Living Brave
Lessons from Hurt, Lighting the Way to Hope
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
“Shannon’s struggle, defiance, strength, and power emanate from every page. That kind of brave can be trusted." — Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Untamed and Founder of Together Rising
For all women looking to find “hope in a hopeless world and bravery in an age that seems to lack it,” comes a searing memoir by Shannon Dingle, a writer and disability advocate who has navigated loss, trauma, abuse, spiritual reawakening, and deep pain—and come out the other side still hopeful.
Shannon Dingle has experienced more than her fair share of tragedy and trauma in her life, including surviving sexual abuse and trafficking as a child that left her with lasting disabilities and experiencing faith shifts that put her at odds with the evangelical church that had been her home. Then, in July 2019, Shannon’s husband was tragically killed by a rogue wave while the family was on vacation. The grief of the aftermath of losing her love and life partner sits at the heart of Living Brave, where Shannon’s searing, raw prose, illustrates what it looks like to take brave steps on the other side of unimaginable loss.
Through each challenge, she reveals the ways she learned to walk through them to the other side, and find courage even through the darkest moments. Living Brave gives women permission to wrestle with difficult topics, to use their voice, to take a stand for justice, to honor the wisdom of their bodies, and to enact change from a place of strong faith.
How do you keep going when unimaginable loss is piled on top of old trauma?
Trauma Survivor: An unflinching look at surviving childhood sexual abuse and trafficking, and learning to honor the wisdom of a body that has kept the score.Grief and Loss: The raw, minute-by-minute reality of losing a husband to a freak accident—a rogue wave on a family vacation—and facing life as a young widow and single mother to six.Spiritual Deconstruction: A courageous exploration of faith shifts that challenge the evangelical church, giving women permission to wrestle with difficult questions and find a more authentic faith.Disability Advocacy: A powerful call to take a stand for justice, born from the author’s own experience with lasting disabilities from trauma and raising children with diverse needs.Chosen Family: Discovering the fierce, life-saving love of a chosen “framily” when the family you were born into was the source of your deepest pain.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dingle debuts with a powerful blend of memoir and self-help in this account of how she overcame immense loss. In 2019, after her husband died in a freak accident, Dingle, 37, became a widow and single mom of six children. No stranger to tragedy, Dingle already had a book deal to write about the sexual abuse and sex trafficking she endured from her father—"I was going to write this book from the safety and stability of our relationship." Instead, she wrote from a place of unbearable pain about the courage it took to survive such agony, and offers advice on how others can do the same. She explores the importance of self-compassion ("give yourself permission to do it imperfectly"), how to overcome shame, what it means to practice self-care, and how to harness the power of words. In one particularly memorable passage, she reflects on a piece she wrote in 2016 about voting for Hillary Clinton as a pro-life Christian, and how standing by her unconventional views helped reconcile and strengthen her faith. While some sections may be triggering for survivors of sexual abuse, Dingle's narrative offers a raw, affecting examination of what it takes to heal.
