Review: Dancing Through Life by Candace Cameron Bure

Title: Dancing Through Life    

Author: Candace Cameron Bure          

Published: August 2015, B&H Books  

Format: ARC Paperback, 208 pages   

Source: Publisher  

Candace Cameron Bure
has grown up before our eyes and we’ve watched as she’s balanced life in
Hollywood with her faith for many years. But that all reached new
heights when she was given the opportunity to join the cast of Dancing
With the Stars. Being on the show was one of her dreams come true; and
with that dream came the opportunity to display her Christian faith in
front of millions of people, through an intense season of stretching
beyond her limits, and to run the race God gave her with joy and
perseverance.

Join Candace as she reflects on the
self-discovery that came through leaping out of her comfort zone. Go
behind the scenes and experience the highs and lows, the roadblocks, and
the personal victories. Hear straight from her heart on tough lessons
learned about grace, rejection, perfectionism, disappointment,
accountability, dealing with criticism, and more. Through God’s
strength, and with the help of endless support from her family and
friends, see how Candace stayed true to herself and publicly lived out
her faith in Christ all the way to the finale.

How do you
stand with conviction in your world? Where does your courage come from
when faced with challenges? How do you live out your faith on a daily
basis despite opposition? Your stage probably isn’t in Hollywood and the
challenges you are facing may not be on live television, but they are
no less real. Come along with Candace as she shares how she found the
courage to stand with conviction on one of the largest platforms of her
life.

My thoughts: It wasn’t until I was at the Javitz Center the first day of BEA, waiting for the exhibit hall to open up, reading through the Publisher’s Weekly Magazine that I even knew this book was coming out, let alone that there would be a chance to get an early copy of it while there. I’ve followed Candace Cameron Bure on and off since she was on Full House and loved when she was on Dancing With the Stars and just knew this was a book I would want to read.

For some reason, I am fascinated with Candace…more so now than ever before. I guess it really did start when she was on Dancing With the Stars. I’ve always been a fan of that show – it’s the one reality show that I had religiously watched season after season, and then stopped. But the season Candace was on, I was all about the show, rooting for her all the way. And from that moment on, I really started paying attention to her.

Candace is very open about her faith – I believe she’s always been that way, so when it came to her being on Dancing With the Stars, something she always wanted to do, it produced a lot of conflict, both for her and her fans/followers. But, she stuck to her convictions and this book clearly shows that.

The book follows her season on the show and shows her struggles as well as successes. She’s quite vocal about her faith and how she calls on that on a daily basis. She has her bible with her at all times and calls on her group of friends to pray for her when needed. I may not be as strictly religious as she is and may not know all the bible quotes she refers to, but I never felt that she was preaching to me at any point during the book. In fact, there were quite a few lessons to be taken from the book that I could use in my life – I’ve had struggles in my life and while my faith doesn’t necessarily involve physically going to a brick and mortar church on a weekly basis, I have my faith and it’s helped me many times. 

This book spoke to me, but I can see where it might not be for everyone. We all have our own set of convictions but do we have the strength and courage to live them out loud? Do we have the strength and courage to always stand up for what we believe in no matter the consequence? Candance Cameron Bure shows us that, while it may not always be easy, it can be done. This book is definitely one that will be staying on my shelf so I can pull it down when I need a little reminder of that.