We live in a world of fakers. Rather than being real with each other, we present a carefully crafted persona that hides our faults and magnifies our good qualities. But inside we long to be loved, warts and all. We long to stop hiding from each other--and especially from God. With candor and clarity, pastor Rick Bezet calls readers to a life built on authenticity, showing that the way to true freedom lies through reclaiming our hearts, reviving our souls, and renewing our minds in light of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Through biblical stories and (often funny) personal examples, Bezet encourages readers to live with passion, integrity, and perseverance. He releases readers from the spiritual death that comes with pretending and leads them into a new life characterized by transparency rather than fear.

"The stuff of rom-com fantasies come to life." - Entertainment Weekly "The perfect combination of sweet, sexy, and make-you-grin moments." - Lyssa Kay Adams, author of The Bromance Book Club "An ode to everything we love about rom-coms." - Alexis Daria, author of You Had Me at Hola She plans to prove there's a dozen reasons why life isn't like a romantic comedy, only to discover the one reason it is... While her friends wish for meet cutes worthy of their favorite rom-coms, Julia is ready to give up on love. Swiping right has replaced getting swept off your feet and good old-fashioned romance has become, well, old-fashioned. A writer for a popular website, love becomes the last thing on her mind when impending layoffs threaten her job. As Julia searches for the ultimate pitch to impress her boss, she stumbles upon a resort offering guests a chance to live out their romantic comedy dreams. Real life dating is so bleak, who wouldn't want to spend a week in a fantasy rom-com world with your best friends? At the resort, Julia literally falls into a not-quite-meet-cute involving an aggressive seagull and an adorably awkward guy named Luke who is also participating in the rom-com experience. Julia hides the fact she is there to do a story, but Luke harbors a few secrets of his own. Among further encounters with thieving seagulls, a gaggle of corgis, kisses in the rain, and even a karaoke serenade, their feelings deepen quickly. But could their love be real when they haven't been honest about their true identities? Once the fantasy is over, can they have a relationship in the real world? In her trade paperback debut, Melonie Johnson brings her signature humor, sexy romance, and strong female friendships in this hilarious romantic comedy about finding perfectly imperfect love, Too Good to Be Real.

To Be Real: Truth and Racial Authenticity in African American Standup Comedy examines Black standup comedy over the past decade as a stage for understanding why notions of racial authenticity--in essence, appeals to "realness" and "real Blackness"--emerge as a cultural imperative in African American culture. Ethnographic observations and interviews with Black comedians ground this telling, providing a narrative arc of key historical moments in the new millennium. Readers will understand how and why African American comics invoke "realness" to qualify nationalist 9/11 discourses and grapple with the racial entailments of the war, overcome a sense of racial despair in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, critique Michael Richards' ["Kramer's"] notorious rant at The Laugh Factory and subsequent attempts to censor their use of the n-word, and reconcile the politics of a "real" in their own and other Black folks' everyday lives. Additionally, readers will hear through audience murmurs, hisses, and boos how beliefs about racial authenticity are intensely class-wrought and fraught. Moreover, they will appreciate how context remains ever critical to when and why African American comics and audiences lobby for and/or lampoon jokes that differentiate the "real" from the "fake" or "Black folks" from so-called "niggahs." Context and racial vulnerability are critical to understanding how and why allusions to "racial authenticity" persist in the African American comedic and cultural imagination.

A revolutionary exploration of the nature of feminism today, its impact on everyday life, and its promise for the future. Determined to extend the boundaries of feminism to embrace social, political and economic equality for all humanity, these exciting young activists and thinkers recast the concepts of feminism to reflect their own experiences and beliefs. Inspired by activist and writer Rebecca Walker, they speak out, challenging many of their own assumptions about the women's movement and demanding that readers recognize a new relationship between the personal and the political. Black and white, male and female, gay and straight, they fearlessly describe their liberation from the feminist ideals that conflict with the reality of who they are, expose shocking secrets, and acknowledge long-hidden accommodations and anomalies.

In today’s world, the pressure society places on women to be perfect can be debilitating. Whether we are scrolling through social media apps or engaging with our own communities, women are expected to handle all challenges that come up with beauty, grace, and humour. As a result, many of us struggle to connect with ourselves. What do we truly want for our lives? How do we make those dreams a reality? In The Struggle to Be Real, Anita Froese shares her own challenges as examples of how outside pressures can cause big cracks in our foundations. Through faith, humility, and perseverance, Froese emerged from the fray not only stronger, but with a toolbox full of ways to teach other women how they can access their authentic selves. This manual on authenticity is packed full of wisdom. Froese tackles the themes of worthiness, motive, imposter syndrome, and social media, among others. Through her unique combination of personal anecdotes, biblical scriptures, and life coaching, she shares ways in which women of all walks of life can reach deep into themselves and uncover that perfectly unique person who is unapologetically authentic. Froese invites you to eschew the expectations that weigh you down and discover the woman who is trying to make herself known to the world. Then, she encourages you to “Celebrate You.”

NFL linebacker, speaker, podcaster, and humanitarian Sam Acho gives a blueprint for taking off our masks and living lives of genuine authenticity. Most of us hide. We play small and don't live up to our full potential. Sam Acho was one of those people. As an NFL linebacker, for example, he earned his MBA but told no one because he was afraid of what people might think if they found out that he cared about things that weren't "normal" for his profession. After many years of hiding himself, the person he had become had no connection to the real Sam. Only when he lost a friend and a mentor did he realize he was doing it all wrong--just like many us do, when we try to become someone we're not. All the while, we ignore the unique gifts and talents and personality we truly possess. But there is another way of living: Let the world see you. Your quirks, your passions, and your inner desires were not given to you by accident. And the world needs your gifts. In Let the World See You, Sam Acho shares lessons from his own life as well as stories from others to reveal how you can overcome your fears and discover your true selves. Being the real you pays big. No one else has what you have. No one else can share what you share. Let the World See You helps crack the shell of people who are in hiding and reveals the benefits of a lifestyle lived on purpose.

By most accounts, people with a borderline personality disorder prove exceptionally difficult to treat. Divergent opinions abound about what, if anything, contributes to a positive outcome. Is it the quality of the relationship with the psychotherapist that is curative, in that the careful attunement of therapist to patient enables the development of a more secure attachment experience? Or is it the technical and structural parameters of the therapy—i.e., therapist neutrality, frame issues, and defensive operations combined with skillfully formulated and timely interventions? Taken together, the findings of attachment research and object relations theory offer an integrated understanding of borderline personality disorder as an attachment disorder that relies on a pervasive false self for adaptation and personal connections. A particular corrective relationship experience, therefore, is necessary if positive personality changes and improved adaptive capacities are to result. In Another Chance to Be Real, Donald and Deanda Roberts propose a treatment approach, specific to those suffering from borderline personality disorder, that emphasizes both relational and technical variables as necessary in eliciting a positive treatment outcome.

Who are we really? The image we have of our “self” is derived largely from our experiences of who we are, from who we would like to be, and from who we are told we are by others. It is a sense that changes over the years that begins to develop in early childhood and grows (or is stunted) through experimenting and testing in early relationships and later relationships in life, composed of various images which we strive to integrate over time. It is that core “someone” who we often may suppress for fear of ridicule, or loss of support, or fear of failure. Lack of active support for us to express our “real-self”, especially in our early years, often leads us, as adults, to feeling unsatisfied, frustrated, and neglected--trying “so hard to be all things to all people,” “doing what is expected or required”—and no longer being sure of what is personally meaningful. And we fail to realize that expressing our real feelings and needs is not the same as being narcissistically entitled. Thus, expressing the real self takes courage and requires a healthy sense of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and agency, and involves capacities for closeness, intimacy, creativity, self-soothing, and repair. Many of us are afraid to take the chance. That is why this book was written. Letting Go and Taking the Chance to be Real is about the processes involved in becoming real again or perhaps for the first time. -Sherron Lewis, LMFT and Shelley Stokes, Ph.D. “Sherron Lewis LMFT and Shelley Stokes Ph.D. have accomplished what few other authors have, namely, they have written a book that is at once both profoundly practical and, at the same time, firmly anchored in rigorous psychoanalytic theory regarding disorders of the self. Their work is replete not only with insightful clinical anecdotes, but also with courageous and deeply illuminating revelations of their own emotional lives, by which they model for their readers that authenticity which is an antidote to the toxic shame both which keeps our patients’ false selves perched precariously in place and which makes us less effective as therapists. This product of their collaboration, a combination of many years of experience and clinical wisdom by two master clinicians, is a superb gift to the psychotherapy community and is essential reading for every therapist.” -Avak Howsepian, MD, Ph.D., Psychiatry and Neurology, Veterans Affairs Central California, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Univ. of California, San Francisco “This new book by Sherron Lewis and Shelley Stokes represents the latest synthesis of James Masterson’s work, integrating it with other contemporary writers in a way that results in a practical guide for both the lay person interested in personal growth or the clinician on the critical subject of becoming your real self. It’s a very engaging and meaningful book, a must read!” -Joseph P. Farley, MFT, Director of the Masterson Institute

From singer, model and YouTube celebrity Natasha Bure, the daughter of Candace Cameron Bure, comes a real, honest conversational book that doesn’t hold back. Everywhere she goes and every video she posts has one basic message: this is real, this is life, and we all go through it. Whether it’s acne, boyfriends, faith, stress, or having fun, Natasha’s view is to simply be honest, simply be real, no matter what you face. Natasha’s real and relatable tone paired with personal notes and stories will help readers see that living a “real” life is the best life. The dust jacket features embossing.

Dive into a transformative journey towards authenticity with "How to Be Real in Life: Harnessing the Power of Truth." In a world veiled by illusions, this guidebook illuminates the path to living in alignment with our deepest truths. Discover the profound impact of honesty, overcome fear, and cultivate integrity in your relationships and communication. Through introspection and actionable steps, unlock the power within yourself to live a life of purpose, fulfillment, and genuine connection. Embrace authenticity and transform your life today.