The Power Of Pretend

Elizabeth Bernhardt loves Jesus. She also loves acting. But marrying the two has been a confusing endeavor. Even after trying to "make it" in New York and earning a graduate degree in theatre, the path still seemed unclear. As she continued to struggle with the boundary-blurring, temptations, and emotional struggles of the actor's life, Elizabeth knew there must be a better way. Part memoir, part research project, part Bible study, The Power of Pretend: An Actor's Struggle to Unite Faith & Work is Elizabeth's vulnerable invitation to wrestle alongside her as she seeks to take both her faith and her work seriously. It's a book for Christians and non-Christians, artists and non-artists. Asked with equal parts introspection and humor, investigation and poetry, The Power of Pretend contains a challenge for every reader: Why do you do what you do?"Elizabeth is genuine and funny as she reflects on her own experiences and challenges all of us, even the nonactors like myself, to live integrated lives." -Blake Schwarz Director of The Pegasus Institute, Park Cities Presbyterian Church, Dallas, TX"Her raw, real and thoughtful struggles will help other artists realize their journey is both meaningful and relevant. This book is a perfect example of what it means to wrestle with God." -Rev. Joel and Michelle Pelsue Co-founders, Arts & Entertainment Ministries, Los Angeles, CA"As a professor of film, including a class on acting for the camera, this will be one of my new textbooks." -Dr. Arnold Ytreeide Ph.D., Director, The Film School @ NNU, Northwest Nazarene University