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Florence Gildea

Florence GildeaFlorence GildeaFlorence GildeaFlorence Gildea

Author of Lessons I Have Unlearned:

Because Life Doesn't Look Like It Did In The Pictures

Florence Gildea

Florence GildeaFlorence GildeaFlorence GildeaFlorence Gildea

Author of Lessons I Have Unlearned:

Because Life Doesn't Look Like It Did In The Pictures

Hey there, I'm Florence

If you're looking for three-step formulas, top five tips and tricks, and handy how-tos, I'm afraid I'm clean out of certainty. 


But if you're looking for someone making similar sighs of exasperation, then you're in the right place.

Order my debut book now

Lessons I Have Learned: Because Life Doesn't Look Like It Did In The Pictures

We all have ideas about what we think life will be like – ideas we pick up from books, films, music videos, the adults around us, and even church. It all looks so simple. We think we have a roadmap which will guide us towards success. But it isn’t long before life throws some curve-balls at us. The gap between our expectations and reality looks cavernous.



First we wonder if it’s our orienteering skills which are to blame: we just need to try harder and get back on track. But what I want you to know most is that it isn’t your fault: it’s the map which has got it wrong.


Lessons I Have Unlearned looks at a series of myths which we cannot help but absorb by osmosis from films, fairytales, songs and advertisements: that we get to call the shots and have control over how our lives turn out; that a happily ever after is within our reach; that we have to hustle to justify our existence; and that, at all costs, we have to cultivate an image of perfection.



All the strategies I learned to make myself safe, loveable and successful backfired, and after several plummets to rock bottom, I began to unlearn those lessons and realise that everything I thought brought life – chasing control and validation, wracking up achievements in my pursuit of perfection, relying on myself rather than risk trusting others and judging myself by other people’s milestones – brought death. Life, it turns out, is found exactly where Jesus said it was: at the end of ourselves, at the foot of the cross.


If you're in need of a reminder that although you aren't where you expected, you are not lost and you are not alone, Lessons I've Unlearned is for you and available from: Amazon, Bookshop.org, W.H Smith, Church House Bookshop, Hive, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble and Walmart


Lovely Things People Have Said

Selina Stone, Political Theology lecturer at St Melitus College

Selina Stone, Political Theology lecturer at St Melitus College

Selina Stone, Political Theology lecturer at St Melitus College

 

Florence makes you feel like you are having a heart to heart with an old friend. She is honest about the reality of life and vulnerable about her own journey in a way that is refreshing and screams ‘you are not alone!’. Florence wades right in to discussions about identity and spirituality, speaking to those inner voices which all of us battle, with clarity and fluency. I highly recommend this book for every person, because we all battle fear and insecurity and have to come to terms with a life which has not turned out the way we expected. There are no easy answers, but this book is an encouragement that hope remains.

Bailey Thurley, author and speaker

Selina Stone, Political Theology lecturer at St Melitus College

Selina Stone, Political Theology lecturer at St Melitus College

 Lessons I Have Unlearned speaks to the core of a generation who wants the good life but may be misled on what the definition of a good life really can be. Gildea writes with authority and vulnerability on a God-centered life—debunking some of the narratives about success that leave Christians discontent and confused about their personal journeys. This book is full of good wisdom, truth and heart.

Amy Rivers, Christian Feminism Today

Selina Stone, Political Theology lecturer at St Melitus College

Lord Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead 1979-2019

Lessons I Have Unlearned is a short but mighty book packed with insight, wisdom, and vulnerability. Florence Gildea provides an intimate glimpse into her struggles with mental illness and both the subtle and profound ways in which her faith led her toward grace.

 Gildea doesn’t pull any punches as she dissects the feelings and anxiety that plagued her youth. Instead of suggesting a one-size-fits-all approach solved all her problems, she opens her heart and paints a picture of a young girl struggling to control the circumstances and trajectory of her life.

Without making assumptions about her readers and without setting her own expectations of us, Gildea lends us her perspective and invites us to open our hearts and minds to a critical truth: when we let go of our illusion of control and embrace our faith, we find grace.   

Lord Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead 1979-2019

Lord Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead 1979-2019

Lord Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead 1979-2019

This book is a wonderful testament to Gildea’s splendid intellect and humanity. It is a deeply moving and personal description of the fight against mental illness and the role that faith can play in coming out the other side.

Martin Saunders, Deputy CEO at Youthscape

Lord Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead 1979-2019

Martin Saunders, Deputy CEO at Youthscape

 Very few books meet you where you're at, making no assumptions about you and gently ease you into the absolute common sense of believing and saying yes to Jesus and his Kingdom. This one does.

Emma Scrivener, author and blogger

Lord Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead 1979-2019

Martin Saunders, Deputy CEO at Youthscape

This is a gem of book, packed with biblical wisdom, honesty and hope. It blessed me and will help many others.

Rev. Mark Woods, journalist and editor at The Bible Society

Rev. Mark Woods, journalist and editor at The Bible Society

Rev. Mark Woods, journalist and editor at The Bible Society

This book is a rich, wise and thoughtful exploration of some of the deepest issues facing young adults today. Read it to be challenged, informed and inspired.

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