Ninety-two percent of young women find two to three things they want to change in their physical appearance. Jada Collins, a fashion model, wants to redefine how people view beauty.

Collins will sign her new book, “Be-You-Tiful: The Threefold Process to Becoming You,” after appearing in the Ebony Fashion Fair Show on Nov. 16.

The fashion show is 5 p.m. at the SeaGate Convention Centre. The book signing is on the same day from 8 to 10 p.m. at Barnes & Noble in Maumee, part of her tour across the country.

Collins finished the book in five years. She was molested as a child and witnessed domestic violence. After keeping a journal, she put her past behind her and found the courage to write the book to give young women a “practical approach” in dealing with these issues.

Collins said the hardest part about writing the book was “the healing process.”

“I think that oftentimes we aren’t necessarily dealing with the really painful [moments] we have experienced in our lives,” she said in a phone interview.

“It was very difficult to be honest, open and transparent,” she said. “That honesty gave me healings. I wasn’t the only one going through these hard times,” she said.

Collins said during her travels, she meets similar women who went through the same hardship.

Stephanie Hinamon, community relations manager for Barnes & Noble in Maumee, said the book signing and fashion show will be a “wonderful opportunity.”

“It’s going to be really great for the girls,” she said. “We’re expecting a really great turn out. [Collins] seems like a great role model.”

Collins said the book focuses on three processes a woman should address to not be “dysfunctional.”

“The threefold process to becoming you are body, mind and spirit,” she said. Those three areas work together “for us to be who God created us to be.”

She compared the process to baking a cake or making lemonade; the ingredients have to be mixed in all together for it to be complete.

“Using sugar only won’t taste good,” she said.

Collins said we live in a “beauty-driven society.”

“You can be who you are and be beautiful at the same time,” she said.

Collins said being in the fashion industry is difficult because models are judged and compared with “other beautiful women,” and told they’re “not pretty enough.”

But many women not in the fashion industry face this scrutiny all the time, she said.

“The $50 billion beauty industry is constantly marketing what beauty is,” she said. “I want to redefine that … I want to redefine what we think about beauty.”

Collins said it’s interesting so many women are not satisfied with how they look.

“If you’re not satisfied with who you are, it’ll be very difficult for you to adjust with life,” she said.

She said any woman can be successful if she reaches “for the stars,” and puts her “mind to it.”

Although physical appearance plays a part, beauty is really on the inside, she said.

“This book has really touched the lives of junior high and high school [students],” she said.

Collins said at the end of each chapter, she gives assignments that are meant to help women practically apply what they read.

Collins said the book captures the attention of women of all ages, not just young women.

“There are a lot of women who are struggling with hidden secrets,” she said.  “Sometimes we get all emotional … whatever happened in your past, let it go and move on.”

Being truthful with one’s self is “true deliverance,” she said.

“I realized we all go through stuff. Everyone can write a book. We’ve all dealt with something,” she said.

“Women who read the book say ‘Oh, my God, I’ve been through this,’ ” she said. “There’s some aspect in my story almost everyone can relate to.”

Collins is the spokeswoman and commentator for the world’s largest traveling fashion show, Ebony Fashion Fair. She lives in Orlando, Fla., with her husband, Ernest Collins Jr., a gospel artist and minister.

Hinamon said Barnes & Noble is expecting around 50 people for the signing, which is open to the public. The book will be sold for $15.98.

“We’re really excited because of the fashion fair they’re holding Downtown, so we thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to have her in the store to have her sign her book,” she said.

For more information, visit http://www.jadacollins.info/ or visit http://www.ebonyfashionfair.com/assembled/schedule.html.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 10:35 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Events, Featured.
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