My True Essence

Wholeness #4

by Shawneda

LOVE. STRENGTH. SISTERHOOD. Over 200,000 downloads and almost 100 five star reviews! Becca has everything she ever prayed for and more, and is living like she doesn't care if she loses it all. Dani's business is thriving and her faith is strong. Her diagnosis will expose her own insecurities and life's truth. Jenessa epitomizes the definition of a strong woman. A routine doctor's visit forces her to confront the genetic cloud that has hovered over her since childhood.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian, Contemporary, Fiction

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2011

Reviews

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest this story was difficult for me to read because it dealt with triple negative breast cancer and I had a cousin die from that form of cancer. The story follows three friends and how the tackle the issue of Triple Negative Breast Cancer. The life events they encounter are real life and heart wrenching.

I applaud Marks for tackling a issue not discussed much - triple negative breast cancer. It attacks African American women at higher proportions than any other race. We must perform self-exams, get regular check-ups and tell our testimonies often. Kudos to Marks for being honest and writing to educate and edifying God.

[Kitty Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely, definitely read this book! Especially to all those women out there that have either gone through or are going through breast cancer and those that know someone that is. This book is very spiritual and revolves around three different women going through their own battle with breast cancer while maintaining their faith in God. This book is very emotional so I'd suggest having a box of tissues close by when you read it.

Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud / http://www.greatmindsliterarycommunit...

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not used to this style of writing. I applaud the efforts of the author to shed light on an illness that threatens our community and showing the different ways we deal with it.

[Lena Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and the characters in it were among my favorite.

[Mary Aris · Rating 5 out of 5]

My True Essence is a book about three different women who are connected by Faith and their battle with breast cancer. This is the story of Rebecca, a woman who has it all and lives with a care-free attitude; Danielle whose beauty salon is booming but is struggling to come to terms with her diagnosis; and Jenessa whose diagnosis moves her to delve into the cloud that has been hovering over her since childhood.

The author delves into the emotional issues and turmoil that women undergo when they are diagnosed with breast cancer and their choices to whether they should have a mastectomy or chemo. I love how the author draws awareness to this devastating disease and how she makes it clear that any woman can be diagnosed with breast cancer regardless of family history. The author does this quite delicately and gracefully, delving into the many issues and avenues that a woman undergoes once she learns she has this terrible disease. I enjoyed reading this and was moved by the personal stories of each woman and their battle with breast cancer. I would like to read more of Ms Mark's work.

[Twana Scott]

Empowering

Even after reading the synopsis of the book, I had no idea it would intrigue me the way it did. I read the book in one sitting in its entirety because I simply could not stop reading once I got started. This book tells a riveting story about faith, friendship, marriage, health issues, forgiveness, compromise and love. When life takes you on a whirlwind, sometimes you have to accept help and support from those who have your best interests at heart; even more importantly, allow God to take the wheel.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My True Essence! God created us for a specific purpose, knowing that cuts down a lot of confusion! I enjoy these books because they pray and ask God for answers. What we should do in our everyday life. Often times we take control knowing we are about to mess things up! Letting God take full control will have great results! I do recommend these books and will be reading more books by this author! On to the next book from this series. Really a good read!

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

"My true essence is beyond the bend of my hips, and the swell of my womb, with or without hair, breasts and physical beauty. God is absolutely crazy about me, and I insult him when I don't agree." (p.95)

[Kianaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

As other reviewers have stated, "My True Essence," weaves together the lives of three women affected by breast cancer. I applaud the author for bringing this topic to light through a fictitious story.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good character study as three women interacted in support of one another through their own special problems. Having been a support for my mother as she dealt with cancer twice, I could identify easily with this story.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Good Reads and what a good read it was. Touching on a subject that many is not touched on and making women aware how important breast exams are.

[Orsayor · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

different writing style than I am used to but it is good so far. I ended up enjoying it but still didn't care for the writing style.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. I couldn't wait to get the second book to know what happened to the key characters.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

My True Essence

A nice read. Interesting concept of intertwining Christianity with breast cancer in a series of books. I enjoyed reading this book.

[Ursula Shelton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly good, the first time that I have read a book by Shawneda. It' s about a few church acquaintances getting together to plan an event for breast cancer. A couple of the volunteers are going them chemo therapy. Becca in particular is experiencing marriage problems and other grief issues. It was a little boring early on, but later more things started to happen and it became more interesting. I would definitely recommend this book to family and friends. Enjoy!

[Melody Council · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

There is definitely a nugget in this book for anybody and everybody. The author put in a very natural spiritual flow in the book. Most importantly it was an awesome detailed account of friendship, foolishness, and marriage.

[Jocelyn Rickard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get through the first chapters

I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this book. The story didn't capture my attention. The writing style left me wanting more depth and flow.

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUMMARY: Rebecca has everything she ever prayed for and more, and is living like she doesn't care if she loses it all. Dani's business is thriving and her faith is strong. Her diagnosis will expose her own insecurities and life's truth. Jenessa epitomizes the definition of a strong woman. A routine doctor's visit forces her to confront the genetic cloud that has hovered over her since childhood.

REVIEW: This is a book for any woman of any age who has had breast cancer or knows someone who fought it or is fighting it. Three "sisters in Christ" who know one another from a beauty salon/spa owned by one of them support one another through their connection with breast cancer.

I really liked the three women in this story as they were gritty, fiesty and realistic in every sense of the words. They all had their strengths and weakness and each struggles with her faith as they become involved with breast cancer battles. But what united them was their will to survive and their foundation of faith.

The author has done a wonderful job of her research and detailing the emotional upheavals and physical details of fighting breast cancer. Having watched my mother fight breast cancer I really appreciated the author's honesty in both of these areas. She definitely makes women aware of the options and conflicting decisions faced when battling breast cancer.

FAVORITE QUOTES: "Especially since you can't do anything about what is going on...you're a Christian not the Christ."

"When we try to handle everything by ourselves it changes the essence of who we are, and not in a good way.

"God hears my prayers and answers because of who He is, not how good I am. My imperfections don't keep me from Him."

"It's not about me telling Him what I want; it's about trusting Him to do the things the way He wants me to do them."

[Birgit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Christian novel about women bound together through their fate with breast cancer. Shawneda Marks certainly touches an important issue raising awareness in her book and it definitely shows how she puts her heart into it.
That said, I have to admit that I didn't realize it was very focused on the Christian faith. While I'm not religious I have to say that this was the one good thing the novel had going for it, because it didn't come across as preachy but instead showing characters living a Christian life.
My problem was that I simply couldn't relate with the characters. Their fate was tragic, of course, but I couldn't quite "feel" this while reading and I think it's the narrative that's to blame - the flow of the story was sluggish and simply didn't manage to grab me. It read more like a factual report than a novel, which isn't bad as such, but I really believe that the book would work a whole lot better if the narrative showed more vigor.
In short: As a message very convincing, as a novel not quite as strong!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those unfortunate books that just screamed with obvious lack of editing. Sometimes I can pretend to overlook the occasional "typo" of a digital copy, hoping that something was lost in creating it (although why that should happen is still beyond me). However, this book also lacked content editing. Unless there was a previous book in the series that gave more background story, at times the author made assumptions about the reader's knowledge and understanding of the characters and their situations. However, the story was very good, very uplifting, and worthwhile. I like how she tackled the issue of facing breast cancer realistically, showing the emotions that the women faced each step of the way, and how they supported and encouraged each other. I also really appreciated the Christian lifestyle of the women. In spite of the lack of editing, I still think this was a worthwhile book to read, and I enjoyed it.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Breast cancer is such a terrible disease. This book showed how 3 women dealt with it while maintaining their lives and friendship. I can't wait to read the next book. Anybody who is going through breast cancer or knows somebody going through breast cancer should read this book. Highly recommend.

[Eugenie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was about three women bound together with the common thread of breast cancer. The messages came across effectively. However the story lines though not weak, were not particularly strong for me. I believe that other readers who can identify with this subject matter will enjoy this novel more than I did.

[Tami Burkholder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book because it has a great concern for all women and men alike. The writing wasn't good. I had to read some texts over to understand them, but some I just had to pass over because it was too hard to follow.

[delores murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must Read

The true essence of believing that God will make everything alright. For all women that have to go through such a travesty of enduring the pain of dealing with breast cancer believe that God will bring you through it.

[Becky Pierce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read...just okay.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very predictable and the writing was not the best quality.

[Therese]

$0.0

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a good story. There are some typos throughout this edition.

[Doranada McCurdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it

need more like this. shows true religion @ it's best work. Will recommend this to other members of the faith.