The Australian-born artist described it as “the unrealistic demands our culture puts on young women to be beautiful at all costs. It can often lead to harmful and even tragic results.”
The new book discusses nine separate areas, of which beauty is just one of, and the title of the book – “SHE” – is an acronym for being:
-Safe
-Healthy
-Empowered
The internationally acclaimed Christian rock singer confessed that her inspiration for writing the book came out of a relatively dark period of her life. She said, “I went through a very ‘alone period’ in which I bought into the feminist mentality of ‘can’t rely on anyone, I’ve got to stand and be an independent woman and face the world alone.’ I was at a point of almost complete burn-out and on the verge of an inner shut down from pressure and unrealistic expectations.”
St. James even spoke of her own troubles with the topic of beauty, “I’ve always struggled with my self-image. Being onstage where image counts only made matters worse. Compared to the glamorous women I saw in the media, I felt I fell short. Had it not been for the accountability I’ve had in my life, I could’ve been very susceptible to falling victim to eating disorders. Based on what I perceived as personal body flaws in myself I realised that no young woman is beyond abusing her body through excessive dieting, laxative abuse or binging and purging.”
In her book, St. James explains that more than an estimated 10 million suffer from eating disorders, and Time Magazine reported recently that 80% of all children have been on a diet by the time they reach 4th grade in the USA.
The book also recounts St. James’ own experiences with the fickleness of physical beauty, “During a particularly strenuous time of touring several years ago, I fell ill with Bell’s Palsy – a virus that attacks facial nerves. I awoke one morning to find myself unable to control one side of my lips, unable to raise my right eyebrow, and unable to drink from a cup without drooling. My looks, which I’d taken for granted and are important to the work I do were suddenly in jeopardy. Though I regained control of my facial muscles with time, I’ll never again see the way I look on the outside the same way. Any assets we possess can be gone in an instant. Lasting beauty which comes from the inside can never be taken away.”
As the book also encapsulates nine separate areas into the one book, it provides people with a great diverse resource rather than making people buy nine separate self-help books.
“The book isn’t heavy or hard to read, but yet it does provide real hope, help and encouragement.”
Currently Rebecca St. James is back in the USA commencing her major winter tour throughout November. However, early next year, less than a year after headlining at Alton Towers, St. James returns to England for performances in London on 2nd January 2005, and in Manchester on 4th January 2005.
Other European dates include: Basel, Switzerland on 30th and 31st December 2004; Oslo, Norway on 1st January 2005; Innsbruck, Austria on 5th January 2005; and finally Paderborn, Germany on 6th January 2005.