Sissy GoffReseñas

Counselor Sissy Goff has written a companion book to Raising Worry-Free Girls and even though the target age group for this book is elementary girls, I believe that Braver Stronger Smarter will be of benefit to ALL girls. This book continues to address the 'Worry Monster' and it also covers the same three topics of Understanding, Help, and Hope but this book is more of a workbook. It has fun stories, appealing black and white line illustrations, a space to answer questions and jot down thoughts, and even drawing prompts to help a young girl envision herself as being braver, stronger, and smarter.

I am fortunate to have the adult version, Raising Worry-Free Girls, and I am thrilled to have this companion book to help my granddaughter face her fears and worries and conquer that 'Worry Monster'!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House but there was no obligation to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts.

In the introduction of this book we are told that 'Anxiety is a childhood epidemic in America today'. Statistics show that 1 in 4 young people deal with anxiety and even though worry isn't anything new, it seems that the age of these worriers is becoming younger all of the time and that 'girls are twice as likely to face it as boys'. Sissy Goff addresses this issue as she instructs parents and daughters how to deal with the 'Worry Monster' and much of her advice revolves around the assurance that God loves them.

Understanding, Help, and Hope are the main topics in Raising Worry-Free Girls and I like that each chapter concludes with Key Points to Remember and Understanding Yourself and Your Daughter Better. Goff writes as if she is in a conversation with readers and she uses Bible scripture, down-to-earth advice, and real life experiences to help parents help their daughters.s

This is a wonderful resource and I advise you to have your highlighter handy. I will be sharing Raising Worry-Free Girls with my daughter as we both help her six year old daughter navigate through her adolescent years.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House and I am under no obligation to write a positive review. These are my own thoughts.

Guiding young girls through their childhood and their teen years to help them become confident, calm, self-sufficient, and compassionate adults is of immeasurable importance. Helping them to learn to rely on their own inner strength and to make well-reasoned and informed decisions is invaluable. "Braver, Stronger, Smarter: A Girl's Guide to Overcoming Worry and Anxiety" is a useful teaching and learning tool for young girls and their parents and other care providers. It really is also a boost for females of all ages--we all need a supportive "shot in the arm" now and then. Author Sissy Goff, a Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health Service Provider, has written an easy-to-read and fun to use little book which help young girls develop personal skills and spiritual strengths which will help them cope with Life's big issues.

Book Copy Gratis Bethany House Books

"Girl Power" (empowerment) is so very important to build self-esteem, encourage self-confidence, and reduce the stress of peer pressure and help to overcome the fear of bullying. "Raising Worry-Free Girls: Helping Your Daughter Feel Braver, Stronger, and Smarter in an Anxious World" will help girls and their parents find confidence in who they are now and hope for who they will become--both as individuals and as families. Author Sissy Goff has divided the book into three sections: "Understanding"; "Help"; and "Hope". Sissy advises that, down to the smallest of worriers, "we are clearly living in an anxious world". With more than twenty-five years experience in counseling children and teenagers, she has observed a marked increase in worry and anxiety in young people, which also means an increase in stress for parents and guardians. This book offers a variety of coping techniques and self-boosting strategies aimed toward ages 6 to 18, but parents and guardians who may very well suffer from the same anxieties as their children will also find them helpful.

Book Copy Gratis Bethany house Books

What are your intentions as a parent? Rearing up a child is not something that just happens. It is hard work and without some thoughtfulness you will never take steps to raise your kids right. Counselors Sissy Goff, David Thomas and Melissa Trevathan have walked with a number of families through their ministry, Daystar Counseling in Nashville, Tennessee. They know that good parents are mindful about what they want their children to become, but they also are attentive about being the sort of parents who can provide nurture and consistency, model spiritual health, and take responsibility for their family. In Intentional Parenting they offer their insights on how we can be better parents.


Goff, Thomas and Trevathan take turns writing each of the twelve chapters of the book which are designed to encourage parents to attend to what parenting does. They challenge parents to be intentional, patient, grown-up, balanced, consistent, playful, connected, encouraging, spiritual, merciful, and hopeful. If this seems like hard work and pressure, the final chapter dispels the notion: “Being a Free Parent.” In that chapter, Trevathan avers that our experience of God’s grace is what sets us free to parent our children and trust God with the results.

Too many parenting books tell you how to get your kids to behave or succeed. That isn’t really the focus of this book, (though they’re not urging us to turn out ill-behaving failures either). Instead their book focuses on what God does in and through us as parents. In the opening chapter (“Being an Intentional Parent”), Thomas argues that parenting has more to do with our own growth than our ability to turn out good, productive children:

If we are willing to consider that God designed parenting more for our own sanctification and transformation than to shape our children’s lives, we open ourselves up to movement, growth, and maturity. If we consider that God designed parenting as a place where men and women could come to ask hard questions, engage deep heartache, and find renewed hope–a place where people can grow in the range and richness of new possibility in their lives–then there is much room for maturity of heart (p.10)

What follows in this book is an explication of this point. Each author, in turn, challenges us to be the parents we long to be. If we are to parent well, we will need to grow in patience, because let’s face it, our kids are slow and the act of parenting does not feel very efficient. Being a ‘grown-up’ parent means that to parent well, you will have to face your past and the things that shaped you as a child (and parent). And yes balance and consistency will need to be cultivated to do it well. But ultimately the glory of parenting is when you get to pass on joy, hope and freedom to each child. If I have a well behaved child, but my parenting style impedes my kid understanding God’s grace, I failed as a parent (and a human being!).

This book is full of challenging advice from some seasoned counselors. But it is not preachy. Goff, Thomas and Trevathan are excited about what parenting does in us as we seek to love and nurture our children. Their excitement is infectious. I give this book 4 stars!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for this review through BookSneeze.