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Loved as I Am: An Invitation to Conversion, Healing, and Freedom Through Jesus
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128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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862 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
February 21, 2022
I was privileged to hear Sr. Miriam speak at the Columbus Catholic Women's Conference last year. Her talk moved many of us in the audience (including me), to tears, and I'm so glad to have both the recording of her talk, and this book.
Every woman--no matter what religion you are--needs to read this book. Sister's story of conversation is inspiring and comforting and just plain amazing. She speaks to you like she's your sister or your best friend or your mom--whatever you need. She tells the truth that God loves us no matter WHAT we do. We never need to be ashamed before him, or feel like we need to put on a show for God. She guides us through reflective questions that allow us to dig deeper into our relationship with God and provides insight on how to get closer to the person who loves us more than anyone else.
I highly recommend.
Every woman--no matter what religion you are--needs to read this book. Sister's story of conversation is inspiring and comforting and just plain amazing. She speaks to you like she's your sister or your best friend or your mom--whatever you need. She tells the truth that God loves us no matter WHAT we do. We never need to be ashamed before him, or feel like we need to put on a show for God. She guides us through reflective questions that allow us to dig deeper into our relationship with God and provides insight on how to get closer to the person who loves us more than anyone else.
I highly recommend.
November 17, 2014
I didn't read this book all in one stretch, but I could have. Heidland's writing is compelling and raw in a way that, like so many other people, you just don't expect from a religious sister. Dude, she could be ME in so many ways!
Sister Miriam shares her conversion, yes, but she also points out many of the errors in society's reasoning. She weaves in Church teaching and shows the efficacy of them: none of this is preachy. In fact, it's a fast-paced read, one that will make you smile and maybe even tear up.
I've heard Sister Miriam speak, and I was so glad I had: I could hear her voice in my head as I read her words. This is a powerful testimony and a compelling read. Highly recommended.
Sister Miriam shares her conversion, yes, but she also points out many of the errors in society's reasoning. She weaves in Church teaching and shows the efficacy of them: none of this is preachy. In fact, it's a fast-paced read, one that will make you smile and maybe even tear up.
I've heard Sister Miriam speak, and I was so glad I had: I could hear her voice in my head as I read her words. This is a powerful testimony and a compelling read. Highly recommended.
February 25, 2021
Very accessible, and it was inspiring to read another affirmation that religious sisters are people with pasts just like us “regular people”. More importantly though she illuminates Jesus’ power to heal. Might have been more impactful if I had slowly savored the book but it had to go back to the library. Good place to start in the faith but not as meaty as I had hoped.
December 9, 2025
What a great reminder of the merciful, healing love of Jesus Christ! Sr. Miriam gives a powerful account through her story of the way that she has experienced the healing love of the Father. She includes great prompts for reflection that always point back to Jesus. Amazing, quick read! Highly recommend!
May 5, 2021
I love Sr. Miriam and her podcast, “Abiding Together” is one of my favorites. This was a short but lovely book that interweaves her own life story with teachings about the love of God. I would have liked discussion questions more oriented to a group format - as these were more personal/journal type questions. But lots of goodness to ponder here.
December 23, 2020
In an unforeseen turn of events, I was not struck by this book as I had expected! It just really wasn't for me. What I expected from the title was some sort of guide for self love through the lens of The Creator, but I found that the topics for each chapter didn't always align with that. I was disappointed by the lack of depth in this short book, it unfortunately only scratched the surface and did not introduce anything new to me.
That being said, everything in this book is still good and true, and perhaps might be a lot more impactful to someone just encountering the faith! Still luv u Sr Miriam xoxo
That being said, everything in this book is still good and true, and perhaps might be a lot more impactful to someone just encountering the faith! Still luv u Sr Miriam xoxo
February 11, 2016
I loved reading snippets of Sr. Miriam's personal testimony. Her reflection questions are thoughtful, and she gives a great foundation of what true love is and how God really sees us. This book just wasn't right for me. I didn't realize until the end that it's meant to be an introduction to deeper study, learning, and reflection. It could be a great book for someone who's just making their way into a life of real love.
Read my full review at Austin CNM.
Read my full review at Austin CNM.
January 22, 2023
This is a great book for anyone who wants engage in a talk about loved we are no matter what our past is or what our present is.
Sr Miriam is a witness to the unlimited mercy and love of God and knows what it can feel like to question our inheritance to this goodness. This book is not just about embracing who we are but also embracing God for who HE is: someone who continues to surprise us, restore us, heal us, delight us, and love us UNCONDITIONALLY! I appreciated the questions at the end of each chapter for reflection!
Sr Miriam is a witness to the unlimited mercy and love of God and knows what it can feel like to question our inheritance to this goodness. This book is not just about embracing who we are but also embracing God for who HE is: someone who continues to surprise us, restore us, heal us, delight us, and love us UNCONDITIONALLY! I appreciated the questions at the end of each chapter for reflection!
January 17, 2022
By the way Sister Miriam writes, it is obvious that she has a deep desire for each one of her readers to have a real, intimate relationship with Jesus. This book should be done at a slow pace, allowing for reflection at the end of each chapter.
I enjoyed reading more about some of Sister Miriam’s life. This book definitely just scrapes the surface, but for me, it did it’s purpose in leading me to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus.
I enjoyed reading more about some of Sister Miriam’s life. This book definitely just scrapes the surface, but for me, it did it’s purpose in leading me to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus.
April 22, 2025
Sr. Miriam radiates beauty and love. I have always been drawn to her—her testimony, the gentle way she prays, her vulnerability as she speaks. When I found out she had a book, I purchased it without hesitation. Her story is deep with scars and struggle, but there is a simpleness to this book where the root of what she has to say is “God love you”. God loves you so much it’s hard to fathom, and he loves you where you are right now, broken and shattered or not.
February 4, 2022
Very short and simple, but filled with some wonderful nuggets!
September 12, 2023
Loved it! Short but inspiring.
June 9, 2025
This book is a wonderful display of overcoming difficulties and learning to love your self as God loves you.
July 27, 2019
Good for young women esp
December 1, 2024
Love her and love her story. This is another great healing book for reflection and prayer
January 7, 2026
A beautiful book full of meaningful reflections. Sr. Miriam’s story is heartbreaking, but Jesus transforms!!!
May 31, 2022
So much for being loved as I am. The author lumps ‘same sex attraction’ (page 53 in the Kindle edition) in with addiction and other forms of sideways things that draw a person away from God. This is especially unfortunate were references to same sex contact in the Bible have nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with rape and temple prosecution.
She herself is not same sex attracted. She was a sexual compulsive with young men in her youth. Sexual compulsivity in any of its forms is not healthy. It is unfortunate she can see her own unhealthy sexual expression as a gradation but anyone who is LGBT is disordered.
Sad her understanding of the human heart and mind are too narrow to appreciate, love, and allow for all God’s children.
There are some good points, but over all the author has a lot of growing up to do before she can be counted among the ranks of other authors such as Father Richard Rohr and Sister Joan Chittister.
She herself is not same sex attracted. She was a sexual compulsive with young men in her youth. Sexual compulsivity in any of its forms is not healthy. It is unfortunate she can see her own unhealthy sexual expression as a gradation but anyone who is LGBT is disordered.
Sad her understanding of the human heart and mind are too narrow to appreciate, love, and allow for all God’s children.
There are some good points, but over all the author has a lot of growing up to do before she can be counted among the ranks of other authors such as Father Richard Rohr and Sister Joan Chittister.
January 2, 2021
In this simple illustration of the life of Sister Miriam James, she is able to take our disordered intimacy, need for healing and renewal of heart on a deeper level. It is truly quite incredible the way that she set up her book to be read by the reader. Much like a devotional, she seeks to find meaning in the Biblical stories that impact Jesus’ humanity and the weight of the gift of healing. For anyone needing a starter book for resources or just a reminder of sonship or daughterhood. “It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised.” - Saint Augustine
Also, if you haven’t listened to this woman’s podcast “Abiding Together” I highly suggest that you do so. It’s clearly not for the faint of heart (just saying).
Also, if you haven’t listened to this woman’s podcast “Abiding Together” I highly suggest that you do so. It’s clearly not for the faint of heart (just saying).
May 7, 2020
This was an engaging spiritual read, though it did feel like the author skirted around her story rather than telling exactly what happened to her. This is her prerogative of course, but it felt like she was constantly hinting at things without stating them clearly and that made it hard to know what point she was arguing. Still, I enjoy her on the Abiding Together podcast and found plenty of truth in her reflections here.
February 26, 2019
I love Sr. Miriam's podcast, Abiding Together, and love listening to her wise words. There were snippets in the book that struck me, but overall it wasn't as deep as I expected. I supposed that it's an intro into growing your faith and entering into a faith journey if you do not already have a relationship with God.
August 31, 2015
I cried and prayed my way through this book. Even if you aren't Catholic like me you should read it!
May 8, 2022
If you are follower of Christ looking to start your healing journey, this book is perfect for you. If you are already well on your way in your healing work—doing therapy, perhaps attending a 12-step program, attending spiritual direction, etc.—you’re not going to get much out of this book.
As the title suggests, this is an _invitation_ to healing and conversion with Christ. It’s incredibly gentle and accessible, thus making it perfect for the person who is on the cusp of begging his or her healing journey.
You can see Miriam’s heart and passion for the broken hearted and wounded. I also enjoyed reading her story, though I wish that she would have given more detail about her upbringing, her 12-step recovery work, and her journey in the sisterhood. That’s one thing that bummed me out about the book (I hope she writes a memoir next).
As for my rating, I struggled between 3 and 4 stars. If you were looking to get more about her own story or if you expected this book to progress your healing work, you will be disappointed. Coming from that perspective, this would be a 3/5. Given that this book is not meant to achieve that—and I didn’t realize that until a chapter or two in—I’d give it a 4 for what it is. Honestly, I think this might be closer to a 3.5, as I had hoped for more depth and more of a roadmap of what healing looks like. But there were still a couple nuggets I took away from the book.
One thing I really liked was how she normalized 12-step recovery groups. At one point in the later chapters, she spoke of how Christ uses many different means towards our healing, and she included 12-step recovery groups in that list, and I love that she shared her own journey with it. I think 12-step recovery should be normalized more in Christian circles. I feel it’s either stigmatized or misunderstood by Christians. We think of it as just being for alcoholics and drug addicts. But: (i) there are so many different recovery groups out there, and (ii) recovery groups are such an immensely helpful tool for healing that many Christians are missing out on. I’d love it if Miriam expanded on her experience with recovery and wrote a follow up on just that alone.
Overall: It’s a quick, gentle read, and I’d recommend it if you’re just starting to work through your wounds and past. If you’ve already been on your healing path, you might not get much out of this, but there are still some nuggets you can gain.
February 25, 2018
I first discovered Sister Miriam James thru her awesome podcast “Abiding Together” with her co-hostesses Heather Khym and Michelle Benzinger. I was delighted to learn that she had authored a book and immediately ordered it. This short paperback packed a BIG punch with equal parts inspiration and encouragement. Sister does an amazing job of being transparent and authentic in sharing her struggles and her journey to fully discovering life as a beloved daughter of God. I love how she challenges her readers at the end of each chapter through some poignant and thought provoking refection questions. I can’t recommend this book enough for anyone struggling to see their worth, striving for the world’s standards, or those who feel as if their sin is beyond redemption. While obviously written from a Catholic woman’s perspective, I fully believe the truths shared in this book are excellent reminders and would be awesome for anyone seeking to live in the truth of God’s redemptive and unconditional love. This book is easy to read, engaging and could be a very useful tool towards healing. Highly recommend it for so many!
November 23, 2023
Sister Miriam is a really beautiful and godly woman. I believe she will be a saint one day. I first heard about her story on a podcast and I remembered bawling throughout the night, listening to this nun share her heart wrenching testimony of the power, love and healing of Christ, and pausing throughout the video so that I could pray and bare my own wounds to our Great Physician.
In this book, Sister Miriam shared her story of how she found Jesus and continues to walk with Jesus throughout her life. She was honest about her sufferings before she took her vows and became a bride of Christ, and how she still needed continuous healing throughout her life — even as a religious sister! She had beautiful insights throughout the book on how much God truly loves us, and wants to heal our wounds that we inflict on ourselves, or wounds that others have inflicted on us, or how we wound others! God has a ministry of reconciliation and He longs to reconcile the world to Himself, to partake in the communion of love between the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
My only complaint was that the book is way too short! I finished it in one sitting.
In this book, Sister Miriam shared her story of how she found Jesus and continues to walk with Jesus throughout her life. She was honest about her sufferings before she took her vows and became a bride of Christ, and how she still needed continuous healing throughout her life — even as a religious sister! She had beautiful insights throughout the book on how much God truly loves us, and wants to heal our wounds that we inflict on ourselves, or wounds that others have inflicted on us, or how we wound others! God has a ministry of reconciliation and He longs to reconcile the world to Himself, to partake in the communion of love between the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
My only complaint was that the book is way too short! I finished it in one sitting.
September 21, 2024
This is a pretty flowery little book, and reading it is kind of like being gently beaten over the head with a bouquet of posies, but it was after all written by a nun, one who suffered some shocks and horrors in her life and is now transformed into a beacon of love and faith. It’s not exactly a “conversion” story, since Sr Miriam was baptized and raised a Catholic, but her sufferings as a child, her fall into sin and her helium-ballon rise from it are almost so.
It’s pretty affirming as a reader to be told on every page of a hundred pages that you’re loved. If you’re feeling shitty, whether because of something that you did or something that someone else did to you, then read this. Everyone is worth it, God is crazy about you, and he’s far better than any therapist.
It’s pretty affirming as a reader to be told on every page of a hundred pages that you’re loved. If you’re feeling shitty, whether because of something that you did or something that someone else did to you, then read this. Everyone is worth it, God is crazy about you, and he’s far better than any therapist.
November 29, 2024
I knew Sr. Miriam James through YouTube videos where she talked about healing. "Loved as I Am" is an invitation for each one of us to look deep into our hearts, trying to peel the layers, to be vulnerable and ultimately, to receive God's real and genuine love. It is not a self-help book, it is not the healing itself. I believe that through this book, Sr. Miriam James uses her gifts to bring back people to Christ.
Highly recommended to anyone, literally anyone. If you're a fast reader like me, go ahead and do the skim reading. But I encourage you to revisit, whenever you are ready, and take your time to reflect, meditate, and pray whenever you feel called to.
Highly recommended to anyone, literally anyone. If you're a fast reader like me, go ahead and do the skim reading. But I encourage you to revisit, whenever you are ready, and take your time to reflect, meditate, and pray whenever you feel called to.
July 11, 2024
Wow, short but very powerful! This book I will definitely read again, and probably more than twice also. It comes with questions to reflect on for each chapter, which I kind of skipped over this time, since I wanted to read on. Next time 'round I will sit with it and meditate on these questions.
I especially love the title. It has a depth to it which probably doesn't escape a Christian with some Bible knowledge, while at the same time expressing exactly that which the book wants for the reader to take out of it.
I especially love the title. It has a depth to it which probably doesn't escape a Christian with some Bible knowledge, while at the same time expressing exactly that which the book wants for the reader to take out of it.
January 18, 2025
Small Book Huge Heart
The content of this book only scratches the surface of whom Sister Miriam is. I discovered her on YouTube and I will never forget how much Love and devotion she has for Jesus. One of her stories is of a priest she met in college and much he so loved Jesus, and she was taken by that love, she wanted so much have it for herself. This beautiful woman is on fire for Jesus, you can not want what she has. You will not want to meet her you will want the Holy Spirit to dwell in you. Allow her to fan the flame in your heart and soul. May God Bless.
The content of this book only scratches the surface of whom Sister Miriam is. I discovered her on YouTube and I will never forget how much Love and devotion she has for Jesus. One of her stories is of a priest she met in college and much he so loved Jesus, and she was taken by that love, she wanted so much have it for herself. This beautiful woman is on fire for Jesus, you can not want what she has. You will not want to meet her you will want the Holy Spirit to dwell in you. Allow her to fan the flame in your heart and soul. May God Bless.
July 1, 2020
This is a fine little book. I expected to like it more than I did. I wish there were a little more to it. I hope and expect it will help some people who find it. Sister shares some of her challenges in life in a very open and real way, which is very brave and kind of her. I think it will help people see the real life struggles of a religious sister who is a person with human struggles like everyone else.
November 25, 2023
Great book with great insights
Another great book from Sr Miriam! She has a great down to earth way of discussing important ideas about how God wants a relationship with us and wants to provide healing from wounds and self hatred. She draws on the Bible, church teachings, and well-known Catholics to help explain. She also shares her personal experiences to help readers understand her healing experiences. Good book!
Another great book from Sr Miriam! She has a great down to earth way of discussing important ideas about how God wants a relationship with us and wants to provide healing from wounds and self hatred. She draws on the Bible, church teachings, and well-known Catholics to help explain. She also shares her personal experiences to help readers understand her healing experiences. Good book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews