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The Real Me
Teenage girls and soccer moms. Housewives and corporate executives. Young professionals and those who are retired. No matter their professions or responsibilities, women of all ages and all walks of life often struggle with an all-consuming issue-self-image. We as Americans are continually obsessed with the grass-is-greener, anything-else-is-better-than-what -we-have philosophy. And that is never truer for women than when it comes to our bodies and our self-images. The media and the world around us tell us that we should be perfect in every way. But this kind of scrutiny and obsession with perfection leaves women feeling unloved, unattractive, frustrated, and even depressed. In The Real Me , contemporary Christian singer and songwriter Natalie Grant is on a mission to especially help young women deal with this struggle and to find acceptance in how God created them. And this struggle is something that Natalie understands fully-she gives the reader an inside look at her own struggle with image issues that led her on the path to bulimia. In acknowledging her pain and sharing her struggle, she offers practical help and hope to women of all ages.
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2005
13 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Natalie Grant
43 books39 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Natalie Grant is a singer-songwriter of contemporary Christian music
Natalie Grant is a singer-songwriter of contemporary Christian music
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 20, 2018
Full to the brim with Scripture that hits you between the eyes and a story that illustrates both the destructive power of misplaced identity and the power of God's grace in redeeming a life, this book is one that both enlightens and challenges. Throw in the additional vignettes of other women's stories and the spaces for reflective questions, and you've got a real empathetic yet hard-hitting take on what it means to move past insecurity and self-destructive behavior to reach a place where you can see yourself the way God does. It's truly inspiring and empowering!
June 8, 2023
I liked this book okay.
This book is mainly a personal story, with little add in stories from others, and verses put throughout also. Now I'm personally not one for inspirational personal story type books. This book in particular though I felt went a little too in depth about some of the details of her eating disorder. I almost felt like this could be more hurtful than helpful for someone dealing with this.
I enjoyed most of the little stories and extras throughout this book, and I'm always a fan of scripture laced into books. I will say that I do not prefer or recommend using the message version as this book did because it doesn't even sound like the Bible anymore.
Overall, this book wasn't bad, but I didn't think it was really that great and I would be wary if recommending to someone struggling with an eating disorder.
This book is mainly a personal story, with little add in stories from others, and verses put throughout also. Now I'm personally not one for inspirational personal story type books. This book in particular though I felt went a little too in depth about some of the details of her eating disorder. I almost felt like this could be more hurtful than helpful for someone dealing with this.
I enjoyed most of the little stories and extras throughout this book, and I'm always a fan of scripture laced into books. I will say that I do not prefer or recommend using the message version as this book did because it doesn't even sound like the Bible anymore.
Overall, this book wasn't bad, but I didn't think it was really that great and I would be wary if recommending to someone struggling with an eating disorder.
October 13, 2025
Mostly good book!
Two problems.
1. The way she writes “making myself throw up” and the rest of her eating disorder with such fond, glowing terms would have ABSOLUTELY made me try that as a teenager — and she was detailed enough, it was how-to manual enough — I could have started my own eating disorder with this newfound knowledge!
2. She “couldn’t pay to go on a date” then she got mono, lost a lot of weight, and instantly got a date the moment she unhealthily got skinny. Which is fine — that’s how it happened — but if I had read that as a teenager, I would have done unhealthy things to mimic her “success.”
The problem is not THAT her eating disorder existed — it’s that it’s glamorized (or at least deeply loved) and having an eating disorder is written as being successful in achieving the relationship she desired.
Two problems.
1. The way she writes “making myself throw up” and the rest of her eating disorder with such fond, glowing terms would have ABSOLUTELY made me try that as a teenager — and she was detailed enough, it was how-to manual enough — I could have started my own eating disorder with this newfound knowledge!
2. She “couldn’t pay to go on a date” then she got mono, lost a lot of weight, and instantly got a date the moment she unhealthily got skinny. Which is fine — that’s how it happened — but if I had read that as a teenager, I would have done unhealthy things to mimic her “success.”
The problem is not THAT her eating disorder existed — it’s that it’s glamorized (or at least deeply loved) and having an eating disorder is written as being successful in achieving the relationship she desired.
July 8, 2018
Might be closer to four stars? I liked it really well. It wasn't super lame and shallow, though I didn't like the Message translation Scriptures shared. It doesn't even sound like the Bible anymore! But that's another rant for another time. Lol
This book is honest and straightforward, a call to love Jesus and see yourself as the art that He had made and is making. It was pretty solid.
This book is honest and straightforward, a call to love Jesus and see yourself as the art that He had made and is making. It was pretty solid.
June 9, 2022
While talking about self-esteem and image and not having to be perfect to be happy, the final example in the book is about a girl who couldn't buy a date because she was heavy. Well, she gets mono and that causes all the weight to melt off and her first day back at college, she gets asked out. Really? What kind of example is that?
October 2, 2019
It didn't knock my socks off but to be fair I'm not the intended demographic for this book. As a teen I probably would have appreciated the message more. She does a decent job of telling her story and making it clear that we are all a work in progress through Christ.
March 5, 2021
Natalie, this book helped me as a teen to admit my eating disorder to myself, confront it, and overcome it. Thank you for your vulnerability. I’m so grateful for this book and what it meant for me as a teen.
January 1, 2022
This book shook me to my core.
It brought up thoughts and emotions back that I have been pushing aside.
It definitely helped me think back on some things in life and decide to ask God for help and be vulnerable and open enough to let him help me.
It brought up thoughts and emotions back that I have been pushing aside.
It definitely helped me think back on some things in life and decide to ask God for help and be vulnerable and open enough to let him help me.
April 5, 2022
Brought at her concert. Lost my interest towards the end, stopped reading at chapter 7
July 12, 2024
This is a fantastic book about finding yourself again through God!
October 14, 2012
This book, written by a Christian singer/song-writer, uses the author's past eating disorder (bulimia, borderline anorexia) as a springboard for discussion about girls' self-image, the media's portrayals of beauty and how God views us. The book has some strong points and weak points... Of course, it all depends on what you're looking for. Personally, I felt that the weak points were weaker than the strong points were strong, but it really did grip my interest and kept me reading. Not something I would re-read.
The bulk of the book is the author's explanations of how situations in her life (developing the eating disorder, deciding to get out of it, becoming a professional singer, photo shoots, etc.) have impacted her and how girls shouldn't let the media dictate standards of beauty. I think this is a valuable message, but it read about the same as every other book that tells you the same thing in a not very inspiring way.
Though the introduction and the back blurb makes it sound like it's about her eating disorder, that's actually a relatively minor part (in my opinion). The principles she talks about are just as applicable to other struggles. Also, don't read this if you want to know how to get out of an eating disorder. She actually glosses over that part because she focuses on what drove her to it. She jumps around chronologically, so you don't get a good idea of the events in her life. She goes by theme and pulls in relevant anecdotes, but I think it would be more helpful for me to have gotten a fuller idea of how her journey unfolded, in order to make it more applicable to me.
There are also short excerpts about other girls and women--both historical and contemporary, old and young--which honestly didn't do much for me. I would've rather heard more from the author. Or at least an explanation for why she chose some of them, because I wasn't always sure of their relevance. (Some of them were very good, though. I suspect that such anecdotes can be hit-and-miss... Not every story connects with every reader.)
Short spaces are included for journaling in response to her questions every now and then, which I appreciated. There is a list of additional resources in the back and, my favorite part, a section called "Who God Says I Am." It's a short list of attributes/characteristics and an accompanying Bible verse for each. (E.g. "I am made new in Christ" cites 2 Corinthians 5:17.)
Overall, I wasn't particularly moved by this book, but I did like reading it and I did get something out of it. Even though it's billed as "for every girl," I suspect that I'm not necessarily a part of its target audience. A lot of the journaling questions weren't really applicable to me (not just because I don't have an eating disorder) and a lot of the underlying assumptions she was making about the readers' attitudes didn't fit me well. So, that said, I might recommend this to someone who I thought might benefit from it more than I did. Perhaps someone younger (maybe in their middle-to-lateish teens), who reads beauty magazines and is in a boy-crazy phase. (I'm not saying that those are the only girls with self-esteem and self-image issues, but I think this book addresses those fronts in particular.)
The tone of the book is very genuine.
The bulk of the book is the author's explanations of how situations in her life (developing the eating disorder, deciding to get out of it, becoming a professional singer, photo shoots, etc.) have impacted her and how girls shouldn't let the media dictate standards of beauty. I think this is a valuable message, but it read about the same as every other book that tells you the same thing in a not very inspiring way.
Though the introduction and the back blurb makes it sound like it's about her eating disorder, that's actually a relatively minor part (in my opinion). The principles she talks about are just as applicable to other struggles. Also, don't read this if you want to know how to get out of an eating disorder. She actually glosses over that part because she focuses on what drove her to it. She jumps around chronologically, so you don't get a good idea of the events in her life. She goes by theme and pulls in relevant anecdotes, but I think it would be more helpful for me to have gotten a fuller idea of how her journey unfolded, in order to make it more applicable to me.
There are also short excerpts about other girls and women--both historical and contemporary, old and young--which honestly didn't do much for me. I would've rather heard more from the author. Or at least an explanation for why she chose some of them, because I wasn't always sure of their relevance. (Some of them were very good, though. I suspect that such anecdotes can be hit-and-miss... Not every story connects with every reader.)
Short spaces are included for journaling in response to her questions every now and then, which I appreciated. There is a list of additional resources in the back and, my favorite part, a section called "Who God Says I Am." It's a short list of attributes/characteristics and an accompanying Bible verse for each. (E.g. "I am made new in Christ" cites 2 Corinthians 5:17.)
Overall, I wasn't particularly moved by this book, but I did like reading it and I did get something out of it. Even though it's billed as "for every girl," I suspect that I'm not necessarily a part of its target audience. A lot of the journaling questions weren't really applicable to me (not just because I don't have an eating disorder) and a lot of the underlying assumptions she was making about the readers' attitudes didn't fit me well. So, that said, I might recommend this to someone who I thought might benefit from it more than I did. Perhaps someone younger (maybe in their middle-to-lateish teens), who reads beauty magazines and is in a boy-crazy phase. (I'm not saying that those are the only girls with self-esteem and self-image issues, but I think this book addresses those fronts in particular.)
The tone of the book is very genuine.
March 6, 2017
While this book was an enjoyable read, it was very much centered on the life changing realization Grant experienced. There are constant references back to that moment. That isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but it did get a little old.
The stories throughout the book were interesting, and supported the ideas in this book. I also really appreciated the constant references back to scripture.
If you were so inclined, there are also sections within The Real Me in which you can write your responses to questions Grant asks, and hopefully discover the real you along the way.
This book wasn't life changing, but it is still a good read and I liked it. It doesn't take long (only 145 pgs) and you might discover something about yourself along the way. You won't know unless you try.
The stories throughout the book were interesting, and supported the ideas in this book. I also really appreciated the constant references back to scripture.
If you were so inclined, there are also sections within The Real Me in which you can write your responses to questions Grant asks, and hopefully discover the real you along the way.
This book wasn't life changing, but it is still a good read and I liked it. It doesn't take long (only 145 pgs) and you might discover something about yourself along the way. You won't know unless you try.
January 25, 2011
This is a spectacular book! I highly recommend to any woman, whether you are struggling with self esteem issues or not. For someone who has been told I'm worthless and dealt with cutting and suicidal thoughts, this book is amazing!
June 28, 2009
Natalie did a great job! I think every women and girl should read this book! Bravo Natalie!
August 30, 2010
very good and heartfelt!
December 17, 2012
God has created everyone with a distinct purpose. Our goal is to fulfill the purpose God has for us.
July 14, 2009
I have read this book atleast three times and it encouages me each and every time I read it.
November 6, 2012
Excellent!
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August 11, 2018I loved this book. The only thing I could say is that she wrote how she overcame her bulimia and found God's strength and love. TERRIFIC. But, there weren't any details.
Now, I understand privacy...but a few additional ways she found freedom, for me, would have made the book less dull. Sorry, it's true.
Now, I understand privacy...but a few additional ways she found freedom, for me, would have made the book less dull. Sorry, it's true.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews