Live Original by Sadie RobertsonBeth Clark
Published by Howard Books on July 28th 2015
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Family & Relationships, Life Stages, Peer Pressure, Rich & Famous, Teenagers
Pages: 224
Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Sadie Robertson—star of A&E’s Duck Dynasty and daughter of Willie and Korie Robertson—shares her outlook on life as she opens up about herself and the values that make her family what it is.Sadie Robertson represents everything that a well-adjusted teenager should be, even while growing up in the spotlight on Duck Dynasty. She exhibits poise, respect for her family and friends, and a faith that influences her choices. Everyone wants to know how a family as eclectic as the Robertsons are raising such confident, fun, family-loving kids. With this book, Sadie sheds light on the values instilled by her family that make her the person she is. Sadie lives by a simple list of principles that lead her to personal and spiritual growth and allow the relationships she has with her friends and family to flourish. These values include think happy, be happy; dream big; shake the hate; do something; and many more. Living as a culturally relevant teen who loves God and her family, Sadie has become a role model for other teens and for parents who are eager to instill the same characteristics in their children.
Recently I had the opportunity read Jep and Jessica Robertson’s book, The God, The Bad and the Grace of God and do a review (see review HERE), and it opened the door for me to learn exactly who these “duck people” were. Other than the big beards and the duck calls, I really didn’t know anything about any of them. I had seen some of them doing little commercial-types of things at church, and I vaguely knew someone might be in recovery but that was about it. Jep and Jessica’s book gave me some insight on the Robertson family and I learned more about the family and appreciated their story.
When I saw that daughter, Sadie, who is now 18, had a book of her own, I was more than happy to give it a read to learn even more about the Robertsons. It is very refreshing to read about a young girl who stays true to herself while loving God. In the introduction, she provides us with the Bible verse that inspires her to live God’s way – Romans 12:2: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Could it be any more awesome than that? This world would be such an incredible place if all young girls could live with Romans 12:2 as their inspiration!
Sadie shares with readers how she lives original. she doesn’t mean how to make yourself stand out from the crowd just for the sake of standing out. It doesn’t mean to be different just to be different – “it means being different based on knowing who you are, knowing who God is, and being confident that He made you in a really cool, unique way.”
It is clear that Sadie has thought a lot about friendships, self-confidence, and being the one and only original God has made her. From issues on social media such as classmates “unfriending” or “unfollowing” to dealing with negative messages or posts. She discusses the plans on how to make sure you set your Godly standards up front with your friends and potential dates to avoid having to compromise on your faith at any later point.
She adds a challenge section at the end of each chapter for teens to answer a few questions so that further thought can be given to the topic of the chapter and to challenge them to add these ideas and thoughts into their everyday lives. In addition to the challenge at the end of each chapter, Sadie also starts each chapter with a Bible scripture. I also enjoyed how she develops her ideas straight from Bible scripture so that others can see how the answers they are seeking can be found in the Bible.
Sadie shares stories of her life and provides insight on her personal struggle in maintaining her Christian way of living, living for God, in this world. She also uses stories from her grandparents, siblings and others close to her showing readers who important family values are and how Christian living helps define our choices. She confirms that it is not God’s intention for us to be restricted, but rather, He wants us to choose things that will help keep us on our path of living for God.
I loved Sadie’s honesty as she provides us with an inside view of dealing with life as part of the Duck Dynasty fame, and she glows in the glory of being a daughter of the one true King. She is able to retain her original self and the essence of who she really is despite all of the fame.
Sadie isn’t one of those idle girls either – she’s been on Dancing with the Stars, she maintains her own Twitter account posting regularly with scripture and other motivational posts, and she’s already designed her own line of prom dresses known as the Sherri Hill line/Sadie Robertson collection, that are what she refers to as “daddy-approved”.
Sadie was recently featured on Good Morning America after launching a YouTube video that went viral titled “just be you and live original” where she addressed fans make-up free and talked about the importance of being yourself. Sadie exhibits poise, respect for her family and friends, and a faith that influences her choices. Everyone wants to know how a family as eclectic as the Robertsons are raising such confident, fun, family-loving kids. With this book, Sadie sheds light on the values instilled by her family that make her the person she is.
Live Original gives a simple list of principles that Sadie lives by, from her personal and spiritual growth to the relationships she has with her friends and family that allow her to flourish. These values include think happy, be happy; dream big; shake the hate; do something; and many more. Living as a culturally-relevant teen who loves God and her family, Sadie has become a role model for other teens and for parents who are eager to instill the same characteristics in their children.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sadie Robertson is well-known for her dimples and engaging smile, but there is more to the 18-year-old charmer and star of A&E’s Duck Dynasty than that. A high school athlete and motivational speaker, Sadie spends her summers on mission trips and working at a Christian youth camp spreading her message to peers about being confident in who you are and learning to “live original.” Sadie also embodies the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of the Robertson family and has carried her philosophy into multiple business ventures, collaborating with fashion designer Sherri Hill on her own “daddy-approved” prom dress line, Live Original, (she even walked in Hill’s show for New York Fashion Week in 2013) and developing her own Live Original line of school supplies for DaySpring. Sadie’s new book,Live Original: How the Duck Commander Teen Keeps It Real and Stays True to Her Values, is available now at retailers nationwide.
Beth Clark is a writer and publishing consultant who has ghostwritten four top-ten New York Timesbestsellers. She runs a business called Thinkspot Communications in the rolling hills of Franklin, Tennessee.
Howard Books is an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Based in Nashville, the imprint is home to numerous New York Times bestselling books. Simon & Schuster is a part of CBS Corporation, a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. For more information visit our website www.simonandschuster.com
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