I’m That Girl

by Pearl Barrett, Serene Allison

Edgy. Christian. Necessary. Not written as a health, weight, relationship, or “find your happiness” type of book, but is by default. But first… can we just have a super honest chat and explain ourselves? This is not a cookbook… and perhaps that is throwing you off. What are you forcing on us here sisters… and why? You know THM as a health and wellness brand. You know us as the sisters who have been cheering women on to become their trimmiest and healthiest selves for almost a decade now since the release of our first book, Trim Healthy Mama. But we discovered something as time went on. This eating plan is not the ultimate answer. No way of eating is. Yes, THM has helped transform hundreds of thousands of lives. And don’t get us wrong. We believe it will stand the test of time as it leaves no food group out, is sensible, safe, and doable for the long term and we’re in it for life as so many of you are. But all the information, the helps, the cookbooks, the videos, the app, the member sites, the FB groups… everything we could think up to help… has honestly NEVER BEEN ENOUGH. The reason… all the encouragement and all the help in the world cannot bring lasting change if your identity is stuck in an… “I’m that girl who eats her emotions.” Or “I’m just that girl who gets derailed.” or “I’m that girl who despises her body.” We realized we were only helping so much. There was more… the bigger piece. The piece that actually means the most and does the most. The identity piece. Not just for your eating.. but for every aspect of your life… including your relationships. So the concept of this book… this I’m That Girl thing… took precedence over all the other cookbook ideas we had. We realized we needed it… you needed it… maybe you didn’t even know you needed it… maybe you don’t even know if you want it. But it’s time. We pray this book will sink deep down into your soul and be that piece that truly changes everything. For it is about the stuff of your spirit… the you who is about to find out who she really is. And although this is not actually a health book or cookbook, we believe it will benefit your health journey more than any practical nutrition advice or any amount of recipes we could drum up. This is birthed from our own face plants… from our failures and our return after return to miserable thoughts and actions and words. Then truth emerged and enlightened and it changed us.. and we want to pass it all along. So yeah… we bring scriptures in it… but it is not a devotional. And if you’re not of the same faith as us… or any faith at all… there is still so much here for you. Science comes into play and there’s a bunch of super practical stuff toward the end. But just a heads up that this thing is choc-full of the ancient scriptural wisdom that transformed our lives. Can’t apologize for that. Our intent is to encourage, but we do want to give fair warning that this whole concept is wrapped up in Biblical wisdom.

It’s time. You’re about to go through a similar metamorphosis. Hang on to your hats. It’s about to go down! Or perhaps that is up.

Genres: Christian Non Fiction, Nonfiction, Christian

394 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2021

About the author

Two sisters, Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett, are self -published and owners of their own publishing company. They are best selling authors for health & wellness, former Christian recording artists, mothers & entrepreneurs.

Reviews

[Adayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟

I might be what you call a “fan girl” of Pearl and Serene’s. I’ve followed their words (books, recipes, podcast) for several years now. I think they are smart, beautiful, strong women. Of course, I had to preorder this book months ago when I read the description! Was very excited when it arrived on my doorstep this month.

I’ve done a TON of pondering with this book. I would describe it as a discussion. Definitely a discussion between sisters (myself, the reader, being one of them).

I often had my Bible alongside it so I could read the full context on some scriptures they included. If you pick up the book, I recommend this as well.

I don’t believe this is a perfect book. It started out great. The first hundred pages were exactly what I needed to read. (Even made me cry, tbh…) It was changing my perspective on literally all the words surrounding me in my life: my external words, internal words, words of others, God’s Word. It honestly covered SO much more than I had expected in a single book.

During the middle of the book, I had to remind myself that this wasn’t the Bible. It’s not the completely true, inerrant Word of God. I had to remember: it’s a DISCUSSION. I think there are some possibly dangerous teachings in here (specifically around the pages 100-200) about health, sickness, glorifying God, and your value based on your wellness. But I already knew by listening to their podcasts that our beliefs do not line up perfectly. (If you attend a confessional church and have been taught the distinction between law and gospel, you might find this section hard to read.)

I set the book down for a few days because it was hard to continue reading when something started to irritate me lol! But I do like how they challenge my thoughts and truly feel like sisters.

When I picked it back up with a clearer mind and the reminder that I don’t need to agree with the entirety of it, I began once again to truly enjoy reading it.

There is so very much wisdom, rawness, and vulnerable shared in here. I deeply appreciate that they wrote this book for us. I have much admiration for them. Could I write a better book than this?? I don’t think so!! So don’t take my review like I think I could do better.. this book challenged me in ways I was ready for and wasn’t ready for. I believe it would honestly be hard to think the same way like I did before reading it. It’s made me dive into my Bible, brought me into prayer, and love my people (and myself) in ways I hadn’t considered before.

My final take-aways: what I speak about myself MATTERS, what I speak INSIDE myself matters, what I speak over my children and husband matters. God’s Word is life and I want that life, that light, to be shining in me and in my family.

Thank you for this book.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big THM fan- I have all the cookbooks, regularly listen to the poddy (podcast) and have eaten the THM way for nearly 10 years. I LOVE Pearl and Serene and feel like they are sisters to me in so many ways. Their banter, rabbit trails, and commitment to health and product purity endear them to me.

This book is encouraging, and certainly highlights the necessity of paying attention to and controlling our words and thoughts! I would like to have seen formal citations for the studies referenced.

For some reason the style of this book was a bit grating for me. Not quite formal enough in form (although staying on topic nicely) it felt too conversational and verbose to me.

Some of the scriptures referenced were taken out of context, which is troubling. I encourage everyone to read this book with an open Bible, and determine for yourself the accuracy of the application of the verses (as we all should, with every book/pastor/message that quotes scripture).

I am thankful for this book, for the authors, and for their ministry and business. May they prosper and be in health in all ways.

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will begin with the observation that the editing, or rather the lack thereof, was a Huge distraction to me at first. That sort of thing is almost enough to ruin a good book for me. But honestly, the book had SO much great content that I honestly would be willing to do some editing free of charge just so that others aren't put off by the errors.

It is, quite simply, a tremendous book. If you are a Christian, much of the basic foundation won't be new to you, but I can almost guarantee that you will find yourself exclaiming over new insights, inspired by the new thinking, and uplifted by the hopeful message of this book. Of course there may be differences between the author's' beliefs and yours, as there is in any book, but the overall theme is simply beautiful. If you have battled depression, anxiety, self hatred and discouragement, this is sure to be an encouraging read for you. I highly recommend it!

[Brandy Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. There are parts I disagree with, and sometimes they take scripture out of context, but the words and thoughts chapters are wonderful and so important! I also really enjoyed the last few chapters that tackled exercise, body image, and thought life again.

[Sabrina L · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Every woman should read this.

[Rebecca Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so glad I finally got to finish this book. It is so dense with truth!

[Leah Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dare I call it life-changing? So many books allude to the power and science of positive thinking. This book goes to the Source of all wisdom: the Word of God. I thought I knew the Bible fairly well, but this book challenged me to truly have radical faith in its words. I really can't recommend this book enough.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Blew my mind. Wordy, but in a good way. I absorbed it surprisingly quick. It’s long, but such a good read. I couldn’t put it down! It seriously changed my whole mindset! It was profound.

[Celeste Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Selena Castellanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style can be a little whimsical but the message is amazing 👏

[Marjorie Helmuth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content itself was great. The only thing I didn't like was how long-winded the writing style tended to be.

[Chrystal Richerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book concerning the power of our words!

[Tiffany Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars! Highly recommend to every girl / woman out there. It will leave you filled with joy, hope and encouragement.