Available March 2026; Preorder Now!
What does it mean to love others “as yourself?”
For spiritual director, therapist, and former priest Caroline Vogel, loving God and loving others always came easy. What was much harder, as she discovered during a difficult season in her life, was the “as yourself” part. What did Jesus mean when he said to love others as yourself?
In this heartening exploration of learning to love ourselves as God loves us, Vogel invites us to embrace God's deep and abiding love, with our whole being, just as we are, today and every day.
Through spiritual practices, Biblical insights, and personal story, Vogel shows us how to move from striving for God's love to simply receiving it. With a gentle and wise voice, Caroline teaches us how to slow down, steady our minds, open our hearts, and tap into the life-giving flow of God's grace that is already within us — calling us out of our perfectionism, fear, or shame, calling us toward our own belovedness.
Drawing on her own deep relationship with the Holy Spirit, Vogel reveals that when we are truly aligned with the Spirit and follow Her lead — mind, heart, and body — we are being infused by God's grace moment by moment. We are breathing the Spirit and the Spirit is breathing us. We are living embodied grace inside and out.
If you struggle to love yourself as God does, yearn to know God's love more deeply, and wonder what it's like to embody grace in your daily life, this book is for you.
Welcome to the journey of coming home to yourself in God's love, as yourself.
In As Yourself, readers will explore:
Why receiving God's love is as important as giving it away.
How “hustling” for God's love is the opposite of living embodied grace.
How shame is often a barrier to loving ourselves and others.
How grace already lives inside us; we simply need to open to that truth.
Biblical stories that illuminate the theology of “as yourself.”
A dozen spiritual practices to help you embody grace.
Reviews for As Yourself:
"Caroline Vogel offers a rare and much-needed weaving of theological and therapeutic wisdom, unveiling a vision of revolutionary love that takes flesh here and now, in these gloriously imperfect bodies we call our own. With tenderness and clarity, Vogel invites us to receive our belovedness until, at last, we feel it settle into our bellies and sink into the marrow of our bones. As Yourself is an exquisite book about becoming living, breathing expressions of divine love, grounded in grace and enlivened by the sacredness of our own humanity." —Bonnie Smith Whitehouse, author of In Our Hands and Seasons of Wonder
“In these harsh times, Caroline Vogel invites us to cultivate grace as an embodied practice. At once reflective and practical, As Yourself re-orients us to the ancient call to love our neighbors as ourselves.” —Stephanie Paulsell, Susan Shallcross Swartz Professor of the Practice of Christian Studies, Emerita, Harvard Divinity School
"As Yourself is a deeply pastoral and clinically wise invitation to wholeness. Vogel tenderly weaves theology, embodiment, and self-compassion in a way that honors trauma, names grace as relational and affirms that loving God and neighbor is inseparable from learning to love ourselves. This book is a gift to anyone seeking a faith-rooted, emotionally honest path toward healing, dignity, and holy self-acceptance." —Ragan Schriver, Clinical Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee and Vicar, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Knoxville, TN
“In sharing her own journey and wisdom Caroline offers us an invitation to slow down, to listen, to love. She has done and is doing the work of living into the fullness of an integrated mind, body, and spirit and offers a reminder that we are enough just as we are and that we are forever unfolding in the mystery of grace." —Cami Twilling, Director, Earth & Soul, a Celtic initiative of study, spiritual practice and compassionate action inspired by the teachings of John Philip Newell
"In this refreshingly honest book, Caroline invites us on her personal journey to weave together the benefits of meditation with a deep Christian faith. Her insightful interpretations of Biblical stories, instructions for mindful breathing meditations, and purposefully constructed prayers are a loving open door to any who seek the fruits of the spirit. Caroline has written a wonderful, personal, deeply honest book that has the power to be helpful in virtually any life situation." —Miranda Clark, Librarian, The Episcopal School of Knoxville, Tennessee
"For many sincere people on a deep spiritual path, loving ourselves as much as we love others is one of the most difficult, yet essential, dilemmas on our journey to our authentic selves. Often, we see loving ourselves as being selfish rather than the missing link to wholeness and deep interior wellbeing. Through personal stories and essential practices, Caroline helps us not only read about loving ourselves but gives us practical ways to do it." —The Reverend Canon Thom Rasnick, Sub-Dean, St. John's Episcopal Cathedral
"As a lover of the liberated Jesus, I cherish this book for the way it illuminates what He meant when He commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Caroline’s embodied wisdom invites us to receive the grace that Christ has already placed within our very cells. This book provides a roadmap for the daily practice of this wisdom." —Elizabeth B. Strand, Ph.D., LCSW, One Health Chaplain
"As Yourself is an invitation to grow your Christian faith from conceptual beliefs to embodied practices. Caroline Vogel uses scripture and tradition to ground her experiences of meeting real-life challenges with love, grace and faith. The meditative practices that are offered at the close of each chapter highlight the necessity of living an incarnational faith. Familiar scriptures and theological concepts are translated into a deepening self-awareness and a growing capacity for authentic, loving relationships. Human warmth and sage wisdom are often strangers, but in this book they dance together with beauty and grace.” —Allen Proctor. M.Div., Director Emeritus, The Haden Institute
"Through tradition, scripture, and a wealth of lived experience, Caroline Vogel invites us into the embodied experience of loving ourselves, and gives us tools to help us awaken to the grace-filled flow of Spirit." —John Mark Wiggers - Priest, St. James Episcopal Church, Knoxville, Tennessee
“What a fresh and much-needed reminder of the greatest commandment! Vogel offers a gentle yet firm nudge, reminding us that loving God and our neighbors also requires caring for ourselves. Only when we tend to our own well-being can we offer authentic love and grace to those around us. By rejecting the hustle culture so prominent in our society and allowing God’s grace to infuse every part of our being, we are reminded that we, too, are beloved children of God. I can’t wait to share this book with my congregation!” —Rev. Dr. Meredith Loftis
“Beloved, if you do not yet know you are, this book is for you. And if you do know, this book is still for you. Whether you struggle to believe that you are loved just as you are, or whether you’ve long been drinking from the bottomless well of grace, Caroline’s stories, dreams(!), insights, and practices will lead you deeper into relationship with the One who makes all things new.” —Rev. Jen Brothers, founder of House of Bread and Church of the Acorn Hope
“As Yourself is a soft embrace for anyone who has struggled to offer themselves the same loving kindness God longs to offer us. Truly, these words serve as a lit candle for those of us who are lost in the darkness of self doubt and criticism. Caroline's prose are gentle and invitational, and this work is a treasure of wisdom.” —Rev. Kori Robins, United Methodist Clergy & Wellness Coach