The Bare {Naked} Truth on Dating and Relationships

For some reason, I have always enjoyed reading books on dating. Maybe it’s because I have heard all the facts and “rules” from my parents, and I wouldn’t mind having a second opinion.  Or maybe it’s because I love to read, so I take any opportunity I can to stuff my nose in a book. That’s why when I was sitting  on the beach with my mom recently, and she pulled out of her bag The Bare Naked Truth, by Bekah Hamrick Martin, I quickly asked if I could read it.

Her immediate response was, “No! You are too young. You probably haven’t heard half of what she writes about.”

“Come on, mom! I’m fourteen now. Besides, I’ve probably heard it all at school.” I said.

She handed me the book and said to read through the table of contents, which indicates clearly that this book is bold. I informed her that I had heard about everything in the book. With a smirk on her face, she handed it over and I dove into one of the best dating books I have read.

Bare Nake Truth

Bekah Martin is not shy in her style of writing.

She gives the readers the whole truth and does not hold back when it comes to the messy parts of ” dating, waiting, and God’s purity plan.”

There are 10 chapters in The Bare Naked Truth, and each chapter is centered around a lie that girls believe about sex. Bekah goes into the deep and ugly, covering topics like “Guys Won’t Want Me If I’m Not Experienced,” or “Masturbation Will Help Me Save Myself.” The chapters all consist of facts and truth from the Bible, along with helpful information from proven statistics. Closing each chapter is a quiz to assess how the reader is dealing with different situations pertaining to the chapter theme.

One of my favorite parts of the book are “The Bare Naked Truth Spotlights,” found in every chapter, where Bekah gives her friends a chance to tell their stories. The “Spotlight” that I could connect the most with was from Author Erryn Mangum, who told the story of when her then-boyfriend now-husband had tried to kiss her. She realized that she had not made it clear about wanting to save her first kiss for her engagement and the night ended with her feeling flustered and wondering how it would effect her relationship. It was easy for me to relate to Erryn because I agree with her ideals, and I understand why it would be awkward at first to talk about it with others.

The Bare Naked Truth is filled with many examples that I absolutely loved reading, especially the “Spotlight” written by Shannon Primicerio. I’ve nicknamed it, The Band-Aid Analogy. Let me recap it here for you:

While cleaning in her college dorm room, Shannon’s roommate started talking to her about things related to sex. Meanwhile, Shannon cut her arm open on the edge of her dresser and quickly asked for a band-aid. Her roommate looked at her and offered the bloody, dirty one on her finger. Shannon obviously declined and searched for a clean band-aid when she was struck with the realization of why we shouldn’t mess around with sex or things related to sex before marriage, and why guys really don’t want an experienced wife. Shannon explains that when we cut ourselves we want a clean unused bandage, not a used or “experienced” band-aid. We want the bandage all to ourselves. In the same way, we don’t want our future husbands to be experienced with other girls or “dirty and used.”

The Bare Naked Truth is definitely a book I would recommend to teens and twenty-somethings. If you have questions, The Bare Naked Truth has answers. Bekah Hamrick Martin’s writing style makes you feel comfortable and unashamed of the questions you are afraid to vocalize and she offers truth we can easily embrace.

*The Bare Naked Truth was provided as a review copy and affiliate links are included in this post.

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Teens

Have you really spent time considering how you want to approach dating and relationships, in general? Our free Dating & Relationships download is a great resource that will definitely help you!

Moms

What do you think your daughters know about dating and purity? Would you be willing to strike up the conversation this weekend? Our Dating & Relationship guide can help you get started.

Mentors

What would you think about using, The Bare Naked Truth, or our Dating & Relationship resources, as a study with the girl(s) you mentor? It could be a great way to launch a Mentoring Group this fall.

6 thoughts on “The Bare {Naked} Truth on Dating and Relationships”

  1. Great article Leah! I took both of my daughters (22 and 13) on the Passport to Purity weekend and discussed these as well as other topics. It’s so important to raise them up in purity, and help them to understand that they don’t need a man on their arms to be something! Blessings!

  2. Leah this article is awesome! A subject that needs much attention. Kudos to you for the tackle with such a sensitive subject and one the world today tells young girls is their right of passage. Thank you for being a voice to your generation, shine on….in Jesus!

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