My Feet Aren’t Ugly!: A Girl’s Guide to Loving Herself from the Inside Out

For 15 years Debra Beck has also mentored teen girls. She is the founder of Spirited Youth–an organization devoted to nurturing young women with guidance and support, and has led workshops with Girl Power.

“It is important to surround ourselves with people who are trying to improve themselves,” Beck says, “…they encourage us to grow and to become the best we can be.”

Now Beck has written a guide for pre- and early teen girls, drawing upon her personal coming-of-age experiences and also those of her daughters. The author provides a step-by-step process for building self-acceptance and developing self-esteem.

Helpful chapters are devoted to such topics as how to choose friends, how to develop creativity, maintaining physical and spiritual health, overcoming fears, and lowering stress. Throughout the book the author provides pages for journaling and reflection, helping her readers stop and take the time to apply what they’re learning to their own lives and their own pathways.

Beck tackles the tough subjects–eating disorders, drugs, suicide, and sexual pressure–with no-nonsense advice drawn from experience and observation. She builds a strong case for helping young girls decline sexual activity, pointing out the possible risks: pregnancy, STDs, and a potential lowering of self-esteem.

Beck argues that young girls should make wise choices and accept themselves. “Learning to like yourself is key: make sure you are doing things in your life that promote self-acceptance.” Girls who are soon to enter their teen years, or who are early in their teens, will learn from and identify with many of the struggles and pressures the author raises.

At times I felt the book was a bit thin on information–and would have benefited with a good editing, however, anything that helps teen girls have better self-images is a noble cause. I just felt the book could have done more.

Armchair Interviews says: Readers will find the author to be a helpful friend and supportive mentor along the way.
Rating: 4 / 5
My Feet Aren’t Ugly!: A Girl’s Guide to Loving Herself from the Inside Out

Reviewed by Nicole LeBoeuf (age 16) for Reader Views (6/07)

Debra Beck’s “My Feet Aren’t Ugly: A Girl’s Guide to Loving Herself from the Inside Out” is an endearing, inspirational handbook for girls in their early teens. Beck has devoted her life to the coaching of teenage girls. She has been a mentor for fifteen years, beginning when her two girls reached their teens. Beck even founded her own company, Spirited Youth, whose mission “is to help young girls have a better sense of who they are and make better decisions in all areas of life by learning how to love themselves and becoming empowered with self-esteem.” Through her company, Beck coaches individual girls and commits her time to workshops, girl’s circles, and even all-day outings. Her novel is Beck’s way of reaching out to the teens outside of where she lives and works in Sedona, Arizona.

“My Feet Aren’t Ugly: A Girl’s Guide to Loving Herself from the Inside Out” briefly covers many personal areas of a young teenager’s life. Beck’s goal is to get teens to make wise choices and accept who they are. She focuses on self esteem and how important making the right decisions is. There are lessons on intuition, what it is, why it’s important, and how to follow it; and advice in many areas, like sex and suicide. Every other page is flourished with an adorable illustration. After each brief lesson, there are places for you to journal and reflect on what you’ve learned. This is Beck’s way of getting the teen to actively participate and really think about what she is teaching. She wants to make you think about who you really are, and how you can be a better person. She relates to the reader by using her personal experiences from when she was at that age as well as the experiences of those she has mentored.

Writing a book that attempts to coach and direct someone is a difficult feat to accomplish. There are so many ways to slip up. The biggest problem is not knowing how to appeal to the intended audience. “My Feet Aren’t Ugly: A Girl’s Guide to Loving Herself from the Inside Out” is geared toward young teenage girls, but it will be their mothers that are most charmed by this book. I am 16-years-old myself, and reading this I felt as though there was not enough information, and it didn’t completely apply to me. It seemed to me that Beck should be aiming for a younger audience, but some of the information included could be considered inappropriate for them.

Rating: 4 / 5
My Feet Aren’t Ugly!: A Girl’s Guide to Loving Herself from the Inside Out

Debra Beck does a great job teaching young girls how to love themselves. It is not that empty, shallow and selfish love but the true love based on confidence and hard work.

This book talks about important topics that many books dealt with like drugs, sex and eating disorders, as well as, refreshing topics that I enjoyed having introduced to my daughter such as finishing projects, stress reduction and health maintenance and how they are related to confidence and self appreciation. Ms. Beck also provided short journals that help young girls search and understand themselves; well done!

Rating: 4 / 5
My Feet Aren’t Ugly!: A Girl’s Guide to Loving Herself from the Inside Out