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Awkward Is The New Brave: Wipeouts happen, get back up anyway
Ever wanted to be brave and do “your thing”, only to be sucked into the undertow of self-doubt?
Using humour as her shield and honesty as her sword, 40-something single mum Belle Lockerby embarks on a “Year of Bravery” to become a worthiness warrior, putting the ghosts of her painful past to rest. Her touching story powerfully weaves together the many life traumas and tragedies (the least of which is the state of her underwear drawer) while bringing hope, light, joy and, ultimately, bravery to those willing to walk with her.
In the midst of excruciating grief and loss, Belle chose to overcome the arsenal of “adversity wedgies” that have blessed her life. She firmly made up her mind to dust herself off, make some adjustments, get back up and be brave. Her inspiring memoir shows how seemingly insurmountable walls of self-protection can be broken down brick by brick to allow people back in and to experience love once again.
With heart-wrenching vulnerability and raw honesty, some of her deepest secrets are revealed as Belle encourages you to be brave enough to be who you are, awkward enough to try out things that are hard, new and uncomfortable, and kind enough to become the safe space for others doing the same.
She candidly shares life lessons learned from literally finding yourself in the shit and discovering the freedom to just be by travelling to one of the world’s most magnificent natural wonders. Belle shows all of us the power of being seen – fully seen by another human being, with all your vulnerability, all your strength, all your flaws – and still be loved.
More than a life story, her own bravery enabled her to quit running on autopilot and start practicing being kind to herself. Belle takes this passion to remind women they are worthy of fighting for themselves, encouraging you to be brave and step with your “geez I’d love a pedicure” feet into living, not just existing.
Belle knows firsthand the struggle of uncovering who we really want to be instead of trying to fit in the box – leftovers from corporate conditioning. After realising she was trying to achieve someone else’s definition of success, she broke out of the 9-to-5 mould and became a successful lover of life.
If you’ve been knocked down by life’s storms, Belle’s here to remind us that we are worthy of being fighters for AND lovers of ourselves. Why not step into the abyss of awkwardness and see where your feet land? Learn how to get among joy in the sea of life and do the scary thing instead of sitting in the comfortable, growth-stunting safety of sand in your swimsuit familiarity.
Belle’s intensely personal story is the ultimate example of finding the warrior in you and reminds us that we’re all awkwardly brave in one way or another anyway.
Using humour as her shield and honesty as her sword, 40-something single mum Belle Lockerby embarks on a “Year of Bravery” to become a worthiness warrior, putting the ghosts of her painful past to rest. Her touching story powerfully weaves together the many life traumas and tragedies (the least of which is the state of her underwear drawer) while bringing hope, light, joy and, ultimately, bravery to those willing to walk with her.
In the midst of excruciating grief and loss, Belle chose to overcome the arsenal of “adversity wedgies” that have blessed her life. She firmly made up her mind to dust herself off, make some adjustments, get back up and be brave. Her inspiring memoir shows how seemingly insurmountable walls of self-protection can be broken down brick by brick to allow people back in and to experience love once again.
With heart-wrenching vulnerability and raw honesty, some of her deepest secrets are revealed as Belle encourages you to be brave enough to be who you are, awkward enough to try out things that are hard, new and uncomfortable, and kind enough to become the safe space for others doing the same.
She candidly shares life lessons learned from literally finding yourself in the shit and discovering the freedom to just be by travelling to one of the world’s most magnificent natural wonders. Belle shows all of us the power of being seen – fully seen by another human being, with all your vulnerability, all your strength, all your flaws – and still be loved.
More than a life story, her own bravery enabled her to quit running on autopilot and start practicing being kind to herself. Belle takes this passion to remind women they are worthy of fighting for themselves, encouraging you to be brave and step with your “geez I’d love a pedicure” feet into living, not just existing.
Belle knows firsthand the struggle of uncovering who we really want to be instead of trying to fit in the box – leftovers from corporate conditioning. After realising she was trying to achieve someone else’s definition of success, she broke out of the 9-to-5 mould and became a successful lover of life.
If you’ve been knocked down by life’s storms, Belle’s here to remind us that we are worthy of being fighters for AND lovers of ourselves. Why not step into the abyss of awkwardness and see where your feet land? Learn how to get among joy in the sea of life and do the scary thing instead of sitting in the comfortable, growth-stunting safety of sand in your swimsuit familiarity.
Belle’s intensely personal story is the ultimate example of finding the warrior in you and reminds us that we’re all awkwardly brave in one way or another anyway.
- GenresSelf Help
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 15, 2019
3 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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November 15, 2019What an amazing read!
All emotions were at an all time high!
Very well written
100% recommend! It will leave you waiting for another book to come out!
Good job Belle xx
All emotions were at an all time high!
Very well written
100% recommend! It will leave you waiting for another book to come out!
Good job Belle xx
July 31, 2022
This book was terrible.
I was tricked: I love memoirs, particularly 'makeover in a year' ones... I thought it could be funny (perhaps due to the awkwardness)... maybe I'd even learn some life lessons about being brave... and from a cool chick who loves the beach.
It didn't rock, it sucked! Several times I had to stop and double-check that this wasn't fiction or YA, because the writing was so painfully stupid and unnatural. The protagonist/author was course and vulgar, and her friends seemed fake and flighty. I hated how the few interesting stories were shared via conversations with her weirdo friends, full of uncomfortable slang ("team peen"? ick) and profanity and oddly-written and run-on sentences. And she's right, she is very awkward. The whole potential-boyfriend saga was awful and cringeworthy.
I was tricked: I love memoirs, particularly 'makeover in a year' ones... I thought it could be funny (perhaps due to the awkwardness)... maybe I'd even learn some life lessons about being brave... and from a cool chick who loves the beach.
It didn't rock, it sucked! Several times I had to stop and double-check that this wasn't fiction or YA, because the writing was so painfully stupid and unnatural. The protagonist/author was course and vulgar, and her friends seemed fake and flighty. I hated how the few interesting stories were shared via conversations with her weirdo friends, full of uncomfortable slang ("team peen"? ick) and profanity and oddly-written and run-on sentences. And she's right, she is very awkward. The whole potential-boyfriend saga was awful and cringeworthy.
July 12, 2025
My biggest issue with this was that I simply could not relate. It was heavily focused on kids/dating with kids, losing a few pounds and being an entrepreneur. It also started to feel repetitive and was a lot of conversations. Finally, I struggle with long chapters in books like this and these seemed to all be never ending.
If those topics are relatable to you, amazing, you’ll probably love this. I just couldn’t get into it.
If those topics are relatable to you, amazing, you’ll probably love this. I just couldn’t get into it.
July 16, 2020
Super inspiring warrior woman, a wizard with words and powerful life stories plus a natural knack for making awkward bravery simple fun and achievable. Belle mentoring is game changing & her mindset liberating...a must read!
April 25, 2022
This book is exceptionally.
August 11, 2022
Great read, I enjoyed very much.
January 4, 2020
Having a personal connection to the family involved, and being loaned the book to read by someone briefly mentioned in the book, I began reading with an open mind mixed with a touch of trepidation. But there was no need to fear. “Awkward is the new brave” is a raw and honest description of this season in Belle’s life, with flashbacks to her past and how those events lead her to be the person she is today. The major events of thr flashbacks are handled respectfully and with compassion. The prologue was full of simple sentences which nearly put me off reading, but this vastly improved as the text went on. I found that characters (for want of a better word) were sometimes mentioned by name before a description of their link to the events in Belle’s life, which sometimes left me wondering if I had missed vital information. Belle’s writing style is how I image she speaks in every day language, so it is easy to read. It is also full of self-depreciating humour that often made me giggle out loud. “Awkward is the new brave” is a deeply personal description of a year in Belle’s life journey.
September 24, 2019
Heartfelt, relatable and funny.
A great story about overcoming the internal "tickertape" in your head to embark on a Year of Being Brave.
The writing and pace is great. This book will make you laugh out loud in places (especially the hilarious chats with the kids). You'll probably also cringe at the awkwardness (think dating and getting yourself back out there), and cry at the curveballs life has thrown at the author.
Death punches are bitches.
The power of brave besties cannot be underestimated.
Totally relatable and a fabulous read for anyone who is ready to take a shot at injecting more happiness in their life. Belle shows us we've got nothing to lose!
A great story about overcoming the internal "tickertape" in your head to embark on a Year of Being Brave.
The writing and pace is great. This book will make you laugh out loud in places (especially the hilarious chats with the kids). You'll probably also cringe at the awkwardness (think dating and getting yourself back out there), and cry at the curveballs life has thrown at the author.
Death punches are bitches.
The power of brave besties cannot be underestimated.
Totally relatable and a fabulous read for anyone who is ready to take a shot at injecting more happiness in their life. Belle shows us we've got nothing to lose!
October 13, 2019
Moving heart centred story. Navigating the awkwardness of life’s adventures and challenges.
I hyperventilated, laughed , ugly cried and experienced emotions I have no words for.
Such a great read Belle’s story is so relatable, events so similar to my own story it’s uncanny.
It’s so well written and such a pleasure to read.
I’m so glad I can now be inspired to be brave and celebrate my awkwardness .
I hyperventilated, laughed , ugly cried and experienced emotions I have no words for.
Such a great read Belle’s story is so relatable, events so similar to my own story it’s uncanny.
It’s so well written and such a pleasure to read.
I’m so glad I can now be inspired to be brave and celebrate my awkwardness .
December 11, 2019
It took me a while to get into this book but I stayed up late last night to finish it because I had to know how her last few bravery challenges played out. I was tickled that one of the characters was an acupuncturist since I am also one. I wonder if people have conversations about me like Belle has with her friends about Baker! Mysteriously there were three pages missing from the book around page 142. I may write to the author about it.
October 4, 2019
Wow! Such an honest and no nonsense read. So relatable and scarily true to life’s highs and lows. The stories are uncannily similar to my own experiences, which made me laugh out loud, and take comfort in not being the only person in the universe, to encounter such mishaps. Thanks Belle for the memories and noble advice. Top read 👍
October 14, 2019
Raw, insightful, hilarious. A great reminder of the power of forgiveness, growth, determination and braveness. I cried, I laughed, and then I got out the highlighter pen and got inspired. Loved every minute of this read. Highly recommend.
October 30, 2019
Loved reading this book, I laughed and cried and could so relate to the getting yourself back out there and the whole online dating world!!!
Wonderfully written
Wonderfully written
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews