



Perfect Is Boring (And It Tastes Like Kale)
Finding Belonging and Purpose Without Changing Who You Are
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
What if we accepted our struggles and stopped trying to be someone we’re not? In this poignant, hilarious book, the bestselling co-author of I’ll Be There (But I’ll Be Wearing Sweatpants) shares her experiments in finding our way back to each other.
Jess Johnston used to feel alone in her mess. Then, in a random burst of courage, she started sharing those insecurities and struggles out loud, and what she found shocked her. Again and again, women replied, “Me too! I thought I was the only one!”
Women are really hard on themselves. We often believe that if we just “did better,” “worked harder,” and “were less messy/flawed/human,” our lives would be infinitely better and we’d receive the belonging we crave, but the exact opposite is true. It isn’t our lack of perfection that isolates us; rather, it’s our authenticity about our imperfections that brings us together.
With honesty, heart, and humor, Johnston takes on the lies she’s believed and the lessons she’s learned (and is still learning), including:
• if I’m rejected, I will die. (We won’t.)
• I’m a junior varsity adult, and the best spot for me is usually the bench. (Nope, we’ve got to get in there and play.)
• my job is to keep people happy and make sure they like me. (Excuse me while I go hide in my closet and have an anxiety attack.)
Jess Johnston reminds us that the answers are in us already, in accepting that we’re a lot—a lot of mess, and a lot of great too.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this quippy guide, Motherly contributor Johnston (coauthor of I'll Be There (but I'll Be Wearing Sweatpants)) calls on women to cast aside unrealistic social expectations and embrace their God-given "flaws and gifts." Recalling her adolescent struggles with an eating disorder, the author describes how she transformed "from a girl who hated her flaws and was at war with her body to one who thinks her flaws are some of the greatest things about her." She did so by dismantling false notions that lead to personal dissatisfaction—among them that rejection is akin to social death, that one must "be all things to all people," and that asking for help is a sign of weakness. Solid suggestions, like recognizing that what brings "peace and purpose" is important even if it seems ordinary—"I don't always feel excited about the day-to-day mundane (sometimes I lose myself down a rabbit hole of Instagram escapism), but I know deep down it's where I'm supposed to be"—are enlivened by Johnston's refreshingly self-aware humor ("Hi, I'm Jess and I'm a people pleaser. I also dabble in codependency just for fun"). Christian women should take note of this down-to-earth invitation to seek self-acceptance.