True You : Finding Beauty in Authenticity

Author(s): Susan Sohn Live your one life well. We pretend to lead picture-perfect lives. We post filtered images of our families smiling on a sunny beach, our protein shakes accenting our pre-workout selfies, and our freshly baked cookies cooling in our spotless kitchens. But we sit at home scrolling through Instagram feeling empty, lonely, and lost. After hundreds of honest conversations with women from around the world, Susan Sohn has come to understand the pressures twenty-first-century women feel to maintain glamorized portrayals of themselves. In True You, Susan shares insight from her interviews and personal experiences that encourage you to: reject the lies that you’re not enough and learn to walk in truth. ignore the pressure to perform and know who you are in Christ. stop masking loneliness and connect with other women. Once we allow ourselves to be seen, known, and loved—just as we are—we become free to be who God created us to be. Find the true you and lead a life of authenticity. Review(s): I have known Susan Sohn for most of my adult life, and she has consistently though out of the box and challenged paradigms. She’s kind and passionate, and I have no doubt the words in True You will impact a lot of people. Additionally, Susan helped me convince my wife to marry me. It’s cool to see her make the shift from matchmaking to author! - CARL LENTZ, author of Own the Moment, pastor of Hillsong Church, New York City Susan Sohn is someone who asks the deep, personal questions most of us are too afraid to ask. She has the ability to identify what is really going on when it comes to the things that hold us back from being our true selves or living a brave and flourishing life. Through conversations with hundreds of women from around the globe, Susan shares stories and research that peel back the lies layer by layer to reveal the truth at the core of our fears. In this book, as she does in life, Susan assures readers that they are not alone, and she provides practical steps to obtaining freedom and breakthrough. - VICKIE REDDY, executive producer, The Justice Conference, USA For years I had the extreme pleasure of sharing life and proximity with Susan Sohn and her family before their move to a new city and adventure. In working alongside her, I only knew a girl who was passionate about making a positive difference in this world. This book and labor of love is about value, worth, and authenticity and is full of compassion, inspiration, and insightful wisdom. I trust it will not only bless you but also those within your world of influence. - BOBBIE HOUSTON, global co-senior pastor of Hillsong Church After countless hours and hundreds of interviews with women all across the world, Susan has woven her own pain, heart, and story into the mix of True You to deliver a potent tapestry of light and shade and the powerful truth that we are more—more than enough because we have a God who is. - SUSANNA BATEMAN, cofounder of Little Miracles Early Childhood Centres True You is the call to action every woman needs to hear: Your time is now. You are more than enough. You don’t belong on the sidelines. Make a choice to gather with people who celebrate you, not tolerate you. Susan Sohn, through her compelling storytelling, genuinely gives us the courage to face the truth of our lives, to dig deep, and discover a rich inner life. True You is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read! - WENDY SIMPSON OAM, FAICD, Australian Businesswoman’s Hall of Fame, director of World Vision Australia, founding chairman of Springboard Enterprises Australia, and founder of Telstra Australian Business Awards In the pages of True You, you will find a soul sister and fast friend in Susan Sohn. Even though she and I live thousands of miles from one another, her heart, words, and life resonate so deeply with mine, and I’m sure they will with yours too. Love, truth, vulnerability, authenticity, beauty, and freedom echo from her life and spill out onto each page. You won’t be able to put this book down as you go on a genuine journey of discovery to find out that you are so much more than you’ve ever believed. - ANDI ANDREW, author of She Is Free and Fake or Follower, cofounder of Liberty Church, New York City In True You, Susan Sohn has gifted us with a truth-telling work that speaks to the heart of a woman’s identity and her story. It’s raw and honest yet tender and life-affirming. True You is for anyone who feels that she has lost sight of her true identity. Susan’s words will tell it to you straight and lovingly. And she’ll help you rediscover how to live courageously in total freedom. - JO SAXTON, speaker, Lead Stories podcast host, author of The Dream of You For twenty years I have known Susan Sohn as Mum. Although that role is important, there are infinite ways to describe her. To name a few, she is brave, strong, compassionate, wise, and loyal to her core. Not only do these characteristics shine through her life and very being, but they are also seen through her writing. Her book True You celebrates truth by speaking honestly about the pain and darkness that can sometimes be the human experience, and it highlights the beauty of strength and resilience—something I have watched her display throughout her life. For this reason, I am honored to be her daughter. Her book encourages others to shine light through darkness and learn to be compassionate, not only to others but also to themselves. From an early age I learned that Mum always has the time to listen, the door is always open, the kettle is on the boil, and there is always a seat at the table. It’s that very reason this book was written. The stories. The pain. The beauty. The life. All heard at our kitchen table, whether it be by the phone or in person. She always listens. I hope to be the same. Mum, as you step into your new role as author, stay brave, stay wise, stay compassionate, and keep listening. There are people with stories to tell and people who need to hear them. - SOPHIA SOHN, daughter, student, life adventurer Best friends are those with whom we can be ourselves with raw honesty. In her first book, True You, Susan Sohn offers this kind of friendship to all who will come with her on the journey. This is an intimate and authentic account in which Susan speaks from lived experience. We need to hear what she has to say. The pressure to outwardly appear to have the beautiful and perfect life can be as pervasive in the church as it is in the wider culture. When Susan identified and named this truth in her own life, she began a journey toward real freedom—the freedom we are offered in the quiet enjoyment of an honest relationship with Jesus. By sharing what she learned, Susan will help countless people who are living a lie and can’t see the way out. Be encouraged! Susan’s frank and helpful book points the way to real freedom. - STEPHEN O’DOHERTY, Christian broadcaster, former New South Wales Member of Parliament Gritty, honest, and deeply personal, Susan Sohn in True You has masterfully woven the narratives of countless women and her own into a common thread—all challenging the lie that we are not enough. True You is no-holds-barred and stunningly intimate. It provides a profoundly spiritual approach to the human condition. It’s time to start the conversation and get real with one another. - NICOLE PARTRIDGE, journalist, writer Wow! What words can describe this book, True You? Authentic. Vulnerable. Brilliant. Transformative. Incredibly insightful. Through brave, fierce, and beautifully shared stories, Susan Sohn’s book is bound to help women interlock arms and walk each other forward on the path to freedom.  - CARLY THOMSON, writer, speaker, author of the Truth Seekers trilogy, carlythomson.com In True You, Susan Sohn writes from a place of strength and experience. Her very nature and character are defined by resilience, strength, and loyalty. Susan writes with deep understanding, and through her storytelling, she graciously opens a window into the lives of women from around the world. These shared stories speak forth a confidence that we can all make it through whatever we are going through because we are more. - KATHERINE GAGNE, sister and vice president of Junior Achievement, Saskatchewan, Canada Some people walk into your life at exactly the right moment. Susan Sohn was one of these people. Her words have made me cry because they ring true and relevant. Her words make me laugh because they are real and pure joy. She is first and foremost a storyteller, as True You shows. And with this collective of women she has bravely bared her soul to, and vice versa, Susan heralds the beginning of a new era—when women are making loud noises without fear and paving their paths, regardless of the turmoil or pain behind them. Thank you, Susan, for your voice. And for your heart. - CAITLIN ROBSON, media and communications studies graduate   Susan has always been a gatherer of stories and people. Reading this book is like sitting around the campfire with her: intimate, unguarded, and generous. In these pages, you’ll find yourself in the stories she shares and the resilience to live your truth like only you can. The contemplative practices Susan teaches will empower you to sort the lies from the truth on your own terms and find life in the middle of where you are right now. Susan is a brave and beautiful friend, and I’m so thankful for her book. - LIZ MILANI, founder and writer at Pktfuel.com Susan Sohn is the sort of friend who doesn’t bat an eyelid at confessions of stupidity, words spoken in anger, and dumb mistakes. She filmed me and laughed as I fell down a mountain in Bali, but she also attended an appointment with me that was urgently ordered by my doctor to rule out breast cancer. In short, she’s the real deal. I have loved walking with her on the road back to self that seems to open up in midlife and sharing tears and moments of clarity with her. I’m so proud of Susan’s vulnerable storytelling in True You. She is brave and offers her pain to the reader, so that we can find healing. Take a deep breath, know you’re not alone, and settle in for some time with a trusted girlfriend. - JANE CARMODY, longtime friend and fan I have the pleasure of calling Susan Sohn my friend, a title that she does not take lightly. She is one of those rare people today who, when she steps into your life, actually cares deeply for you. She is one of my dearest friends and has been there with me and our family in the good, the bad, and the ugly. She has encouraged me to take steps in my personal career that I didn’t think I was capable of taking. She has cried with me through tough parenting issues and laughed with me over life’s mishaps. Her determination to help those around her see their potential and then reach it is simply beautiful, as True You shows. I can’t wait to see what Susan’s next adventure will be as I’m sure she will take it on with grace and guts to achieve it. - SUZANNE CROCKER, pastor of Hope United, Santa Monica, California Foreword by Darlene Zschech: Foreword: I am really proud of my friend, Susan Sohn. We bonded many years ago when she and Philip had taken the leap from her treasured daily life to attend Bible college on the other side of the world. Susan had the cutest little daughter, Sophia, on her hip, and a contagious love for life and people, which remains with her today. Our friendship has lasted the tests of time, missteps, differences, and distance. Here we are, all these years later, loving and respecting each other’s journeys and embracing the things that unite us rather than focusing on the things that have the power to divide. True You is truly her. As one who has held faithful to her passion to gather others and help them give voice to their pain inside, she has done this with great respect and dignity. She is not writing as one who appeals to you as an expert, but as one who is doing the hard work of digging deep. And no matter what surfaces, she deals with it in the safety of God’s profound and abiding love. The many people she interviewed to see this book come about with a robustness of truth is a true testament to the tenacity in which she has gone after this finished product and a true testament to the willingness she displays to tell real stories from real people—all to bring real help to as many people as she can. So buckle up! True You is not a lighthearted read to tickle your senses, nor is it a piece that condemns any wandering and searching soul. But I think you will feel like you are sitting at Susan’s table, surrounded by really good food, having a laugh and maybe a cry, with all of it leading toward embracing your own free and rich soul while giving you tools to ask the real questions that need to be aired along the way. So here’s to you, the reader: May there be greater days ahead—days rich with laughter, food, family, presence, and song, days in which you know who you are and whose you are, the true you. Oh, my friend, the journey is worth it. My greatest prayer is that every person on this journey of life will find their true worth in Christ and, through His love, find their purpose, freedom, and joy. In the meantime, I would like to say well done, Suzie. I think you are about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Love, Darlene Zschech, Wife and mum, friend and co-laborer, senior pastor of Hope UC EAN: 9781424554522