So many of us are bent on producing and achieving, striving and hustling for our self-worth. Beneath this relentless drive churns a deep yearning to uncover our true selves and our purpose in this world.
Gardeners familiar with the technique called “pruning open” know that the secret to healthy plants and trees lies in subtracting rather than adding. Similarly, we begin to flourish as we let go of our false selves and allow God to prune us open.
In this book, I will walk alongside you as together we:
– learn how to declutter our hearts, minds, and souls through the practice of directed rest;
– let go of busyness, striving, and false identities to embrace our truest selves as beloved children of God;
– grow in our relationships, vocations, communities, and intimacy with God.
True You offers those of us exhausted by the pervasive do-more, be-more messages of our society a path toward rest, renewal, and, ultimately, wholeness in Christ.
Want a Sneak Peek at True You?
Download a sample chapter here –> True You Chapter One
True You Is Available at:
Endorsements
Shannan Martin
Author of The Ministry of Ordinary Places and Falling Free
“In True You, Michelle DeRusha paints the ordinary world as something worthy of our attention, inviting us to uncover hidden beauty as we uncover within us the image of God. This journey to our truest self is paved with small moments, attentiveness, and gut-level honesty, payment we can all afford, though not without discomfort as we go. True You made me want to slow down, tell the truth, and set up camp in the wide, wild presence of God, where anything is possible. I am grateful for this luminous book.”
Jennifer Dukes Lee
Author of It’s All Under Control and The Happiness Dare
“Ever since I began reading this book, I keep finding myself looking up at the trees. Not because this is a book about trees, but because the trees hold compelling truths about what it means to live as my essential self. Rich with metaphor and incisive wisdom, Michelle DeRusha uses words as if they are pruning shears—cutting away what gets in the way of truest you…what gets in the way of real intimacy with God. I was deeply moved by this book. At times, I knew I needed to slow down my reading, so that the truths might set in, yet I found myself utterly unable to resist turning the page. I didn’t want this book to end, and will return to its pages again and again. I highly recommend True You.”
Shawn Smucker
Author of Once We Were Strangers
“This book stopped me in my tracks. I’m a huge fan of Henri Nouwen, and the same gentle spirit he wrote with can be found in the pages of DeRusha’s True You. She challenges our culture of busy with such kindness and grace, inviting us instead of guilting us, showing us that all is well on the quiet, simple path. I can’t recommend this book enough.”
Lisa-Jo Baker
Bestselling author of Never Unfriended and Surprised by Motherhood
“If you feel lost in your own life, this book is an invitation to pull over and wait for directions. Not to drive faster or more frantically. But to become comfortable with letting yourself feel lost for a while. Michelle is a good and safe person to sit with as you wait. I’m so grateful I did.”
Christie Purifoy
Author of Roots and Sky and Placemaker
“Pruning is a powerful metaphor for spiritual transformation, but our understanding of it is too often superficial. Michelle DeRusha gives depth and richness to a familiar theme, and the result is a book of rare wisdom and insight. True You is a book about the necessity of silence, solitude, and stillness, but it is written by someone with little natural affinity for those contemplative spiritual practices. The result is a compelling personal story shared with rare candor that reveals an accessible path toward deeper intimacy with God. This is a book for hungry, restless souls.”
Shelly Miller
Author of Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World
“Captivating and convicting, True You is a beautiful discovery on how to come home to one’s true self. Written with a caretaker’s heart, Michelle DeRusha is a compassionate, hopeful voice coaxing us to stop, beckoning us to see, reminding us of the truth, and leading us toward rest. In a noisy world consumed with busyness, this book will help you think about silence and solitude differently.”
Deidra Riggs
Author of One and Every Little Thing
“Michelle has done an incredible job of gently, practically, and beautifully teaching us to calm the restlessness within. So many of us sense there is not only more to life, but more to us—we just haven’t been taught how to create space for our true selves to thrive. This book is your guide to uncovering the pathway to who you were truly meant to be.”
