Becoming Fearless by Michelle Aguilar

This book was in my list of Christian books that I hadn't yet read, and with the subtitle of "My Ongoing Journey of Learning to Trust God" that is the book I was expecting.  Whilst that was surely delivered by this book, I wasn't expecting it to also be a book about weightloss.   It wasn't until I started reading this autobiography, that I found out that Michelle had won the reality TV competition The Biggest Loser in the US, so it also chronicles her trials and triumphs as she aims to lose weight.  (Remember, until I got my newfangled Kindle, I could only judge books by their title and nothing more.)

The blurb says:

Michelle Aguilar's inspiring story goes beyond her grand-prize victory on the immensely popular The Biggest Loser. Becoming Fearless is about having faith in God when you've lost faith in yourself. It is an encouragement to "feel the fear" in any obstacle in life without being paralyzed by it. Finally, it is a story about reconciliation between Michelle and her mother, an exploration of the difficult and freeing work of forgiveness, and a reminder that what you learn on the journey is even more important than the destination.

I really liked this book; it was much more than I expected it to be.  There is a strong theme of trusting God throughout, as Michelle shares her history, her struggles and inner turmoil.  It is about stepping out in faith, in order to do everything you are called to.  Though there is a lot about her weightloss, the book is very clear that it was done in the bubble of a TV show, rather than the real world, and now she has to keep up the motivation to eat properly and exercise, now she is back in the real world.  Ultimately, as Michelle learned to trust God, she was also able to learn to trust others and herself too.