August 17, 2022
The True Power of Girls:
Discovery Journal for Self-Love, Confidence, and Uniqueness
Grace DeLynne
Aviva (2022)
ISBN: 978-1636181776
New Book Promotes True Girl Power for Girls of All Ages
Grace DeLynne’s new book The True Power of Girls is a dynamic work written for girls from seven to ninety-nine. Grace is herself ten years old, and she decided to write this book to share the important lessons she’s already learned in her short life and to inspire others to own their power. She states early in the book, “I believe girls are powerful, and this book will help you learn to find your true power and love yourself and others more.
This book will also help you embrace your emotions and use your voice to live in your true power as a girl. By the time you finish reading The True Power of Girls, you will be inspired to discover your uniqueness, be more confident, and follow your dreams.”
At the heart of The True Power of Girls is Grace’s message of the importance of choosing our words carefully, using empowering language, and being positive. It is also about the importance of learning how to control our emotions so they don’t control us.
Like every girl growing up, Grace has had her share of experiences with trying to make friends and learning to control her emotions when other kids were not nice to her. In fourth grade, she realized she was becoming a mean and sassy girl because other people were mean and sassy to her. When she decided to hang out with nicer people, it helped her improve her attitude and behavior. She also learned techniques like how to ask for help, be honest with people she trusted, and use empowering language when in conflict with friends.
For Grace, it all comes down to being mindful of what we are thinking and then thinking before we speak. It is also important to overcome any negative feelings we may develop about ourselves, feelings that often come from caring too much about other people’s opinions of us. She teaches readers how to use empowering techniques like “I am” statements so they learn to love themselves and own their true power. For example, “I am strong, I am loved, I am amazing, I am beautiful.”
Owning your power is not always easy, so Grace also provides us with inspiring stories of famous women who learned to do that despite the odds. Some of these women are well-known, like Amelia Earhart, Louisa May Alcott, Rosa Parks, and Sacagawea. Others are more recent examples like Tina Hovsepian. Tina grew up in Los Angeles and was saddened by the plight of all the homeless people she saw. She decided to own her power by finding realistic ways to help the homeless. The result was the creation of Cardborigami, which makes easy-to-assemble, inexpensive cardboard houses for homeless people. Such stories are inspiring and reflect that everyone can make a difference when they own their power.
Grace doesn’t shy away from getting down to the nitty-gritty about how to do what she preaches. It’s great to be inspired, but we also need to know step-by-step how to change. Grace provides honest discussions about emotions, including how to understand what causes them and how to use them to our benefit. She explains the difference between power emotions and signal emotions. Power emotions make us feel good and help to make the world better; they include love, happiness, and peace. Signal emotions are negative emotions—like sadness, anger, and fear—that often cause us trouble or hold us back from owning our power. Grace provides examples of how these different emotions work. For example, the happiest moment in her life was when she was three and her sister Elizabeth was born. Sadness was what she experienced when her dog Chewy died.
To help readers explore and understand their emotions, Grace provides journaling prompts and other exercises. These exercises can help in coping with difficult situations, such as bullying, that are emotion-charged. Grace also understands that while we need to work out for ourselves how we feel, we also often need to let others know our feelings. She provides examples of how to express our emotions to people in clear ways that allow us to own our power while helping situations rather than making them worse.
Grace ends the book with a call to action, hoping readers will take her advice. She states:
“If we could create a world where all girls knew their true power, then we would have more fun in life. There would not be any bullies, and we would all be able to come together and embrace our differences. I would like to create this world together. We can all be inspirational leaders, have fun, and be brave, smart, powerful girls!”
I can’t say how very impressed I am that someone so young is already so wise and willing to make the world a better place by sharing her story. I am sure whether you are seven or ninety-nine, and even if you are a boy like me, you will find something in this book to inspire you. If you are a girl, you will learn to own your power and make a difference in the world. If you are a boy, you can make a difference by supporting girls in owning their power. We can all make a difference. Thank you, Grace, for leading the way!
For more information about Grace DeLynne and The True Power of Girls, visit www.TheTruePowerofGirls.com.
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD and award-winning author of When Teddy Came to Town
