An inspiring read! In her book, Kim Gravel shows us that we are so much more than our circumstances and habits. Instead of looking back with regrets, we should view who we are today as the starting point of becoming who we are meant to be. We can’t change the past, and Kim shows us how to reframe how we see ourselves and our mistakes and guides in a journey to rediscover ourselves and become the person we are meant to be. She writes with a touch of humor that makes this book not only an informative and transformative read, but a fun one as well!

In Collecting Confidence, Kim Gravel has written a brand new book to assist readers into realizing how magnificent they really are. In the book, she shared her story about how she was former Miss Georgia pageant winner at the young age of nineteen. She stated how comparison is the ultimate confidence killer and how she dealt with that struggle in her competition. She went on to try out for Miss America and lost. She lost her confidence. She failed to see that she still had talent and felt like she failed. She started singing in night clubs and begin dating a man and eventually married him. The marriage was rough and it ended after two years. During this time, she was able to connect more deeply with God and she had to rely on Him to provide. She had to take a calculator to the store to check the prices. She was able to recognize that all of her past failures prepared her for where she was going. She reminded readers that they are who they are because God designed them and they are fearfully and wonderfully made. She explained how we don’t have to catch our calling and we are where we are meant to be. She went on to share how she got a job at WATC and how fitting that it was only two blocks from her apartment. She was able to be on a talk show called Friends & Neighbors for ten years. She also shared how she recorded a few albums and how she met her future husband. She is a host on QVC and has a beauty line called, Belle and a life coach. She also got an opportunity to be a guest on Steve Harvey.


I would recommend this inspiring book to anyone who needs a confidence boost and they are needing a little guidance on stepping into their calling. This book will help readers to become real and authentic. One of my favorite things was how she discussed signs and how we have to look around to see them. She reminded us that we are where we are supposed to be for a reason even if we don’t know why. We can learn to let control of our control, which we never really have. I also liked she discussed how titles and degrees don’t make us who we are. She stated how important it is to not put ourselves on sale and don’t allow the world to determine our value. She created a special 11 ways to be authentic. I loved the section on the power of I am and how we must be careful with what follows them.



I received this book free from Nelson Books for my honest review.”

Collecting Confidence
Start Where You Are to Become the Person You Were Meant to Be
by Kim Gravel
Pub Date 25 Apr 2023
Nelson Books,Thomas Nelson
Christian| Nonfiction \(Adult\)| Self-Help

Collecting Confidence was provided by Nelson Books and Netgalley for review:


Throughout Collecting Confidence, Kim reminds us that we are not our circumstances. Your habits don't define you. What you are right now is simply your starting point to become who you are meant to be. This book will help you find your way if you have lost your way:

It gives you the empowerment to overcome your worst moments. Combine down-home wisdom with laughs.

It's a no-holds-barred book with inspiration from Graceland to Piggly Wiggly.


Change your perspective to understand mistakes are stepping stones by understanding how you see yourself.


It's time to be still, listen to God, and build confidence one step, one lesson, one experience, and even one mistake at a time. As Kim says, “You can’t be authentic in the world if you can’t be real with yourself.” In Collecting Confidence, Kim shares life experiences, hard-earned wisdom, and unexpected blessings.

I give Collecting Confidence five out of five Stars!


Happy Reading!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is my first time encountering Kim Gravel and I pretty much enjoyed the book. The book is a reminder of how we are more than our circumstances and everything around us. It's a call to define us as who we are intended to be than our habits . Relatable, funny , inspiring and well written.

This book was absolutely perfect for me right now. It could not have come into my life at a better time.

I watched episodes of Kim of Queens several times and was so bummed when it was cancelled. I loved the lessons that Kim would try to teach the girls.

Now, reading this book, you can see that it is just who she it. I love how she immediately says it is not a self-help book. I appreciate that. This book was not a self-help book -- It was self-love. Every chapter gave a new way to help fall in love with yourself the way you are. And become the person you were meant to become.

I bet everyone at one time or another has had a moment when they were told to change. Told that they needed to be someone else. Changing makes you miserable. Kim speaks on this and her experience when running as Miss Georgia in Miss USA.

I would recommend this book to everyone. While it is so applicable to all women and girls, I would also recommend this book to men. I think everyone can benefit from learning how to be comfortable in their own skin.

** I received a copy from NetGalley. All thoughts, views, and opinions are my own.

Such a fun read! I was not familiar with Kim before reading this book, but you can feel her enthusiasm and energy. Her ideas were simple but applicable. I went into reading this thinking it would be cheesy, but I really enjoyed it.

I loved this book. I didn't know Kim before reading this book other than glimpsing her on QVC sporadically (I haven't purchased any of her products). She is exactly the type of person I like to talk to, and this book was like having a conversation that was uplifting and encouraging. Good stuff!

Thank you to NetGalley and Nelson Books for an ARC of Collecting Confidence! I truly appreciate the opportunity to read and review this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first nonfiction/self-help read in a while, and it was so good while also providing a comfort-read feel throughout! I've been a fan of Kim Gravel since her time on Kim of Queens so I love how in this book she combined her personal life story alongside southern charm, sayings, and advice for people of all walks of life. Her personality consumed the pages and made it so hard to set down. Kim combines the genres of memoir and self-help nonfiction seamlessly and this book felt like a mother-daughter talk in the best way possible.

I would really recommend this to anyone, whether you are looking for confidence tips and tricks or not because this truly is just an enjoyable read from an amazing woman.

I wasn't familiar with Kim Gravel, but recently at work a manager told me that she had just been to a seminar where Kim was the featured speaker, and that Kim reminded her of me! After reading this book I know it's a huge compliment. As a southerner who is old enough to never have missed a beauty pageant in the 80s and 90s, I enjoyed Kim's take on her Miss America experience. There's some great solid advice along with feel-good stories.

I have rarely recieved better advice than is contained in this book. An inspiring guide to building your own personal confidence. I laughed; I cried; I learned a bit about myself. Practical and yet soul piercing. A must read. You have the future of your dreams ahead of you. You just need to know how to get to it. Here is the roadmap...

This book is fabulous! It's an easy and exciting read that is hard to put down. Each chapter is a nugget of tough love from your BFF, and also from your biggest cheerleader. It's written in a down to earth way that will make you feel each emotion possible. I can't remember the last time I had a deep laugh, like the snorting kind, from a book! It's real and validating. But also supportive and encouraging as well. We're all made for so much more. And we rise by supporting and encouraging others along the way. I'm going to pass this book along to my daughter next. Keep spreading the light! Like the cover of the book says, "Start where you are to become the person you were meant to be." We all have a purpose in life. So gather up your confidence and get to it!

I loved reading Collecting Confidence. It was an easy read, I felt like I was sitting with my best friend chatting. Kim’s stories of things she has gone through are inspiring, motivating, and real. Through her experiences she shares her lessons she has learned to help her readers live their life’s purpose. I highly recommend this book.

Kim Gravel’s debut, Collecting Confidence, is masterfully written. With wit, spiritual wisdom and southern charm, she leads us through her life’s journey, each experience an opportunity to learn. Gravel’s vulnerability and raw honesty draw us in. She writes as if we are her closest friends and confidants and by the end of the book, we are.

She teaches us how she, as a divorcee, singer, mom, TV personality, QVC businesswoman and pageant coach, collected confidence and she urges us to do the same through our own unique circumstances.

“Don’t despise any part of yourself,” she tells us, “There is a message in your mess. Embrace your mistakes. Reframe your ‘big mistake’ as just a stepping stone. You’re not too far gone. Embrace all of you. I mean all. Not just the fun, Instagrammable parts of you. Every vit of what you’ve done is part of who you are and who you’re called to be…Girl, I’ve made a million mistakes since I started writing this book. But that only means I’ll have more material for the next one.”

We cannot help but be better for having read this book. A must for any woman whose crown needs a bit of adjusting.

Kim is an amazing lady with a wonderful story of how to build your own confidence through all that life throws you. As long as you have faith in God, faith in yourself and trust your abilities you can shine!

In this most heartwarming book I laughed a lot, cried some, learned a lot about Kim and her successes, trials and her faith in God. I felt like she was sitting next to me telling me her story. Such a GREAT message for today's times! Definitely what I need in my life! BELIEVE in yourself, never forget the struggles, successes, failures, love yourself as God doesn't make any junk! Build your confidence from your struggles and failures. Don't let the negative words people may tell you affect you! Take chances, put yourself out there, reach for the stars!! If you never try, you will never know! Acknowledge and embrace your feelings, don't run away from them! God will always be by your side throughout everything in life! Believe and call on Him when you need Him!

It is an easy and enjoyable read! If you have ever seen Kim on QVC you will hear her voice as you read this book


Thank you Kim for helping me be able to build up my confidence again!!

I encourage everyone to purchase this book and read it! It will change your life!

“Collecting Confidence” by Kim Gravel is like a warm hug from within that you never knew you just had to have! Deeply rooted in her faith, Kim strikes the right balance of gently weaving her spirituality and life experiences through her story telling. The book has a way of nudging you forward, often with humor and confidence builders as keepsakes. It’s a reminder to embrace our unique calling while paying special attention to nurturing our inner voices. Cheering you on and sharing her guidance, you are wrapped up in her unrelenting authenticity! It will leave you invigorated to collect your own confidence and start sipping your own sweet tea of life. Here’s to being your own best friend and here’s to gaining your new BFF, Kim.

This book is a must read for ladies ranging from tweens and beyond!! Kim gives such great inspiration through the stories of her life. I am a mother of three adult daughters, grandmother of five granddaughters and a volunteer Bible study teacher of middle and high school girls. The only qualifications I have for this role are my life experiences, good and bad. The expectations of today’s world makes confidence the hardest part of their struggles, causing them to compromise their beliefs and values so many times. I love Kim’s transparency and her openness to share her faith and will definitely be using “Collecting Confidence” as a tool in my teaching as well as in my life!
“If you ain’t dead, you ain’t done!”
Hope Lawrence, Dallas GA

“Uplifting, funny, spiritual, realistic, inspiring and hopeful” are just some of the words to describe Kim Gravel’s new book, “Collecting Confidence”. Throughout our lives we “collect” many experiences and thoughts about ourselves -our worthiness, loveability, competence, purpose, and place in this world. Through Ms. Gravel’s faith in God and the experiences that He has put before her, we learn that we are all fearfully and wonderfully created, just as God intended, This book is a heartfelt and inspired message to women (& men) of all ages and circumstances. Written with humor and humility, Kim reminds us that we are in this life together and that by supporting each other through faith, hope, and love you/we can move mountains.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book mentions ways to improve yourself and how you go about your everyday life by enjoying the simple things. This book made me think about my life.

I just finished this book and WOW! I’ve followed Kim Gravel for years on QVC and wear clothes from her line. She has a way of connecting with people & I just love her energy. This is not a self help book but it’s a great reality check book. Stop self-sabotage and don’t let the world tear down your confidence. This book is a great reminder. It’s so good you’ll want to have a highlighter handy. It keeps you engaged and you’ll feel like Kim is your bestie when you’re done reading it. I highly recommend it. Buy one for yourself, your daughter, your bestie. They’ll love you for it. ❤️

Oh my - such a great book full of wisdom, humor and inspiration. Whatever your journey in life has been thus far - you will find this relatable, uplifting - and downright funny - sometimes through the tears! Kim Gravel is funny - about serious things - and wants you to know that YOU matter, YOU are here for a purpose. As she says, “if you ain’t dead, you ain’t done yet”! She is a former Miss Georgia, reality show star (“Kim of Queens” - about being a pagent coach), business mogul with a clothing and beauty line - and everyday mom and wife. She is a woman of faith and reminds us that God finishes what he starts - it is never too late to find your life’s purpose.

Get the book - start your journey today or find the encouragement you need to remain committed to your calling in life. Collect YOUR confidence - you won’t be disappointed! ❣️
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