$12.71 sale price when purchased online
$17.99 list price
Target Online store #3991
About this item
Highlights
- There's a cost to being a certain kind of strong.When it comes to difficult circumstances, we've all heard the platitudes: "No pain, no gain.
- Author(s): Aundi Kolber
- 272 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Christian Life
Description
About the Book
When it comes to difficult circumstances, we've all heard the platitudes: "No pain, no gain." "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." But if we spend our lives trying to be "the strong one," we become exhausted, burned-out, and disconnected from our truest selves. What if it were different? Could there be a different way to be strong? Could strength mean more than pushing on and pushing through pain, bearing every heavy burden on our own? What if, instead, true strength were more like the tide: soft and bold, fierce and gentle, moving together as one powerful force? In Strong like Water, author and trauma therapist Aundi Kolber offers a framework for true flourishing.Book Synopsis
There's a cost to being a certain kind of strong.When it comes to difficult circumstances, we've all heard the platitudes: "No pain, no gain." "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." But if we spend our lives trying to be "the strong one," we become exhausted, burned-out, and disconnected from our truest selves.
What if it were different? Could there be a different way to be strong? Could strength mean more than pushing on and pushing through pain, bearing every heavy burden on our own? What if, instead, true strength were more like the tide: soft and bold, fierce and gentle, moving together as one powerful force?
In Strong like Water, author and trauma therapist Aundi Kolber offers a framework for true flourishing. With each page, you'll:
- Learn how your nervous system shapes your experience so that we can move through pain instead of being stuck in it.
- Explore various practices, rhythms, and resources to support you in challenging circumstances with compassion and hope.
- Discover how to internalize connection, love, and safety--empowering you with greater resilience.
A different, more expansive way of healing, wholeness, and possibly--especially--strength is possible. We were made to be strong like water.
Review Quotes
In this inspiring entry, counselor Kolber (Try Softer) encourages readers to redefine their notions of emotional strength. At 22, Kolber writes, she was standing in the crashing waves of the Pacific, distraught after breaking off an engagement and quitting her first postcollege job, when a sudden awareness of God's love helped her find peace. Inspired to forgo rigid notions of strength, she decided to become "strong like water"--a concept that was "rooted in a foundation of love," and allowed her to be both "soft and bold." Kolber aims to help readers achieve such a strength through improved self-knowledge and "compassionate" emotional resources. To that end, she explains situational strength, which can "outwardly appear to carry you through stressful situations," but creates long-term anxiety, and "transitional strength," which promotes healing through "repatterning" trauma responses. She provides an explainer on how the nervous system processes stress, showing that shifting from "fight-flight-fawn" mode to a "window of tolerance" state enables mental flexibility. Finally, she recommends cultivating "compassionate resources" such as inner trust (finding a "soft landing place" in oneself) and emotional flexibility. Kolber offers a healing approach that's compassionate and personal, yet still grounded in practical psychology. Many self-help readers will find value here.--Publishers Weekly
Dimensions (Overall): 8.19 Inches (H) x 5.43 Inches (W) x .87 Inches (D)
Weight: .57 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 272
Genre: Religion + Beliefs
Sub-Genre: Christian Life
Publisher: Tyndale Refresh
Theme: Spiritual Growth
Format: Paperback
Author: Aundi Kolber
Language: English
Street Date: March 21, 2023
TCIN: 87536556
UPC: 9781496454713
Item Number (DPCI): 247-43-6761
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
If the item details above aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.
Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 0.87 inches length x 5.43 inches width x 8.19 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.57 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: American Samoa (see also separate entry under AS), Guam (see also separate entry under GU), Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (see also separate entry under PR), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S., APO/FPO
Return details
This item can be returned to any Target store or Target.com.
This item must be returned within 90 days of the date it was purchased in store, shipped, delivered by a Shipt shopper, or made ready for pickup.
See the return policy for complete information.
Guests also viewed
$15.39 - $18.99
MSRP $18.99 - $27.99
4.9 out of 5 stars with 51 ratings
Related Categories
5.0 out of 5 stars with 30 reviews
100% would recommend
29 recommendations
The Intersection of Trauma & Faith
4 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Nay - 2 years ago
Strong Like Water is an incredible integration of faith and mental health and well-being. Aundi provides explanations of what can be happening due to life experiences, ways to tether that with faith beliefs including the use of scripture, and practical examples for further explanation. I recommend this book to anyone looking to enhance their understanding and to expand their toolkit to manage and navigate their experiences. This book could be a great pairing with therapeutic work and support of a licensed professional.
A gift to survivors, clinicians, and any who love humans
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
drobi5 - 2 years ago
I am stunned with Aundi's ability to marry neuroscience with real-life application, while always pointing to our Belovedness. As she did in "Try Softer", Kolber has given a path and resources to all in an accessible and responsible way. What a gift her words are for survivors, clinicians, and anyone who loves, lives, and works with humans.
Life changing
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Katewk - 2 years ago
Y'all, her first book was absolutely the most influential book I read last year and this one has been even more influential! She effortlessly guides readers through therapy ideas and techniques in an easy and conversational way that makes you feel so very seen and understood. I need to read it again and again!
Beautiful exploration on strength
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Justjes77 - 2 years ago
Aundi's compassion leads the reader to find their own self-compassion and healing. Aundi skillfully layers nueroscience, anecdotes, and practical exercises in this exploration on strength. I saw myself in her stories, and learned so much along the way.
a life jacket in the choppy waters of this life
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
megan e - 2 years ago
I deeply loved Aundi’s first book Try Softer, and this book is no different. Strong Like Water offers us a soft place to land, teaching us that we can try softer even in our strength. That we can honor our bodies by learning things such as completing stress cycles, staying within our window of tolerance, integration, compassion, kindness and rest. Several moments in this book had me in tears as I deeply relate to burnout and the yearning for hope and strength instead of stress. The kindness offered in these pages feels like a warm blanket on a cold day, an umbrella in the storm, or maybe a life jacket in the waves. Although she writes this one where you don’t necessarily need to read her first book, I would highly recommend reading Try Softer first as this book builds on the foundations she has already set up. I know this will be a resource I will come back to time and time again.
Meaningful and Contemplative
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
ShadowOfTime - 2 years ago
"Strong Like Water" from beginning to end is like a fire hydrant of information bursting out from chapter to chapter - a significant amount of terms and concepts are expressed yet they are explained in such a calming and reasonable way to where there's a sense of calm water amidst the seeming burst of information. A valuable resource to possess on any bookshelf, especially individuals interested in topics like attachment style, connection, emotional regulation, safety, therapy, trauma, etc... Even on my second round through the book, there has been even more to contemplate, learn, and understand - to be reminded of.
A MUST READ for your healing journey!
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Becky Z - 2 years ago
Aundi brings her professional knowledge and client stories, her personal lived experiences, and her heart for helping others on their healing journey into her book to make it come to life. She has the gift of writing in a style that not only makes her concepts easy to understand but also gives the reader a sense of being known, heard and cared for as we are able to relate to the many stories and places we also find ourselves. Aundi serves as a gentle, caring, informed guide walking us on our journey - providing teaching to help us understand how our past impacts our current life in so many ways, many of us unaware how much! She doesn't stop there. The stories shared help us see ourselves. Even better - Aundi provides exercises and action items to practice helping us get in touch with our inner self; practice ways of taking forward steps for healing; and the importance of leaning on God every step of the way and surrounding ourself with safe, supportive community. This is a MUST READ for anyone currently navigating their healing journey or those wondering “is a healing journey for me?”. You will be blessed and find hope through her book.
Excellent Resource for Healing
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
H Lynn Pierce - 2 years ago
This book has come at just the right time in my healing journey to propel me forward by honoring how I’ve gotten here and the strength it has taken. Now my strength can flow into something new that is even closer to who God made me to be. I’m grateful to Aundi for sharing her story and resources to help others on our journey of healing. We’re all fighting battles and we’re all healing from something, so there are probably lots of resources in here for you too!
Must Read!
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Mallory - 2 years ago
This book is an invitation to be held in moments that we have kept kindness and care at an arms distance. Those encounters change and shape us which is why they are critically to approach without shame or judgement - which is what Aundi does with her words. Strong Like Water should be read by students as they age to give them the grace and permission to view strength in a different way. This book will form you in ways you would not imagine, as it has for me. An absolute must read.
An amazing resource for everyone!
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
- 2 years ago
Aundi's willingness to be vulnerable and share her story along with all that she has learned along her journey has deeply impacted me! After reading, (and loving) Try Softer, I was looking forward to the release of Strong Like Water, and it did not disappoint. Aundi sensitively shares her wisdom gained through years of counseling and personal experience in a way that is gentle, encouraging, educational, and beneficial to anyone, regardless of race, age, gender, background, etc. Most of all, I love that Aundi's message consistently points us to Jesus and reminds us that we are His beloved creation, no matter what our story may be. Grab a few copies! You'll want to share it. 💙
Highly recommend
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
BM_Influenster - 2 years ago
Deep exhale. That’s what it feels like to read this book. If you’ve ever felt an inner battle between strength and weakness; if you’ve ever feared that releasing your control/perfectionism/hard work would result in failure; if you’ve ever walked through suffering; if you feel shame over ways you have adapted to survive: this book is for you. Aundi is skilled in consolidating scientific research and theological truths in a way that is personable, poignant, and inspiring. As she vulnerably shares her experiences of leaning into a strength that is flexible and fierce, she offers concrete examples of how this might apply to your life and practices for you to also lean into such strength. In this book, you will find hope, solidarity, and grace as you continue along your own healing journey.
Encouraging and practical
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Sonja - 2 years ago
This is a great follow up to Aundi’s first book, Try Softer. In it, she reframes our survival-mode responses as "situational strength"- and also helps us reframe the shame that often comes along when we realize we can live differently than we have been. I love this approach- so encouraging. And the book is infused with Scripture in such a way that brings a whole new level of clarity for me regarding the life Jesus came to offer us. I’ll be rereading and working through this book and its practical applications for weeks to come.
Must read
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Gwen - 2 years ago
Like Kolber’s other book Try Softer, this book is easy to read and makes so much sense. The author’s perspective is personal, faith based and scientifically sound. Her genuine, compassionate and practical approach makes this book easy to read and desirable to share. Highly recommended!
Yes & Amen!
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
mpcamp - 2 years ago
Aundi nails it on the head again!! As someone who was raised by parents with the “tough it out” mentality, I have spent my 20’s processing a lot of dismissed trauma. Aundi’s first book introduced me to the idea that pushing harder & dismissing pain might not be the only way - Strong Like Water continues to speak to the deconstructing of so many detrimental mentalities that we are raised with or expected to have. The Lord has so much more for us!!! Her words are overflowing with the heart of the Holy Spirit & she has so tenderly addressed some really heavy & impactful topics that are too often ignored. Both of her books are excellent resources for Christians working through various kinds of trauma & their spiritual impact. I especially appreciate that she repeatedly acknowledges that her books are no replacement for therapy or counseling - but they are great tools for enrichment. Can’t recommend her work enough.
Stunning & Impactful
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
trsg4432 - 2 years ago
Whenever I read Aundi's work, I feel it was written just for me. I was first introduced to her work by a friend who recommended that I read Try Softer, and I loved it. I love strong like water just as much—such an impactful book. I can't wait to order copies to send to my friends.
Life-giving and life-changing
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
KyoungOKC - 2 years ago
This book is both life-giving and life-changing. If you have trauma in your past, this book will help you honor your journey and compassionately resource you to move forward toward healing and wholeness. If you are one of the rare breed who have not experienced trauma, you will gain so much in how to experience a victorious life of belovedness.
A Terrific Therapeutic Resource!
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Drolston - 2 years ago
This book successfully marries faith and neuropsychology, and is a helpful resource that I will continue to reference time and again. Aundi shares experiences from her personal life, her therapeutic work with clients, and research. I took pages and pages of notes and will gratefully apply Aundi's wisdom to my own healing journey.
Highly Recommend!
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
ajswayne - 2 years ago
If you’ve lived at all, this book will help you approach healing through a lens of compassion while allowing you to stay focused on your strength in Christ as you you are offered a new framework for true flourishing. Let’s get ready to lay down that heavy, ill-fitting armor many of us carry + order this amazing book! You’ll not be disappointed!
A must read for anyone on a healing journey
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Sarah - 2 years ago
Aundi's work continues to be a necessary companion for those who are healing, either from past traumas or current difficulties. She shows up with her whole self, shares with incredible vulnerability and nuance, and provides practical, accessible steps and strategies to walk out your own journey. I really appreciate the way she pushes back on the platitudes that tend to unwittingly harm those who are hurting, and provides better ways for us to show up for ourselves and others. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is doing their own inner healing work, or if someone you know is going through it. We need to know how to take care of ourselves, but also how to accompany those on journeys that we may be unfamiliar with.
Practical tools
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
Jen - 2 years ago
This book not only gives practical ways through anxiety and trauma, it is all explained in a way that helps you understand your experiences & feelings. As I’ve listened I’ve been taking notes. I’ve put the resources, prayers and affirmations from my notes into various places for me to access when I need them - on my phone, in a journal, etc. I highly recommend this book for anyone that has been white knuckling through life. Even if you don’t have anxiety or trauma, this book will guide you through things in life that come up day to day.