{Book Review} "A Woman of Strength and Purpose" by Cynthia Tobias

Rating: 4.5/5

Do you consider yourself to be strong-willed? I definitely am. That's why the title of this book appealed to me. Without knowing anything about the author, I decided to give this book a chance. I mean, I can use any advice I can get when it comes to properly restraining and utilizing my strong will. I was pleasantly surprised at how helpful this book was for me.

A Woman of Strength and Purpose by Cynthia Tobias is written for strong-willed women who want to know how to use their strong wills to honor God. In the first chapter, Tobias writes, "Welcome to a book that understands you, written by someone who gets you and how you're wired" (p. 11). 

 At the beginning of the book, Tobias provides readers with a short quiz to determine how strong willed you are. From there, Tobias goes on to explain that being strong willed, despite what you may have been told as a kid, is not a bad thing. When used appropriately, a woman's strong will is a magnificent asset. That's what Tobias sets out to teach readers about with A Woman of Strength and Purpose.

With topics such as leadership with integrity, the sin of self-sufficiency, living all out for God, marriage as a strong-willed woman, and even mentoring other strong-willed women, this book has something for every strong-willed woman. Tobias includes stories from surveys of other strong-willed women, as well as "profiles in perseverance" that highlight special stories from the lives of strong-willed women. All of these stories illustrate both the good and the bad sides of being strong-willed. After all, "We are capable of great good--or great destruction" (p. 4). A Woman of Strength and Purpose is all about teaching women to use their strong wills for great good, but also about teaching us how to avoid the pitfalls of being strong-willed.

Tobias includes lots of scripture as she makes her points throughout the book. She also provides discussion questions for each chapter. Tobias' conversational writing style makes reading this book feel like having a conversation with a friend. This is a great book for any strong-willed woman that recognizes her need to get her strong will under control. 

I received a copy of this book through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.