Teresa Tomeo talks with EWTN News about her book, Extreme Makeover: Women Transformed by Christ, Not Conformed to the Culture, available from Ignatius Press this Friday, October 7th:
She explained that “Extreme Makeover” is meant to expose the ways in which women are objectified by modern culture.
The book is “filled with spiritual direction for women,” as well as practical tips on how “to engage the culture and get involved.”
Among the issues dealt with in “Extreme Makeover” are radical feminism, abortion and contraception.
“We’re putting it out there that it’s the answer to all of our ills, this idea that we can just do what we want sexually without any consequences,” Tomeo said.
“Women are more objectified than ever before,” she said. “When you take sexuality out of where God meant it to be, all kinds of problems happen.”
Tomeo said that she wants to reach out to devout Catholics with her book, “to encourage and affirm them.”
“I also want to reach the women in the pews who are going to Mass but are not really connecting with everything the Church is offering.”
“And I want to reach fallen-away Catholic women, so they can come back to the Church and fully embrace it,” she added.
Tomeo said that her own eyes were first opened to the truths of the Church after she had done everything that the world told her to do in order to be happy.
“And I was miserable,” she said.
Tomeo said that she realized she needed God to truly make her happy.
Extreme Makeover has just been reviewed by Cheryl Dickow on CatholicMom.com:
“The Abortion Distortion” is only one of the many wonderfully crafted chapters of Extreme Makeover. “Mirror, Mirror” reverberates with Tomeo’s passion to explore and then conquer the low self-esteem problems faced by so many young girls and women today. (Mirror, Mirror is also the title of one of Tomeo’s best-selling All Things Girl books devoted to tween girls.) “Extreme Media Makeover” examines the media’s sloppy coverage of Pope Benedict’s words on condom use and HIV; but because Tomeo never leaves the reader without resources, she also examines the ways in which our own excursion into social media can be used to defend and promote the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Tomeo’s ability to draw together a myriad of resources—using excerpts from documents as profound as Humane Vitae, quotes from such figures as Bishop Aquila, statistics from the likes of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and references to the works of people such as Janet Smith—is an invaluable gift of edification to the reader; a gift that ignites and inspires the reader to love and share the precious gift of her Catholic faith.
Just the way a good reporter ought to end a story, Extreme Makeover: Women Transformed by Christ Not Conformed to the Culture concludes with the compelling testimonies of a handful of women who have experienced their own “extreme makeovers” and generously share their stories of struggle, heartache, hope, and ultimate joy.
Read the entire review. And read more about the book on Ignatius.com.
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