Survivor Winner Shares Inspiration
Survivor winner Tina Wesson shares her personal story and devotionals in her new book, Out Live, Out Laugh, Out Love.
Though Wesson became a household name after beating 15 other castaways in the popular reality TV show without receiving a single vote against her, the book focuses on Wesson's journey through the rest her life. "My years spent outside the game have been every bit as adventurous," she writes.
Her personal story, paired with the wisdom she has garnered throughout her life, is designed to help readers "live better and fulfilled lives," she says. "It seems that my gift and mission in life is that of encouraging others to live a life more grace-filled. Acceptance of others is repeated throughout the text."
Each devotional is concluded with a thought-provoking question to enable the reader to get the most out of Wesson's insights. Taken from the pages of her personal journals, these devotionals provide an inside look at the source of the strength that allowed Wesson to win the $1 million "Survivor" competition. She approaches the rest of her life with the same mindset, she says.
"I am in my own personal game in this life. The strategy in order to win is quite simply to out live, out laugh and out love every other human on the planet. The reward is a life so well lived that I can hardly wait to wake up in the morning to see what the day holds. The other piece of good news is that I do not really have to be better than anyone else in order to win; I just have to do the three requirements to the best of my ability," Wesson writes.
The seven weeks Wesson spent filming for "Survivor" is just the tip of the iceberg in her rich, fulfilling life. An accomplished athlete, Wesson is a two-time winner of the Tennessee racquetball championship and a frequent competitor in extreme adventure races and triathlons. She has also completed two marathons for the Joints in Motion division of the Arthritis Foundation for which she is the national spokeswoman. She holds a degree in therapeutic recreation from the University of Tennessee and devoted most of her career to the healthcare field as a private caregiver for individuals with severe paralysis. She is also a member of Outstanding Young Women of America. Wesson is a mother to two children, Katie and Taylor Collins, and considers motherhood to be the "biggest blessing of her life." Out Live, Out Laugh, Out Love is her first book.
