Debbie Ford is the national bestselling author of many books including Why Good People Do Bad Things and The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse She conducts workshops and trainings around the world supporting lifelong personal, spiritual, and emotional education and transformation. Ford is also profiled on S&P as one of our Living Spiritual Teachers.

After having fought through addiction in her twenties, a divorce in her thirties, and a jolting betrayal in her forties, the author was looking forward to a less traumatic future. But in 2010 she was told that she had four tumors growing inside of her. It took a year of lying in bed to recover and think about the care of her body, the uses of her energy, and the kinds of boundaries to draw. In her solitude, Ford decided that she and other women like her needed to emulate the aggressiveness of female warriors such as Rosa Parks, Joan of Arc, and Helen Keller. They were all animated by love, courage, and confidence.

Looking back on her childhood, Ford recalls being a "Scaredy Cat." She identifies fear as the culprit causing feelings of powerlessness. She recommends uncovering, accepting, and embracing our fears. To do so is to begin to claim our purpose in life and to embark on the adventure of becoming a courageous love warrior. This requires us to move from our head to our heart.

Both courage and self-confidence bloom when we follow what Ford calls "The Code of Divine Guidance." Behind this surrender to God is an admission that we are not in control of our lives. Or as Lao-tzu put it: "When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."

Ford writes about other benefits of this transformative way of living with chapters on emotional freedom, heartful compassion, a loving heart, inspired vision, and supreme beauty. She ends with "The Vow of the Courageous Warrior." Many will find this material very helpful and healing.