Backwards Beauty: How to Feel Ugly in 10 Simple Steps (Life, Love & God)

If ten girls were asked to describe the “perfect” girl, they would likely rattle off an eerily similar list of qualities―from hair, skin, and weight to a cute button nose. That’s a problem, because God has given girls a desire to be desirable. If girls think that they will be most wanted if they fit a one-size-fits-all image of “perfection,” they will continually chase that proverbial carrot their entire lives.

Backwards Beauty examines ten cultural lies young women listen to regarding beauty to help them unpack how they’re looking at themselves through the wrong lens. The “tips to feel ugly” range from “compare yourself to every other girl” to “eat junk and diet, diet, diet.”

Reading a book by Jessie Minassian is like sitting down with a friend and talking about the hard things in life. Girls will be able to find freedom and hope in the midst of a culture that idolizes beauty.

Hello, beautiful!
Yes, I’m talking to you―perfectly-made-you.

Now, give me a chance before you stomp on my words!

I have a message that you will want (or maybe need) to hear. I’m Jessie, and the lies of our culture have messed with me, too. Think of me as a big sis who will tackle the tough stuff with you―like beauty―when you’re not feeling even a hint of cute.

In Backwards Beauty, I want to show you exactly why you are so beautiful. And I want to do it in a completely illogical way: by giving you 10 tips on how to feel ugly. Get ready to laugh with me about the ridiculous things we do in search of “beautiful.” We might even cry together as we face the lies we have chosen to believe about our bodies. In the end, I think we’ll find that we’re gorgeous after all. We are the real deals, and we have way more to offer God and the world than just our bodies. We have a beauty not everyone understands. You might call it a backwards beauty.

Are you ready to discover it with me?