Seven authors bring you stories inspired by “Scars to your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara.

Stories from eating disorders, weight issues, physical scarring and bullying; all problems we’ve had to bear in our life some way or another.
These stories will show you how your scars don’t define who you are, they simply tell a story of where you’ve been.

YOU ARE ENOUGH, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, YOU ARE AMAZING. BE YOU, AND BE COMFORTABLE IN YOUR SKIN.

Build your foundation from the bricks thrown at you, rather than live under them because your imperfections make you beautiful.

— Goodreads — Amazon(Pre-order Link) —

The seven contributing authors:

Jaye Cox — Facebook — Amazon
Aria Peyton — Facebook — Amazon
Riann C. Miller — Facebook — Amazon
Stacey Broadbent — Facebook — Amazon
Becca L’Amour — Facebook — Amazon
Candace Dowds — Facebook — Amazon
Kam Newton — Facebook — Amazon

I’ve never really read an anthology like this before, nor have I reviewed one. From beginning to end, this wasn’t what I was expecting. From seven short stories, I cried, I laughed, I cheered, and I cried some more. Some stories got to me more than others, but every one of these stories was special in their own way.

Everyone carries scars, some physical, some mental, some both. This is an anthology to overcome those scars, recognize your own beauty because of those scars. I truly love this anthology, because there was a story for everyone included. Those that aren’t happy with the way they look, those that self harm, those that were bullied, those that deal with addiction and eating disorders, for everyone dealing with something, there is a story here for you.

I try to be open about my own scars, in hopes that maybe one day I can help someone else. I suffer, still, with major anxiety which makes it hard to leave the house some days. When I was younger, that anxiety morphed into depression, and led to me trying to relieve the anxiety by harming myself. Point blank: I was a cutter. Reading Cut in this anthology, though we had different reasons for getting to the point, and I had never been hospitalized because of it, brought me back to the feeling of needing it; the addiction. It was hard for me to read, even after the help of amazing and supportive family around me (and some really good therapists), but it was for all the right reasons. It was a story that needed to be told. And it was one that wasn’t a “romance” (the only one in the anthology that wasn’t) but a love story all the same. And it’s a kind of love that is more important than finding love with another person. As the great Ru Paul says “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”
Please, please, please if you are depressed, anxious or self harming, get help. Please, message me if you need to, or if you don’t know where to get help. I will help you!

With each story, there is something else to learn and to take in, but they can also help open the dialogue. At some point in our lives, we all need someone to talk to, and these stories can help others connect when they may possibly feel no one could possibly know how they feel.

Everyone will have their own story that sticks out to them in this Anthology, Cut was mine. (Although Oil and Water was a close second). I couldn’t order these stories from “best to worst” because they were all very well written, and so important. They are stories of loving yourself first, though sometimes we need the help of others to show we are worth it. Worth being loved, and loving someone else in return. There were too many stories, too many quotes that I loved, to simply pull three and make them teasers. Too many moments that I adored with all my heart. Thank you to the beautiful ladies who came together to write the stories everyone needed, but didn’t know to ask for.