Beyond the Masquerade: Unveiling the Authentic You

by Juli Slattery, Juli Slattery

Many Christian women today are wearing masks. From an early age, we are taught that to be valuable we need to do more, to be more. To feel worthy, we learn to hide behind the masks of our accomplishments, physical appearance, intelligence, education, relationships―even our work in the church. But those masks separate us from God, from other people, and from our true selves. Thankfully, there is hope. We can remove our masks and trust Christ to see us as we really are . . . but it takes humility. To examine our hearts, motives, and past experiences requires honesty and confession. But beyond the masquerade, Christ can heal and transform our lives, freeing us from bondage.

Genres: Faith

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2007

Reviews

[Larisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

We all wear masks to protect ourselves and to hide but what we don't realize is that it hinders us from having true kinship and intimacy with God and others.

If you are looking to "go deep" and see what God intends for your value and worth to be based on, this is the book for you.

It is challenging, thought-provoking, inspirational and wonderfully real. Intimacy and acceptance is what we all so desperately want and need. There is a FREEDOM that comes when admitting we are less than perfect and that we need help. Praise God that HE is ALWAYS there to answer our call!!

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book, with lots of quality content to mull over and internalize. It was slow to get going, but from midway on, it was very engaging and challenging. I'm going to have my teenage daughter read the self-esteem chapters, but this book overall really is written for women in their 20's and beyond. Bottom line, most important truth from this book: When our self-esteem is based on what we do to feel worthy, we will always fall short because we are depending on self, which is limited and flawed. When we find our worth in Who made us, there can be no shortfall, because He is all-sufficient and has a purpose for each of us.

[Liz Shuter]

I appreciated Dr. Slattery's emphasis on how even when we try to remove our own masks, that can also be twisted into another bout of pride and that the only way we can truly change and remove our masks is to trust the Lord to do so. I also liked her emphasis on learning people's stories as a part of 1) removing your mask but also 2) being in genuine relationship with other. It was pleasant to have a refresher on what genuine friendships and relationships can and should look like for those following Christ.

[Jocelin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The rating on this book is really 2 1/2 stars. There were some insightful things in this book. I found that it was just too few and far between. I have read books like this before about developing a stronger foundation with God. This one really didn't have an impact on me, it was good but nothing really gripped me. I really did appreciate the author's sincerity in presenting this topic, but it really didn't reach me.

[Ashley Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

My friend spent a semester at focus on the family and was mentored by Julianna Slattery so she gave me this book. It deals with self-esteem and identity in Christ. It offers good advice, but focuses alittle too much on "me". Overall it was and enjoyable read.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really helped me! I can't say that I agreed with all the theology, but it truly inspired me to change a few things and it opened my eyes to my own "masks" that I hide behind in life.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful biblical overview on insecurity, accurate self-concept, and humility. Very biblically backed and full of Truth!

[Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

deep, much to consider
a different way of looking at things.