LVLup - a higher perspective

It’s been said that experience is the best teacher. Occasionally that may be true, but when it comes to life and sex, teens need help. Life is hard enough without having to pay the price tag that experience attaches to mistakes about sex. You want to learn about sex firstly from someone who will tell you the truth. And secondly, from one who knows enough about life to make the lessons worth the hearing. Liz Walker has produced a brilliant book about a hugely important subject for girls. Sex. Good on you Liz, now read it girls. Life is too important to walk in the dark.
Dr Allan Meyer - Founder of Careforce LifeKeys

At a time when popular culture sets the moral code for living and families are increasingly fractured, Liz Walker's brave book, Girlz Just Wanna Be Loved, should be requisite reading for every young woman.  Filled with supporting statistics, worksheets, poignant poetry and Walker's compelling personal testimony, no stone is left unturned in this often confronting, but non-judgemental guide.

You may blush at the mention of porn, masturbation, pleasure, lust, homosexuality and 'sleeping around', but Walker tackles these issues, along with the emotional and spiritual deficit present that causes so many women to debase their bodies, to build an authoritative, all-encompassing picture of modern female sexuality.

Walker could have taken the safe path, avoiding the controversial issues to play up self-love and abstinence, but her reluctance to do so makes this a powerful book with the potential to challenge the status quo.  Ultimately, Walker encourages us to seek healing and fulfilment in relationship with God, but, sensitive to the pressures of the world, she's not interested in sugar-coating a complex issue by selling us a quick-fix solution.  For this reason, Girlz Just Wanna Be Loved will resonate with Christian women and secular girls alike.

Review by Erica Bartle: www.girlwithasatchel.com

First Published in Christian Woman Magazine: September/October 2010 edition

ForeWord Clarion Review (Independent Professional Review)

Four Stars (out of Five)
EXTRACT

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The literary equivalent of this popular adage might be, “When life gives you adversity, write a book,” a piece of advice to which Liz Walker subscribes. Walker, co-author of the previous Christian self-help book You Are Crowned with Glory, draws on her personal experience to form the basis of Girlz Just Wanna be Loved.

Walker’s youth was tumultuous and included pornography, drug use, and unprotected sex. After becoming a Christian, marrying, and having children, Walker wished to communicate the importance of self-confidence and healthy sexual relationships to a young female audience. With emotionally vivid snippets from Walker’s past, Girlz aspires to be a memorable testimony about the sacredness of their sexuality for teen girls.

Arranged like a workbook, Girlz has short chapters that address different themes, such as “Sanctuary,” “Sex Gone Wild,” “What Am I Doing?,” and “Restoring Beauty.” The book follows a young woman’s trajectory from innocence to sexual experience, with a detour through dissatisfaction, and a period during which confidence is restored. Walker uses clear but metaphorical prose to illustrate each state, as when she describes a young woman’s initial sexual state as that of an opulent bedroom that is progressively sullied by careless male suitors. Such analogies support Walker’s point that one’s sexuality is a significant part of life.

Girlz has the inviting atmosphere of a diary or some similar place where a reader might doodle or even write down her thoughts. Floral borders on certain pages add attractiveness...

Overall, Girlz is an affirming exploration of teen sexuality, even describing masturbation, long a bugbear of sex advice books, with approbation, and sexual abuse with sensitivity and understanding...

Elizabeth Allen

ForeWord Reviews - link to full article