwhelm us at every turn.