Winner of the 2020 Catholic Press Association Book Award In a book hailed as “liberating” (Gary Chapman, New York Times bestselling author), an award-winning author and mother of four weaves her own stories and struggles with those of seven ex-perfectionist saints (and one heretic) who show us how to pursue a new kind of perfection: freedom in Christ. Spiritual perfectionism—an obsession with flawlessness rooted in the belief that we can earn God’s love—is dangerous because so many of us mistake it for virtue. Its toxic cycle of pride, sin, shame, blame, and despair distorts our vision, dulls our faith, and leads us to view others through the same hypercritical lens we think God is using to view us. As a lifelong overachiever who drafted her first résumé in sixth grade and spell-checked her high school boyfriend’s love letters, Colleen Carroll Campbell knows something about the perfectionist trap. But it was only after she became a mother that she started to see how insidiously perfectionism had infected her spiritual life, how lethal it could be to her happiness and her family, and how disproportionately it afflicts the people working hardest to serve God. In the ruins of her own mistakes, Colleen dug into Scripture and the lives of the canonized saints for answers. She discovered to her surprise that many holy men and women were, in fact, recovering perfectionists. And their grace-fueled victory oer this malady—not perfectionist striving—was the key to their heroic virtue and contagious joy. In The Heart of Perfection, Colleen weaves the stories and wisdom of seven ex-perfectionist saints (and one heretic) with Scripture and beautifully crafted tales of her own trial-and-error experiments in applying that wisdom to her life. Gorgeously written and deeply insightful, Colleen Carroll Campbell’s The Heart of Perfection is a “must-read” (Jeannie Gaffigan, executive producer of The Jim Gaffigan Show ) that “gives us permission to…walk in the freedom of God’s unconditional love” (Jennifer Fulwiler, author of One Beautiful Dream ). For a free Heart of Perfection reading guide for book clubs , visit Colleen-Campbell.com. "Persuasive...enjoyable...insightful...Campbell is a fluid writer, making her histories and personal anecdotes blend seamlessly...perfectionists of any religious persuasion will benefit from this gratifying work." ― Publishers Weekly “Part hagiography, part self-help, Campbell’s latest is a useful guide for perfectionists and others to the rigors of humility and the joy of grace.” ― Booklist “Drawing inspiration from saints . . . the author interweaves biblical scripture with stories from her own life . . . [and] makes the case that God’s love cannot be earned. . . . Recommended for public libraries with collections supporting spiritual journeys and parenting.” ― Library Journal "Catholics and Protestants have much to learn from the ‘saints’ and from this self-revealing book by Colleen Carroll Campbell. Colleen unveils the reality discovered by many who have gone before us that true satisfaction, peace, and joy are not the results of our efforts to live a perfect life, but come as a gift of God’s love. To all who are burdened with shame and guilt in their efforts to do life right, the message of this book is liberating." -- Gary D. Chapman, Ph.D. New York Times bestselling author of The Five Love Languages “In The Heart of Perfection, Colleen Carroll Campbell explores the real lives of saints with the scrutiny of an investigative journalist and highlights their quest for the perfect love of God. … Like so many women (and men) today who are caught in the endless hamster wheel of trying to be perfect, Campbell spent her life striving for her ideal self, and surpassed her own goals. … In this deep and thoughtful reflection on herself, the generations of perfectionist women she came from, and with a broad-daylight exposé of the lives of the not-so perfect saints, Campbell realizes that setting the bar so high is detrimental; trying to be perfect only results in beating yourself up for not being perfect. The Heart of Perfection is a must-read for those of us whose pursuit of perfection is just creating the ‘perfect’ trap.” -- Jeannie Gaffigan, writer and executive producer of “The Jim Gaffigan Show” and four Grammy-nominated comedy albums "Whenever you find yourself comparing, competing, and trying to earn a gold star in life... read The Heart of Perfection . Colleen Carroll Campbell's writing is grace-filled and life-giving. I loved this book! " -- Sarah Mackenzie, author of The Read-Aloud Family and Teaching from Rest "This book is absolutely excellent and meets a very present need of many people. I wish it to be read by everyone! Not always consciously, we are marked by a certain perfectionism, the feeling that to deserve God’s love and the love of others we must be perfect beings and follow a faultless journey to God. This perfectionism may se