Good Reads: I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love by Emily Maynard Johnson

If you've been around the blog the last week or so you know I can't stop talking about this book! I figured this would be a great time to write a review since I'm giving away a copy of the book (!).

Good Read Synopsis:
When her high-profile search for romance led Emily Maynard to dead end after dead end, real love finally found her.

Millions know Emily Maynard Johnson from her unprecedented double appearances on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Millions also know that neither of the relationships from those shows lasted much longer than a commercial break.

Overcome with embarrassment following her nationally televised failures at romance, Emily finally committed her heart to the only one she knew would never leave her empty and alone. Abandoning her desire to be chosen by men and finding peace in the fact that she was already chosen by God, Emily found the joy she had been looking for in serving God.

In I Said Yes, Emily tells the story of her life before and after reality TV fame, describing the profound new reality she
discovered when she forsook fame in favor of the Lord. At the end of a long, fruitless search for a man, this courageous young woman found the truest love of all waiting right in front of her. To that love, Emily said yes.
  


My Thoughts:

Emily is best known for trying to find love on camera, appearing in Season 15 of The Bachelor and starring as The Bachelorette on the show’s 8th season.  Prior to seeking love on reality TV, she lost her fiancé, NASCAR star Ricky Hendrick, in a tragic plane crash when she was just 18 years old. Days after his death she found out she was pregnant with his child, her now 10 year old daughter Ricki. After both of Emily’s TV romances (yup, 2!) ended in failure, she abandoned her desire to have men choose her, and found the joy and love she was seeking in God.  In I Said Yes Emily discusses her life before and after her TV gigs and why she left fame in favor of faith and serving God.

This was such a fun and easy read. Woven into the behinds-the-scenes stories of the Bachelor and Bachelorette Emily's journey of faith and her path to becoming a Christian. I think I enjoy this book the most because I was able to identify with Emily in the sense that she did not commit her life to Christ until she was in her twenties. I identify with someone who felt the calling on her heart for many years, but tried to find peace and love elsewhere. I personally don't feel a connection to Christians who were "saved in the womb" as I like to call it. I feel renewed in faith when I read stories of those who have had life experiences and then found their way. This book came to me at the perfect time.

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because I wish it was longer!

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5 comments

  1. I am so excited to read this! Fingers crossed for the giveaway!! :)

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  2. I didn't know her book was out! I loved her on the show and can't wait to read this!

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  3. I definitely want to read this, *fingers crossed* for the giveaway :)
    Green Fashionista

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  4. Loved her book, too! I also wished it was a little longer and that she had given a little more behind the scenes details about the shows, but still such a good read and made me love her even more!

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