Fierce Joy: Choosing Brave over Perfect to Find My True Voice (Slow Down, Enjoy Life, Finding Your Self)

by Susie Caldwell Rinehart

Overview

Finding Your Self and Choosing Joy Over Fear

"Uplifting and loaded with practical wisdom on how to come out of a crisis with more, not less." ―Suleika Jaouad, The New York Times, "Life, Interrupted" columnist

#1 Best Seller in Diseases & Physical Ailments

Fierce Joy is the incredible finding your self story of one woman who learned to shed perfection and find joy in every day.

Learn to find joy in every day. Susie Rinehart seemed to have it all―two beautiful kids and a loving husband, a job where she was respected as a leader, and medals as an ultramarathon champion. Then she found out that a tumor on her brainstem threatened to take away her voice…and her life. With so much at stake, Susie had to rethink how she wanted to live. 

Brave is better than perfect. So many of us grew up believing that achievements would lead to love and acceptance. Just ace that test, win that race, get that job, and happiness will follow. But it’s hard to arrive at happiness when we’re motivated by fear. When she faced losing everything, Susie learned to choose joy over fear, and brave over perfect.

Find strength in your voice. This incredible story is about healing, rediscovering yourself, and becoming a warrior in a new way. For anyone who has lost their voice in the never-ending struggle to please others, Susie offers hope. In each section of the book she offers a series of takeaways―lessons she learned when life forced her to slow down and step back.

Readers of Fierce Joy will:

• Learn how to overcome fear and choose joy
• Stop trying to be perfect and choose to be brave
• Learn to slow down and enjoy life
• Become a warrior for healing and happiness

Fierce Joy is a memoir perfect for readers who loved Big Magic, The Unwinding of the Miracle, Love Warrior, Untamed, or Risking the Rapids.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633539884
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	05/15/2019
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Susie Rinehart is a TEDx speaker, champion ultrarunner, a mom, and a brainstem tumor survivor. She began writing her blog (susierinehart.com/blog) from her hospital bed and quickly became an inspiration for those facing adversity. Her writing won her one of the highest prizes from the American Library Association. Susie now co-runs The Brave over Perfect Project, coaching people and organizations to proactively pursue risk and overcome perfectionism. Learn more at www.braveoverperfect.com. She is also a champion of girls education globally; a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Fierce Joy go to Maia: Her Infinite Impact (www.maiaimpact.org). Susie lives with her husband and children in Boulder, CO.

Table of Contents

Prelude 8

Part I Never Enough 12

Part II Brave over Perfect 55

Part III The Fastest Way to a Strong Voice 116

Part IV Metamorphosis 156

Questions for Discussion and Reflection 212

Acknowledgments 218

About the Author 222

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Breathtaking. Raw. Real. This is a memoir about what it means to have a voice. When Rinehart loses her ability to speak, she learns to listen to herself.” -Jen Pastiloff, author of On Being Human

“Breathtaking and honest. Susie's story serves as a deep reminder of our own impermanence, and provides a powerful wake up call for women and girls to use our voices now." Andrea Isabelle Lucas, Author of Own It All and Founder of Barre & Soul

"Powerful, honest, riveting. What happens when a crisis forces you to give up perfectionism and self-worth-through-doing? Susie Rinehart's story of survival is a gift to any woman who longs to free herself of the shackles of 'not-enough.'" -Rachel Simmons, author of Enough As She Is


"Uplifting and loaded with practical wisdom on how to come out of a crisis with more, not less."

-Suleika Jaouad, The New York Times "Life, Interrupted" columnist

“This stunning memoir wakes us up to the kind of happiness that is possible when we are brave enough to go after it. At the heart of this big, brilliant story is this: You are already enough. This book is wise and revolutionary. It changed my life.” -Christine Carter, author of Raising Happiness and The Sweet Spot

Interviews

This story is for you. It’s bold and beat-up and fierce and human, just like you and me. Fierce Joy is everything I know about bravery as a woman, a partner, a parent, a leader, an athlete, an activist, and a brainstem tumor survivor. My editors say it’s fast-paced and beautiful and funny. I say, don’t forget that it’s a love story. This is the memoir I’ve been working on in the pre-dawn darkness every day for the past two and half years. It’s about showing up real in life and at work and what gets in the way, namely perfectionism. It’s about love and death and living life to its fullest. It’s about choosing joy over fear and brave over perfect. It’s about looking underneath our fears to find unlimited joy. It’s about how our striving, saving, and performing to do things the “right” way is making it impossible for us to show up real. It’s about how Fear has become a main character in our lives, and a dangerous obstacle to real change.

Editorial Reviews

Breathtaking. Raw. Real. This is a memoir about what it means to have a voice. When Rinehart loses her ability to speak, she learns to listen to herself.” ―Jen Pastiloff, author of On Being Human

“Breathtaking and honest. Susie's story serves as a deep reminder of our own impermanence, and provides a powerful wake up call for women and girls to use our voices now." ―Andrea Isabelle Lucas, Author of Own It All and Founder of Barre & Soul

"Powerful, honest, riveting. What happens when a crisis forces you to give up perfectionism and self-worth-through-doing? Susie Rinehart's story of survival is a gift to any woman who longs to free herself of the shackles of 'not-enough.'" ―Rachel Simmons, author of Enough As She Is

"Uplifting and loaded with practical wisdom on how to come out of a crisis with more, not less." ―Suleika Jaouad, The New York Times, "Life, Interrupted" columnist

“This stunning memoir wakes us up to the kind of happiness that is possible when we are brave enough to go after it. At the heart of this big, brilliant story is this: You are already enough. This book is wise and revolutionary. It changed my life.” ―Christine Carter, author of Raising Happiness and The Sweet Spot

From the Publisher