Today marks the official release of friend Emily Wierenga’s book, Mom in the Mirror. Wierenga, a former anorexic, and Dena Cabrera, an expert on eating disorders, teamed up to write a book that tackles issues of post-pregnancy body image for any woman who has struggled in this area.

But the book is also a tender and heartwarming celebration of motherhood, and, as such, is for mothers, daughters and the men who love them. With courageous vulnerability, the authors draw upon reserves of personal experience as women, wives and mothers to offer insights into the various dimensions (physical, spiritual, and emotional) of conceiving, sustaining, birthing and nurturing a whole new human being. Compassion and a gentle sense of humor in places inform the writing, which refuses to sacrifice aesthetics for application: I, the reader, am both stirred and moved to love my own body better even as I am equipped with helpful, practical tips to do so.

From the very first page, the book successfully demolishes any preconception that a book about body image is only for anorexics and bulimics. A staggering majority of women, statistics show, are dissatisfied with their weight and/or physical appearance, and have sought to change how they look by dieting and other methods.In other words, if you’re a woman, chances are this book has something helpful to say to you.

The chapters chart the course of a woman’s development from girlhood to adulthood, from those first often confusing and awkward moments of awareness about our sexuality to the moment we see the two red lines on a pregnancy test and beyond.  Insights from author Anne Lamott (a personal favorite) and others are sprinkled throughout the pages, inviting reflection at a theological level about what it means to be female, flawed and fully embraced and accepted- treasured!- by a loving God. My life as a wife and mother is better for having read this book.