Lessons Learned: If I Knew What I Know Now

Young women face multiple challenges as they navigate early adulthood. Society teaches that self-worth is intimately tied to appearance, material possessions, and social status. The pressure to engage in premarital sex is enormous and often leads to involvement in toxic relationships.

Candace N. Matthews understands. She has faced these obstacles and expectations, making many mistakes along the way before faith and God’s love gave her the strength needed to overcome such challenges.

In Lessons Learned, Matthews draws on personal experience to show how detrimental low self-esteem, premarital sex, and toxic relationships affect women. Candid reflections drawn from her detailed journals help illustrate the pitfalls society puts in front of women—and indeed expects young women to willingly fall into. More importantly, Matthews reveals how building a relationship with God through prayer and the Bible frees women from negative societal pressures, just as God freed her.

Packed with practical advice for improving self-worth, maintaining a commitment to abstinence, and identifying—and avoiding—toxic relationships, Lessons Learned offers a way to draw closer to God, and by doing so, live life as He intended.

The youngest of seven children, Candace N. Matthews was born and raised in Southern Pines, North Carolina. A self-proclaimed introvert, she loves the Lord with all her heart, soul, and mind.

Matthews graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a BA in psychology. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, dancing, reading, traveling, exercising, and volunteering. She currently works in the Washington, DC, area and lives in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Follow Matthews on Twitter @NaomiCandace or contact her at matthews83candace@gmail.com.