With so many voices competing for the attention of young people, living in the world as a Catholic millennial can be a confusing journey, especially when it comes to learning what it means to be truly masculine or feminine.
Thankfully, there are plenty of resources; but most resources for young adults and teens are produced by their parents’ generation.
This is where Colorado residents and fellow college-age women (now recently graduated) Kaylin Koslosky and Megan Finegan decided to get creative.
Their book, “Daughter of the King: Wait, Where’s My Crown?” ($12.95, paperback) is written for the modern-day young woman, from her perspective — and the result is refreshing.
Koslosky and Finegan approach a wide variety of topics with an authentic, relatable and easy to understand manner. Themes include how to have a healthy body image and love oneself; what modesty means and how to practically live it; navigating relationships and chastity; what it means to live a life of faith and encounter Jesus; their personal testimonies; and addressing what they call “buzz topics,” like relativism, the college party scene, contraception and more.
All of these topics have been approached by other writers, speakers and leaders before, but the voice of these young women, which encourages readers in everyday struggles with invigorating honesty, is a welcome take on living as an authentic and truly feminine woman.
Each of the women takes her turn sharing her experiences with the various topics. Since their personal journeys have been very different, just about any woman can find something in the book to relate to, no sugar-coating added.
The intended readers are high school and college-age women, so some women a bit farther along in these areas or who are older than the intended audience might not find it to be challenging enough; still, it’s a quick and easy read for any woman – and is full of practical advice, reflective questions and exercises to grow in virtue and in relationship with God.
The most intriguing thing about the book is that rather than it being written by an authoritative voice, it’s the peer voice speaking to other peers. These women have lived through these challenges, have come out on the other side and are still growing. It’s as if an older sister who’s “been there, done that” wrote down her experiences and passed it down to her younger sister just a few steps behind her.
And the most important message they’re passing on is the worth of the woman.
Koslosky and Finegan told Catholic News Agency, “No matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, or what your past is or isn’t, you’re beautiful, you’re loved and you’re a daughter of the King.”
More resources for women on all of the topics covered in their book are available on their website, restoreyourcrown.com.