Cherished: Shattered Innocence. Restored Hope.

by Polly Wright

As a young college student, Polly Wright found herself taking off her clothes for men and money. But like 95% of women in the sex industry, she didn't find herself there by accident. Nothing happens in a vacuum.

Cherished is the story of a young girl, raped in a bathtub at the tender age of seven. It's the story of a teenager, walking into an abortion clinic. It's the story of a young wife and mother, masking her pain in a bottle. But more than that, it's the story of how a very real enemy waged a very real war against this incredible woman from the time she was very small. It's the story of how the lies he spoke to her became her truths, leading her into the darkest of places and the most difficult of times.

And it's the story of a woman and her Savior. It's the story of how He rescues and saves, pulling us out of the pit in which we all find ourselves. It's a story of healing and wholeness, truth and discovery. it's a story of God's voice. It's the story of a woman, becoming all that she was created to be.

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2013

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

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An old friend posted the cover of this book on her Instagram feed and, to be honest, it was the cover that drew me in. Yes, I’ve been honest before about my bad habit of judging a book by its cover and this was no exception. I got a copy as soon as I could and read it in less than two days. For this working mom who doesn’t have a lot of time to devote to reading, this is a pretty big feat.

This book was different than I expected, but definitely not in a bad way. I expected Polly to be more detached from her story, for her hurt and her pain to be back farther in her past. I didn’t expect that only in the last few years did she truly discover her new worth in Jesus. Usually, the more time has passed the less shocking your story is. ”Oh, you did drugs as a teenager? Now you’re fine, right? No big deal!” To hear the brave story of a woman who openly admits that her story is still being written was very encouraging.

Polly illustrates her memoirs with the beautiful story of a jar being slowly refined by the rough sand of the ocean into sea glass. This motif is split into a few parts and the book switches from Polly’s personal stories into this wonderful portrait.

I love what she says, not just about being created for a purpose, but what she says afterwards. ”You were put on this earth to bring beauty and strength to it.” How awesome is that? Beauty AND strength. We’re more than pretty faces, more than the bodies we reside inside. We’re here to be strong! What a great message for women who are hurting, and also an important one to be told to little girls to avoid any future pain the world wants to throw at them. We have AUTHORITY. I wish I could tell everyone this. So many people judge Christian women as nothing but meek and subservient; if only they could read this! We don’t need to look anywhere else for authority: Jesus already paid the price! We don’t need to look to a man, to our pastor, or to anyone else to stamp out the lies spread against us. We have the authority already, He gave it to us. How many Christian women have been harmed by not being told that they are already armed with such a strength, such a power? Wow, powerful words here.

I’m thankful that Polly Wright wrote this book. If anything, I found myself wishing throughout that it was longer! I wished that I had even more details of her struggles and the beautiful recovery that followed. I appreciated her brevity at certain points as she is definitely honest about her abuse and darkness in her past, and I’m so glad she didn’t choose to gloss over those details but instead confronts them. I understood as the book went on that the reason certain parts weren’t longer is that her story isn’t yet finished – here’s to hoping for a sequel! She begins and ends the book with her first steps into her ministry, We Are Cherished, for helping other women in the sex industry. I hope that many more books follow filled with stories of women finding solitude and new worth in God, my prayers go out to Polly’s ministry and the lives they will touch!

[Sundi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all... this was a hard book to read - not gonna lie. I wasn't sure if I could make it through the first two chapters, but I had to keep reading, knowing there was a story of redemption weaved throughout these pages.

Every. Bit. Worth. The. Hard. Read.

Your heart will break. But it will be filled again with hope - the hope which comes from our amazing, redeeming Father in Heaven who calls each of us cherished.

Read it. I bet God will use it to restore your hope in just how much He loves you!

[Hope Boring]

We Cherished is an eye opener to sex addiction and how one woman found God. It a great book about adversary and making good come from it. I would recommend this book to teen girls over 15. There is a one graphic chapter. There is hope for young girls to come out of the evil world of sex. Thank you Polly for writing this book and God bless you in your ministry.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

amazing story from an amazing woman