Living Brave: Lessons from Hurt, Lighting the Way to Hope

Dingle debuts with a powerful blend of memoir and self-help in this account of how she overcame immense loss. In 2019, after her husband died in a freak accident, Dingle, 37, became a widow and single mom of six children. No stranger to tragedy, Dingle already had a book deal to write about the sexual abuse and sex trafficking she endured from her father­—“I was going to write this book from the safety and stability of our relationship.” Instead, she wrote from a place of unbearable pain about the courage it took to survive such agony, and offers advice on how others can do the same. She explores the importance of self-compassion (“give yourself permission to do it imperfectly”), how to overcome shame, what it means to practice self-care, and how to harness the power of words. In one particularly memorable passage, she reflects on a piece she wrote in 2016 about voting for Hillary Clinton as a pro-life Christian, and how standing by her unconventional views helped reconcile and strengthen her faith. While some sections may be triggering for survivors of sexual abuse, Dingle’s narrative offers a raw, affecting examination of what it takes to heal. Agent: Amy Bishop, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (July)