Desiree Fox’s new book Empowering Your Own Life: Forgive Your Past, Discover Your Purpose, Embrace Your Future opens with a stunning but true statement: More people are unhappy now than ever before. Life is hard for many people, and often they just don’t have the tools to make their situations better. Desiree knows what it is to overcome hardships and obstacles, and she has written this book to share her story and hard-earned wisdom with others. As she states early in the book, “perhaps you have a lot of pain holding you back. Perhaps you feel as if no one in the world will be there for you…. I’ve been there, bought the T-shirt, and now I am not turning back, and you won’t either. Help is on the way. Freedom calls. Jubilation awaits.”

Desiree’s positive attitude and belief in herself as well as in God shines throughout the book and will soon have even the most doubtful reader believing they can make their situation better, perhaps not overnight but by making small positive changes that will lead to larger ones. And Desiree has certainly overcome some of those bigger obstacles, beginning with being a child growing up in Guyana and having a goal to visit the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States so she could decide which one she wanted to live in. Eventually, she came to the United States, but it wasn’t easy. She made and sold mosquito nets to earn the money to come, and even then she was denied a visa the first time, but she eventually got to the United States, and the Lord had an amazing plan for her once she did.

Although Desiree’s life was in many ways like other people’s—marriage, children, careers—another obstacle stood in her way. An inability to believe she was capable of doing the Lord’s work. Though she was a believer, when she felt the call from God to be a prophetess and an apostle to others, like the biblical Moses, she made excuses, but in time, God removed those excuses and showed her best how she could best serve. Desiree and her husband even started their own church, and she shares how God kept removing obstacles from their path as they moved forward. Perhaps God removed the obstacles, but Desiree will tell you she had to get out of God’s way, believing things were possible rather than letting doubt and difficulty stop her. Throughout the book, Desiree shares inspirational quotes, and one of my favorites, appropriate to this situation, is from Elizabeth Alraune, “You are as amazing as you let yourself be. Let me repeat that. You are as amazing as you let yourself be.”

On every page of Empowering Your Own Life, Desiree gives powerful and honest advice. She knows success does not come easily and we can’t depend on God to do it all. She is a firm believer in taking action to make things happen and rolling with the punches. Sometimes she has set a goal but things did not go according to plan, but she understood ultimately it would go according to God’s plan, so she just needed to be flexible, remember life is a process, and trust the process. She also knows other people might be skeptical of your goals or just simply be difficult. One of the best pieces of advice she gives is when she states:

“I have a practice I use anytime I encounter someone who is difficult to like. I imagine a sign hanging around their neck that reads, ‘Created in God’s image; please help me feel important.’ As that imaginary sign flashes in my head, I can relate to when I did not feel wanted.”

Desiree’s strong faith permeates every chapter. Her advice is firmly based in the Word of God, and where other books might give examples of how famous people succeeded, she repeatedly uses examples from the Bible of people who trusted in God and achieved their goals. She also discusses the important role of prayer in birthing your vision and the power of dreaming to get unstuck.

Empowering Your Own Life is divided into three sections: Taking Charge of Your Life, Forgetting What Held You Back, and Advancing Your Destiny. The sections each have multiple chapters that allow us to determine what we want out of life, forgive ourselves and those who have hurt us, overcome past fears, and finally move forward. Ultimately, Desiree shows us how to both accept and fall in love with our lives, no longer living like we are drained or defeated, but shifting from victim to victor and staying strong and healthy so we can be used for the purpose God created us to fulfill.

The chapters cover a variety of topics including refusing to give up, dealing with anger, overcoming fear, accepting who you really are, healing a wounded heart, listening for when God says yes, and how to stay healthy to accomplish your purpose. Desiree continually reminds us to stay connected with ourselves and God so we can feel empowered. I loved her metaphor in this respect. She states: “If our laptop is not connected to the internet, we can’t access the web. Until we plug into the power, hope, and love of Jesus Christ, we are only living a small part of all we can be. Don’t lose the connection. Stay connected and stay powered up.”

I hope you will stay powered up by reading Empowering Your Own Life. Desiree’s faith and example will make you believe anything is possible with a little effort and faith.

For more information about Desiree Fox and Empowering Your Own Life, visit www.EmpoweringYourOwnLife.com.

— Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD and award-winning author of Narrow Lives and The Best Place