Endorsements
Eryn has committed her life to helping others know their value. Here, we get to pull back the curtain and discover the hurt behind this hopeful healer. Each page is packed with warmth, wisdom, and heartfelt honesty. This soul-affirming book is much like the heart of its authoreffervescent and expansive.
Brad Montague , New York Times bestselling author, illustrator, and creator of Kid President
Eryn Eddy is a dreamer. And for those of us with hopes and dreams (and that includes you), life can be hard on us. Thats why So Worth Loving is an important book. Eryn shares her story with authenticity, candor, and hope, reminding you that the dreams in you are worth pursuing because you are so worth loving.
Jeff Henderson , author of Know What You re FOR: A Growth Strategy for Work, An Even Better Strategy for Life
Reading So Worth Loving is like taking a plunge off a cliff into a clear waterfall of honesty, healing, and hope. Eryn Eddy grabs you by the hand, leans her head in, and, with a joyous twinkle, dares you to jumpwith her going first. When you rise to the surface, youll gulp the fresh air of discovery. There you are! And there is the one true God who knows you through and through, loves you just the way you are, and assures you that theres nothing you can do about it. Indeed, you are so worth loving!
Elisa Morgan , speaker; author, When We Pray Like Jesus ; cohost, Discover the Word ; president emerita, MOPS International
I needed this. Comb through the responses to the stories Eryn and So Worth Loving have shared online in the past decade and these are the words youll find over and over again. My reaction to Eryns formal diary, So Worth Loving , is no different. I needed this book. You might too.
Mary Chau , lettering artist, maker of things, and proud friend of Eryn Eddy
Not only is this book good, it caused me to change the story I tell myself. Everyone needs this book.
Jeff Shinabarger , founder of Plywood People and coauthor of Love or Work
Eryns voice is just what our world needs right now. She writes so beautifully of owning your story, becoming accountable for your own life, and empowering yourself through your faith. In a world inundated with self-help books and information on how to be better, she has used her own story to empower others toward fulfilling their lives through their faith and using what they already have within them.
Shelly Brown , editor in chief of Good Grit magazine
Eryn has devoted her life to helping people understand their worth. This book builds upon that legacy and takes a candid look at her own story. So Worth Loving reveals a profound understanding that our true humanity, our ability to love, is rooted in a God who first loved us.
Kurtis Johnson , first So Worth Loving employee, friend, dad, and hot sauce enthusiast
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
2021 by Eryn Eddy
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2021
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 978-1-4934-2878-6
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations 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 CSB are from the Christian Standard Bible, copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV 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.
The author is represented by The Bindery LLC.
Dedication
To Craig and Juli Eddy,
informally known as Mama and Daddy:
You have weathered your own personal storms and selflessly stepped into mine without hesitation. God uses you as an instrument to show his love in peoples lives, and mine is one of those lives. There are no words I could garner that would reflect appropriately my gratitude for you. I am honored and so proud that you are my parents. Thank you for never giving up on me.
Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Foreword by Mike Foster
Introduction
look in
Agreement
Reflection
Unfinished
Heavy
Purpose
Angry
Drift
Discomfort
look up
Intimacy
Endurance
Recovering
Sabotage
Vulnerable
Lies
Healing
Loneliness
Relief
Choose
look out
Breathe
Risk
Desire
Hope
Forgive
Friend
Honesty
Lighthouse
Conclusion
Afterword by Terence Lester
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Foreword
I will never forget my first time meeting Eryn. I had followed her work through social media, and we had many mutual friends. From afar I admired her entrepreneurialism and passion to make the world a more hopeful place. Her kindness toward others was self-evident. Eryns creativity and design were impeccable. Her compassion for the hurting was inspiring. When we finally connected in Atlanta, she blew me away.
Her energy and vulnerability were infectious. (By the way, you will find both of these things on every page of this book.) Everything I had heard and seen was true. She oozed positivity and her laugh sparkled. She was smart, wise, and fun. But what I most admired about her was her willingness to embrace the pain. She was able to sit in the tension of hope and personal suffering in such an inspiring way. I remember thinking to myself, I wish more people were like her. The world would certainly be a better place .
What I love about So Worth Loving and the words on these pages is that it is fully Eryn. It reflects exactly who she is and what she passionately believes in. It would be virtually impossible to miss her message, even if you dont feel so lovable right now. For many who read her words, you will want to be her best friend when youre done with this book. Actually, youll most likely feel this way after just a couple paragraphs. And the reason is because she reflects back to us what we so often miss. Our value. Our goodness. That we are deeply loved even when we dont feel like it. And this is what a good friend does: they remind us who we really are. And Eryn is that friend.
She is unrelenting when it comes to breaking the shame that binds us. For her, these words and concepts are a way of life. When she reminds us that we are all so worth loving, its not a catchy slogan but an intervention. She is here to shake us from our slumber and wake us up to the power of radical grace in our lives.
Some authors write from a place of observation and kindly instruct us with tips and suggestions. Eryn takes a different approach. She pulls back all the personal protective layers and shows us the underbelly of the journey to actually knowing our true value. It is a road she has traveled in her own story. A story she has had to fight hard for. The beautiful nuggets of wisdom in this book ring true because she has lived through both the questions and the answers. She knows what its like to carry something that we were not meant to carry. She writes as both a wise sage and a wounded warrior. This is what makes her words epic.