Meet Zoe Tenner! The daughter of Soca owners Jeff and Kathleen, this recent Ole Miss graduate decided to write a book during her senior year of college called 51%. We’ve sat down with Zoe to ask for a little insight into her book, where she shares how she found a lasting joy inside her heart despite days where everything seemed stressful, exhausting, and hopeless.
What inspired you to write this book? First, my mom! I told her about the concept and she encouraged me to write it. Once I started working on it, I realized how much I wanted all my friends to have a relationship with God based on the truth about who He is. I pretty much wrote it like I was talking to them!
What is your favorite chapter and why? Chapter 7. Confidence! I hadn’t originally planned to write it, but while I was working on chapter 6, “staying in the 51%” I was struggling with my own confidence and my “worthiness” to write a Christian book. I was worried what people would think of me and scared some might think I’m not “good enough” to write about God. I had a night praying about it and realized that I was measuring my worth on false standards. If God says I’m enough, then I am! I wrote the confidence chapter that night in about 45 minutes. It’s sweet!
If you were a freshman in college and someone else wrote this book, how do you think it would have impacted your own thoughts upon reading it? Many college girls can understand the stress of figuring out your future plans: huge career decisions, changing your major or even just if you’re going to get asked to a New Orleans formal or not. Reading 51% would have helped me know that God will work everything out for my good (Romans 8:28) and there is no need to worry because His purpose for my life is powerful, perfect, and better than anything I could ever come up with on my own! Nothing can change that.
Finally, if there was just one major takeaway for a girl reading 51%, what would you hope it would be? You don’t have to change anything about who you are to have a relationship with God, He will meet you right where you are! You are good enough today, right now, no matter what your life looks like to know and trust Him!
Though written specifically for girls navigating college life, 51% shares an encouraging message for anyone trying to find their place in the world while including God in it. We highly recommend adding this easy-read to your grad gifts this Spring! Be sure to join us Saturday, April 23rd for the chance to meet Zoe and have a personal message written inside your copy of 51%! Click to purchase 51%.
