The Pages of Her Life says embrace real selves

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Embracing our real selves. Being comfortable in our own skins. Knowing our worth as a person. The Pages of Her Life by James L. Rubart reflects these messages. To really live, we need to embrace our real selves.

On the back cover in a large font, this question stands out: How Do You Stand Up for Yourself When It Means Losing Everything? That gets your attention. How, indeed?

Embracing real selves cost something

Many people wrestle with knowing their worth. In the novel, Allison and Parker’s father died and left their mom in a terrible financial situation. While they deal with the consequences of their own choices brought about by this financial problem, a larger question lingers: Are they going to stand up for themselves, or are they going to back down and let things go for the sake of pleasing someone else? Either way, the high costs change their lives.

Daily we face these same questions. Are we going to challenge words we know are lies or just let them pass? How many times do we back down or compromise something we esteem? Every time we let something go that chips at our worth, we lose. What would happen if we spoke the truth about how we feel, what we want? The risk might involve your job, your home, your family, your life. Is it easier to live with feeling like a coward, or will freedom come if you step forth in boldness and reveal your true self? Who are you going to trust—yourself or God?

Yes, we all have choices, every hour, every day. We weigh them. Sometimes we feel good about those choices; sometimes we don’t.

Know self, know worth

These questions cause the reader to reflect upon what we believe about ourselves. In one scene, Allison and Parker discuss their inner strength: “‘Just like you, I’ve been figuring out that I have to live out of who I truly am. Not for others. For me. I have to realize my worth, not from getting a partnership or winning races or even having a dad who made me his favorite. But from remembering who I am. That I’ve always been a warrior.’”

In another scene, Allison admits this to Richard: “I had to know who I was from the inside out. . . . in the end I have to know my worth regardless of anything else.”

I marked these passages because I want to grab hold of these powerful truths and live confident in my own skin.

But how does living like this look?

Fiction shares this ideal and can portray the real consequences. By living through the characters, our hearts soak in the message. We ponder and discuss the outcome. Next time a choice presents itself, we remember the lesson from the book. If we embrace who we are—win or lose—we might live with less stress because by staying true to ourselves, we carry fewer regrets. Then we can watch in wonder as God provides, and we realize He writes a better story of our lives than we do with all our grasping to keep control of situations we really have no control over at all.

Rediscover inner child

In the novel, Rubart touches upon another important truth. When we are kids, we play with boldness and freedom. In one scene, Richard says, “When boys and girls are young, they don’t think about their gifts and abilities and interests and desires. They simply act on them. They don’t judge them. They act. They don’t have to think about who they are—they simply are. They don’t worry about their true selves slipping away. But then they do slip away, and they don’t know how to find themselves again.”

How can we find ourselves again? Can we return to that valuable childhood way of living? Why do adults break children of this innocence? What would life be like if we encouraged childlike wonder rather than insisting we all grow up, blend in, and tow the line?

I sometimes dampened enthusiasm in my children. Yes, we all need to grow up and be responsible, but I wish we protected better that rare jewel within us of our real selves.

I appreciate a novel that reminds us that each life matters. Please share ways you stay true to yourself.

Book Recommendation: The Pages of Her Life by James L. Rubart.      

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