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  • Present over Perfect

  • Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
  • By: Shauna Niequist
  • Narrated by: Shauna Niequist
  • Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (81 ratings)

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Present over Perfect cover art

Present over Perfect

By: Shauna Niequist
Narrated by: Shauna Niequist
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Publisher's Summary

New York Times best-selling author Shauna Niequist invites you to look at the landscape of your own life, consider what it might look like to leave behind the pressure to be perfect, and begin the life-changing practice of simply being present in the middle of the mess and the ordinariness of life.

A few years ago, Shauna found herself exhausted and isolated, her soul and body sick. She was tired of being tired and burned out on busy. It seemed like almost everyone she talked to was in the same boat: Longing for connection, meaning, and depth, but settling for busy.

But then something changed: She learned a new way to live. She decided to trade the hustle and bustle for grace, love, stillness, and play, and it changed everything. Shauna offers an honest account of what led her to begin this journey and a compelling vision for an entirely new way to live: Soaked in rest, silence, simplicity, prayer, and connection with the people who matter most to us.

As you witness Shauna's journey, you'll be inspired to embark on one of your own. She gives you the encouragement you need to:

  • Put an end to people-pleasing tendencies
  • Embrace moments of simplicity, quiet, and stillness
  • Accept that you are worthy of love, belonging, and joy

Written in Shauna's warm and vulnerable style, this collection of essays focuses on the most important transformation in her life, and maybe yours too: Leaving behind busyness and frantic living and rediscovering the person you were made to be. Present Over Perfect is a hand reaching out, pulling you free from the constant pressure to perform faster, push harder, and produce more while maintaining an exhausting image of perfection.

Join the over 500,000 others who have already started walking this new path away from frantic pushing and proving and toward their true selves.

©2016 Shauna Niequist (P)2016 Zondervan

What listeners say about Present over Perfect

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

religious book

what a pity I was not told thos was a religious book. I'm a non-believer

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3 people found this helpful

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I feel a little violated…

This book is rife with religious guilt messages. This is commonly known as gaslighting yourself into coercive control over an imaginary sky fairy master…I shall now go and attempt to cleanse my algorithms from this infiltration. Possibly download a ‘101 of satanic rituals’ manual or something refreshing like that…

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Love love love

This book is on repeat in my busy kitchen. Completely loved it, identified with it and recommend anyone seeking grace and peace in their daily life to read it

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

More a poetic memoir than the self-help genre

I appreciated many parts of Shauna's story and will probably listen to it again in the future, but I'm not so much of a whimsical person and was looking for a simpler, more practical book.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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This story has already started to unearth my soul

A beautiful narration of realness, learning and evolving that was hard to stop listening to and will be listened to again as I start to unravel and rewrite my own story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A book to keep coming back to

Love this book so much. I keep coming back time and time again. Take tidbits as you need, remind yourself of what's important. Fantastic for Christians and non-Christians alike.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Intuitive, Powerful and Informative

whether you're a person of faith or not this is a great guide to bringing for presence back into your daily life and a torch to shine some light on our ever present need to push ourselves and twist ourselves into something other than who we are. Loved it!

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too slow

narrator was great but story was soooooooo slow. please get to the point already! I know this review contradicts the purpose she is trying to communicate but you just about have to get old and retire before she gets to the point. won't reccomend this book

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Couldn't recommend highly enough!

I was listening to this alone on a roadtrip and just kept driving because I didn't want to stop the audio book

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    2 out of 5 stars
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More an experience than biblical truth

More an experience than biblical truth. She has a mix of Christian, Catholic and Jewish believes.

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