Bluebird: A Memoir of Trauma, Heartbreak, and Divine Beauty in the Struggle

My mother smiled at me and said, "When you look out the window and see a regular bird, you don't necessarily pay much attention to it. The day you see a bluebird, though, you look at it a little longer and admire it. Not because you don't like it, but because it's different, unusual, and not something you see every day. You're the bluebird."

From Michelle Campbell's earliest days, she was told she was ugly and simply did not fit in--too black to be white and acted too "white" to be black. Since she couldn't be who she was, she obsessed over becoming who people wanted her to be in ways that came easily--spending, sex, and co-dependency--but ended up landing her in jail.

Trapped in a vicious cycle of fast money, big spending, and toxic relationships with both men and women over twenty-one whirlwind years, the traumas began to mount: five evictions, four repossessed cars, three bankruptcies, two abortions, a sexual assault, and half a million dollars of debt.

Pushed to her breaking point and nearly suicidal, Michelle turned to God. His answer came in the form of a courageous act of self-discovery: a twenty-one-day foodless fast--one day for each year she had lost to the twin demons of financial struggle and learned self-hatred. Through deprivation, she found a new and powerful sense of clarity and control that allowed her to restart her life on her own terms and at long last break the cycle of depression and debt.

A searingly honest and lyrically written journey through the challenges of financial stability, sexuality, acceptance, and identity that so many face on a daily basis, Bluebird is an inspiring testament to the power of faith that through God's love we can heal all wounds and one day find happiness as our true selves.