Review: ‘Girl, Wash Your Face’

Through the honest telling of her own story — the really hard, traumatic parts and the good parts — Rachel Hollis provides practical advice in “Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be.” I am walking away from this book inspired to start some things and encouraged to stop some things that are getting in the way of the healthy person I want to be. 

One of my favorite parts of the book is Hollis’ encouragement to moms who feel like they’re not good enough. 

“Can we stop being so hard on ourselves,” she writes, “and instead focus on the good work we are doing, the results of which are evident in the awesome little people we’re raising?” And this truth: “Can we agree that imperfection is OK?” Yes, we can. Every mother I know is hard on herself and her mothering. The encouragement to not beat ourselves up is refreshing and needed. 

Each chapter highlights a lie we tell ourselves, and Hollis concludes each chapter by listing a few things that helped her to stop believing that particular lie. These practical nuggets help take her words from theory to practice.

One part I didn’t love was early in the book in a chapter titled “I’ll Start Tomorrow.” Hollis writes about people who constantly start something new and don’t finish. Her treatment of this kind of situation was a little harsh, in my opinion. I’m in a place where I can handle some tough love, but if your head space isn’t quite there, I would pass on by for now. 

While Hollis claims Christianity as her faith, this book is not a Christian self-help book. You won’t find any Scripture references or Bible study notes. What you will find is one woman offering encouragement to other women to stop breaking promises to ourselves and to stop quitting the things that we really want to accomplish when it gets difficult to find the motivation. 

If you’ve been trying to reach goals and have been unsuccessful or need a little kick in the pants, this book is for you. Hollis is relatable and engaging, offering encouragement to women who are beating themselves up, letting themselves down, and believing the lie that it’s too late to do any different.

Jennifer Willerton serves in women’s ministry for the West Houston Church of Christ. She and her husband, Justin, have been married for 16 years and have three sons. 

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