In February of 2012, I met former Victoria Secret model, Kylie Bisutti, at a local Starbucks.  She sat with me and 2 of my girlfriends, and chatted for nearly 2 hours.  She was so sweet and gracious and solid spiritually. 

She had literally just come from New York city where she was a guest on multiple shows like Good Morning America and Fox and Friends.  All of them baffled at her choice to quit being a Victoria Secret model.  The media attention all began when a tweet came from Alex Eklund, the founder of Live31.  He said:

I’d much rather have a Proverbs 31 woman than a VS model.

Then Kylie tweeted back:

I quit being a VS model to become a Proverbs 31 wife. 

Little did she know what that little tweet would turn into, as the media caught wind of her story.

And so you probably wonder –how did she become a model, what’s her story and how in the world did she reach angel status and then quit for Jesus?

Kylie tells her entire story in her newly released book titled — I’m No Angel: From Victoria’s Secret Model to Role Model and I had a chance to read an advance copy.

In Kylie’s book she shares about her road to modeling and salvation.  She moved to Las Vegas with her family and at the age of 14 began walking in runway fashion shows there.  By 16, she had moved to New York City alone and was modeling in New York’s well-known Fashion Week. 

Previous to her move to New York, a girl from school who had never spoken to her previously, invited her to her church youth group.  She was warmly received there and for the first time in her life learned about Jesus and the Bible.  She had spent so much time on her external transformation that she found much hope in the message of internal transformation through Jesus.  And off to New York she went straddling two worlds that would eventually collide.

One of the most eye opening parts of this book is when Kylie shares the harsh realities of modeling.  She writes:

Ultimately, your body doesn’t really belong to you.  It belongs to the client.  Since they’re paying, they figure they can do pretty much whatever they want to you.  They can curl your hair, straighten it, dye it, cut it –even shave it.  I’ve seen hair extensions being pulled out by the roots and smoke billowing out of flat irons while the hair inside gets singed and fried.  I’ve watched models squeeze their feet into shoes so small their feet literally bled, and I’ve seen false eyelashes torn off so quickly that the natural lashes came off with them.  Modeling may look glamorous on the outside, but believe me, beauty can be an ugly business.

Kylie’s brave and transparent stories of the modeling world (from the inside) truly broke my heart for both the women in the industry and all of us who look at fashion magazines and dream of having their beauty.

She speaks of being 5’10″, 108 pounds, a size 0 and still being considered too large for some designers.  These designers wanted their clothes to fit on the models like hangars and so she tells of some models going to heart breaking extremes to meet these standards –starving themselves.  And then there’s airbrushing…

Oh friends, don’t we all struggle with feeling like we aren’t….thin enough, pretty enough, or just…enough.  We would be tempted to believe that these super models must be free of these struggles but this book shows the pressures these women face –beyond any we can imagine. 

In the end, Kylie meets a wonderful Christian man and falls in love –truly it’s a fairy tale love story but not without heartache as she wrestles with her decisions to go forward modeling for Victoria Secret while trying to lead a committed Christian life. 

I find Kylie’s testimony both riveting and powerful.  She chose her faith over fame, fortune and the most coveted title in modeling and for that  –I am so inspired by Kylie.

Want to learn more about her?  Read her blog here: http://www.imnoangel.org/ or follow her on twitter here: https://twitter.com/mrsbisutti and you can buy her book on amazon here: I’m No Angel: From Victoria’s Secret Model to Role Model

And just a side note, I was pretty blessed when Kylie tweeted this last September:

Walk with the King,

Sarah Mae, Me, Sally Clarkson

  Here I am, sandwiched between the Co-Authors of the book Desperate at the Allume Conference!  

In 2004, I discovered Sally’s writings through my friend Aimee at church.  Aimee led a group of women through Sally’s book The Mission of Motherhood and I was HOOKED!  I have now read every book that Sally has ever written (Desperate is book #7 – I think)!  Who would have ever guessed that less than 10 years later, Sally would be a personal friend and mentor!  Oh how life takes it’s unexpected twists and turns!

In 2008, when I began blogging, I discovered another Christian Mommy Blogger my own age (okay confession – she’s a few years younger lol!) named Sarah Mae.  From time to time we would comment on each other’s blogs…then one day we talked on the phone – that was FUN and then we met!  We talked many times on the phone about the dream of writing a book, so watching Sarah Mae’s journey to the birth of this book has been a true joy.

That brings me to THE book –>> Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe. 

Listen to these words of Sarah Mae in this video. Can you relate?  Then this book is for YOU!

And then there’s the voice of the mentor in this video -it’s Sally – and she made this video for you!  Do you need an older woman to speak into your life with wisdom and encouragement? Then this book is for YOU! 

If you are a tired mommy who has faced many discouraging days, I know you will relate to Sarah Mae’s humble and transparent words.

Then there’s Sally – oh her wisdom just fills me up!  Here’s some quotes from Sally from the book:

“We are living in an isolationst culture today and have become accustomed to lonely living that God never intended us to experience.”

“A wise woman is one who copies wise women.”

“I believe that if moms understood how strategic their roles were in this battle for the hearts and minds of the next generation, they would grow in excitement about this great job God created them to fulfill.”

“Nothing excellent is ever accomplished by being lazy or selfish.”

“One of the marks of a godly woman is that she takes responsiblity for her soul’s need for joy and delight.”

“A good attitude about work makes her children feel that she is glad that she is a mom and that she is thankful for her children.  She communicates to them that even with a full workload, she is fulfilled and content.”

“Trying to cram any individual or family into the box of another is an insult to the God who made us all to be unique and different.”

“One of the beautiful graces of a strong woman is the ability to see the true value of her own life and the lives of her children, and to celebrate them every day, as Jesus did.”

I had the privilege of endorsing this book {squeal} …here’s a photo from page 1 of this book!!!

To learn more about the book, their amazing giveaways this week or to purchase the book - go to DesperateMom.com

Walk with the King,