Review: Body & Soul: A Girl's Guide to a Fit, Fun, and Fabulous Life by Bethany Hamilton

June 20, 2014

Title: Body & Soul: A Girl's Guide to a Fit, Fun, and Fabulous Life
Author: Bethany Hamilton w/ Dustin Dillberg
Publisher: Zondervan
Pages: 157
ISBN: 978-0-310-73105-4
Publication Date: May 6th, 2014

Synopsis:
Bethany Hamilton has become a fitness expert by virtue of being a professional athlete who has excelled---and she's done it while overcoming incredible challenges. Whether you know Bethany or not, whether you surf or not, everyone has challenges, and in Body and amp; Soul, Bethany shares some of her core experiences with body, mind and spirit. Sharing her expertise as an athlete, Body and amp; Soul helps young girls develop a healthy lifestyle, understand their changing bodies, gain confidence, and establish a pattern of healthy living starting at a young age. This book includes workouts specially developed for young girls by Bethany’s personal trainer, recipes and information on healthy eating based on “Bethany’s food pyramid,” which follows the Mediterranean diet, and advice on deepening your spiritual health, for a total body wellness book perfect for growing girls. This isn't a book about Bethany, this is a book about wellness, becoming your best “you,” through physical and spiritual balance, because spiritual health is just as important as physical health.
 Review:
Being a preteen-teenager is hard. It was the most awkward part of my life and I still shutter at pictures from that time. Granted for a part of that time I had a loose perm (don't judge, it was the the 90's and there were no flat irons at that time). But that wasn't the most difficult time. It was the not knowing of how to take care of myself in a healthy way. Starting those habits need to be started early, and I didn't know where to start, and like a stubborn teen, I didn't want to talk to my parents. Some of the books I found, they were dry and just didn't click with me.

I want to avoid that with my kiddo, so I was interested to see what Body & Soul was like. I remember the story of Bethany Hamilton from years ago and then really liked the movie Soul Surfer that came out a few years ago. I figured, if there was anyone who could relate with girls, she was the girl. Every time I saw her in interviews or hear her story, she always was positive and was a wonderful motivator, and she had a wonderful passion for Jesus.

I have to say, that the book she crafted with the help of her trainer really is a wonderful book for girls. It is a positive book that offers such encouragement that is needed at that age. It also presents the reader with a wonderful assortment of workouts and some fantastic recipes, simple, but good and healthy ideas. I loved how there was so much ginger. I feel in love with ginger when I was pregnant, it was one of the few things that helped my stomach. I love seeing the different ideas to add it to.

This book focused on healthy eating and clean living, but it also focused on confidence. What a hard struggle for a girl to battle in this day and age and Bethany covered it well and incorporated some wonderful verses through out the book.

I think this book is wonderful for mothers of girls and for preteen/teenage girls. It is a wonderful mix of information.

Too Read!
5 out of 5

About the Author:
Bethany Hamilton: Bethany has become a source of inspiration to millions through her story of determination, faith and hope. In 2003, Bethany lost her left arm while surfing to a 14-foot tiger shark. Rather than let her career as a rising surf star come crashing down, Bethany miraculously returned to the water one month after the attack, a year later won her first National title, and has since realized her dream of surfing professionally. Her unbelievably positive attitude fascinated the world, and her story has been told in an autobiography and later adapted to the 2011 film, Soul Surfer. Bethany and her husband, Adam Dirks, are involved in many charitable efforts, including Friends of Bethany, which she and her family created to help shark attack survivors, traumatic amputees, and serves to inspire others through her life story. Now as a professional surfer, motivational speaker, and healthy lifestyle advocate, Bethany continues to touch and inspire lives globally.


Thank you to Zondervan, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

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