She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self, and Speaking Up

This book is a fantastic book for those who grew up either in or adjacent to purity culture. It lovingly, but firmly challenges and deconstructs toxic and unbiblical beliefs, citing the two massive surveys, and subsequent research they completed to do so.

They also then provide framework for how we can reshape our thinking towards both ourselves and our daughters in a positive way.

I’ve bought multiple copies to give to friends and family, and will certainly continue to do so!

Our daughters do deserve better. She Deserves Better was a challenging and confronting book. While I grew up in what I would call an equalitarian community, some of their research still mildly rebuked me. But the rebuke was given with love, especially their love for my daughters (and the daughters around the world). They draw on extensive research confronting some of the popular themes taught in the name of purity.

I would recommend reading this book to every parent, guardian, pastor, youth and kid’s leader and teacher who believes their girls deserve better. The authors write directly to mums with excellent and thought-provoking mother-daughter sections at the end of each chapter.

As a dad reading this book, I sometimes felt like I was intruding as the authors used language directed at mums. If I could make any recommendation, I would ask for the book to be written to include the readership of dads. There are dads who care about their daughter, and there are many single dads in our world today.

If you have a daughter, make this a must-read!