One Dress. One Year.

Back Cover: When sixteen-year-old Bethany Winz learned about the millions of men, women, and children around the world trapped in slavery, her stomach churned. How can anyone do that to another human being? She wondered.  And why aren't we doing something?

This is the story of Bethany's "something."

Journey with her as she wears the same black dress every day for a year to focus attention on the lack of choices people in modern-day slavery face and raise money to help end human trafficking. As Bethany works to bring freedom to people worldwide, she'll discover how much she too needs freedom. You'll be inspired not only to change the world in your own way but also to experience the life-changing freedom of God's irrepressible love.

Review: I read One Dress. One Year.  a book about Bethany Winz today. It is a deeply personal story about a full year - a leap year, at that - where Bethany wore the same black dress every day without buying anything new to go with it. Her goal was to raise $100,000 to help people escape from human trafficking. Bethany didn't end up raising her goal amount, but she did make a big difference in other ways.

This story is deeply personal, and at times I felt like I was reading the diary of a teenage girl. Bethany is very open about her thoughts and feelings over the course of her 366 day journey with The Dress. Every 17 year old's life has teenage crisis moments, but Bethany had to deal with criticism, the burden of knowing she was being watched and judged, public speaking occasions, and trying to keep one dress alive for a full year through accidents with hide-and-seek games, bleach, and a melting iron - Oops! On top of that, she shares her struggles with body image, health problems, and the not-so-easy task of discovering who you are.

During this one year period, Bethany fights to find out who she is and what she stands for. She started her mission with The Dress to raise money for people stuck in human trafficking, but along the way she discovered a lot about herself and who she is in the Lord.

Her growth and maturity over the course of the year is inspiring, and the questions she asks about identity, faith, and life's purpose are questions that many adults much older than her  are asking. Though she didn't discover all the answers over that one year, she came up with some solid, faith based answers thanks to her family and the faith groups supporting her.

I have a feeling that I will be hearing more about Bethany Winz in the years to come. This young girl is going to do big things. That's my prediction. :)

I would highly recommend visiting her website: http://www.bethanywinz.com/the-dress/ and watching the movie of her year - 366 different outfits made with one dress. What a courageous girl. I can't wait to see where God leads her next.


This book was provided courtesy of Graf Martin Communications Inc. and Baker Publishing Group in exchange for my honest opinion.