Perfected: Trading Shame and Striving for Wholeness in Christ

by Bethany Broderick

"Am I good enough?" The question plagued Bethany's heart and mind as she drifted off to sleep each night. She worried whether her meager efforts had met the expectations of those around her, the ones in her own head, and (more importantly) the ones she felt from God.

Culture answered her question with glowing affirmations. You’ve got this girl! Just believe in yourself! You are more than enough, just the way you are! Even in the church, her struggles with insufficiency and insecurity were met with true yet incomplete promises. He created you just as you are! You’re a princess in his eyes! You are enough for him! All these phrases were merely bandages covering the festering wound of how inadequate she felt.

How could she truly know if she was good enough?

Through biblical teaching alongside her own personal struggles with perfectionism and condemnation, Bethany shares how she learned to lay down her efforts to be good enough by trusting that Christ is enough for her.

Perfected replaces the burdensome expectations and empty affirmations of this world with the truth that Christ has perfected you for all time. You can find freedom from your self-sufficient striving and rest in the finished work of Christ on your behalf.

Genres: Christian

240 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2025

Reviews

[Ann Swindell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Balanced, beautiful, and full of Biblical truth, Perfected offers a breath of fresh air to any reader who has wrestled with feeling the need to muscle through life—and faith—by trying harder or working more. Bethany Broderick has masterfully intertwined her story with the Story, pointing readers to the Gospel truths that set us free from perfectionism, performance, and self-condemnation. Highly recommended!

[Amber Thiessen · Rating 5 out of 5]

We live in a culture that rewards performance, praises productivity, and often ties our worth to our success. For many of us—especially those who’ve grown up in the church—this mindset can quietly seep into our faith. We strive to be good enough, holy enough, useful enough. We aim for perfection, not always realizing how weary and heavy-laden we’ve become.

In Perfected, Bethany invites us to lay down the exhausting burden of self-sufficiency and rest in the finished work of Christ. With pastoral warmth and biblical depth, she leads readers through the tangled lies of perfectionism and into the freedom of gospel-shaped wholeness.

If you’ve been weighed down by your imperfections—striving to be perfect and feeling flooded with guilt when you fall short—you’ll find encouragement in these pages. We weren’t created to make ourselves perfect. It’s a fruitless pursuit. But when we embrace the grace and goodness of the gospel, remembering that salvation can never be earned, we discover the true rest and wholeness found in Christ.
Highly recommend!

Quick Stats
# of Pages: 223
Level of Difficulty: Easy
My Rating: 5 stars

{full review on the blog! https://www.amberthiessen.com/post/fo...}

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a balm for the soul in ways I didn’t even know I needed! Throughout reading this book, I felt as though I was sitting with a dear friend drinking coffee as I was encouraged, admonished, and reminded of God’s love and plan for me. Bethany invites the reader into her life as a means by which to point them to the truth of the gospel and our desperate need for it, even if we’ve been walking with the Lord for years. Will be gifting this book to so many of my friends, and I can’t wait to discuss it with them more!

[Jessica Jolley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bethany spoke so poignantly to my soul through the biblical truths she’s also been wrestling with in her own life and fight against striving and perfectionism. She takes her readers on a journey alongside her, not acting as if she has all the answers or has it all together, but graciously inviting us to the freedom and joy found in Christ alone! I believe this is such a helpful and necessary read for so many of us in the Church today who are still trying to “pick ourselves up by our bootstraps,” even if we know theologically that’s not what the Lord intends for us. It is a calling—and even proving—through scripture that there is a better way.

[Sonja Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bethany Broderick addresses an issue I have struggled with for many years. As a fellow "church kid" and perfectionist, I also grew up with a subtle belief that I had to perform at a certain level to earn God's favor. Even worse, I found myself living as if I could earn answers to prayer by checking enough boxes (Bible reading, prayer, memorization, going to church, etc.). Bethany has managed to address these issues beautifully in her book Perfected. She points us solidly back to Jesus as our source of goodness, as the One who makes us "enough" in God's eyes, as our Savior who makes all of the striving and shame unnecessary because we are united with him in his righteousness.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who ever wonders if they are "good enough". In fact, even if you think maybe you ARE good enough, or if you have never asked the question...still read this book! It will make you think; it will point you toward Jesus; it is filled with a rich doctrine of our salvation in Christ. This is going on my "best-of" shelf.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly as the subtitle reads - this book tackles the feeling many of us have but don't realize or admit - that we feel like we are failing in the sight of God and our peers. Bethany is here to assure us (through scripture) that in Christ, we are enough because HE has perfected us through his loving sacrifice. We don't have to strive for perfection that we can't achieve. It's not up to us but we can rest in Jesus and on his promises. This book is so relatable and raw

[Haley Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good 🥹 it was relatable and written with so much compassion! a must read but especially if you struggle with perfectionism and over exhausting yourself to prove yourself and be “successful”.

[Traci Koning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book filled with so many good reminders of truth and lots of scripture to back it all up! Encouraging for all believers!

[Lauren Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of Biblical truth and honest reflection on Bethany’s experience in her own faith journey. I would highly recommend it to anyone!

[Lauren DuPrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review contains affiliate links

I received Perfected compliments of B&H Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Perfected: Trading Shame and Striving for Wholeness in Christ is the debut title by professor, speaker, and author Bethany Broderick. The book is about Bethany's struggles with perfectionism and how she's found freedom in knowing that God sees her as perfect because of Jesus. I found Perfected to be very relatable and also healing. It comforted me to be repeatedly reminded that I can work out my salvation with fear and trembling because Christ's work is complete. This book would be an excellent read for any Christian and those who have struggled with perfectionism and/or legalism will find it especially helpful.

Bethany writes in a way that is honest and Christ centered. Perfected helps readers remember the gospel message and rejoice in who Jesus is and the work He's doing in us by His Spirit. The chapters are chock-full of Scripture and each one concludes with questions for reflection and Bible references to read for further study. I enjoyed reading Perfected and felt like this book could've been written by me considering how relatable Bethany's story is. This book is a breath of fresh air for the soul. I greatly enjoyed it and I eagerly anticipate reading more by Bethany in the future.