By Maina Mwaura
As a child who grew up watching TV in the ’90s, I knew that Friday nights were special, not just because it was the end of the week and I was out of school.
Candace Cameron Bure’s newest book, “Kind is the New Classy: The Power of Living Graciously.”
It happened to also be pizza night in the Mwaura household, and I knew it was a special night by the TV shows that my strict evangelical mom would let me watch.
Full House was one of those shows that I could count on week after week to deliver, and one of the main cast members, DJ Tanner, played by Candace Cameron Bure, was the reason why.
Just as her sitcom name, DJ, suggests, as soon as Bure started talking, it was very clear she was going to deliver a great interview. Now in its second season in its newest format on Netflix, Fuller House, the little girl known as DJ has grown up into a godly woman.
She thanks God for her upbringing and being able to handle the trials and pressures of being on TV. It’s also very clear she is a woman on a mission.
Bure is a wife, mother, actor, speaker and author of a new book, “Kind is the New Classy: The Power of Living Graciously,” which she wrote, in part, because of her experience as a co-host on The View, an ABC-TV daytime talk show hosted by women.
Bure describes that time as “intense” as she navigated through controversial topics on a daily basis. She believes the art of civil discourse has been lost in our country and that women, in particular, can lead the way in bringing it back.
When asked why civil discourse has been lost, Bure said, “It’s a hard question to answer. Maybe it was never there. I do believe that it’s because of social media, which isn’t always bad. However, social media has driven us to become a ‘me-driven’ culture that seems to love instant gratification.”
She explained, “It doesn’t mean we have to be unkind. When I was co-hosting The View, God helped me understand that I needed to stand up for what I believed in but I didn’t have to be unkind like others to do so.”
In fact, she says she is very vocal about her faith and how she needs it to make it through her various roles. When asked how she pulls it off, she is quick to give credit to her faith and her husband. “I wouldn’t want to do any of this without my faith and my husband,” she said, admitting it’s hard for her to keep it all together. “I don’t keep it together every day.”
In her latest book, she explains it helps to “know our primary purpose,” which for her is to glorify God.
“Everything else is secondary to me,” she said, noting when you know your primary focus, everything else will flow from that. “We can mistake primary when it’s really secondary.”
She is clear in the book that when we know our primary purpose, it’s easier for us to be able to answer the “why in our lives.”
“It should be a natural fit for us to lean into the passion and calling that God has for us in what He is calling us to do,” she said.
Understanding that passion will put us on the road to knowing and being able to answer our why, Bure said, sharing she believes when we know our why, it will help us become authentic about what we really want out of life.
During the writing process of the book, Bure said she discovered she can be impatient at times. But she stands by “knowing our why,” because helps people to know when to say no.
Although Bure said she enjoyed her time on The View and still appears from time to time, it became clear to her she had to say no to more shows so she could travel and spend more time with her family.
“I love going back; however, I don’t miss the travel every week,” she explained.
When asked about what her brother Kick Cameron is doing, who was also a household name in the ’90s, she shared she loves her brother but because of her demanding schedule, it’s hard for them to catch up because of the many duties and opportunities that God has given her.
The view for Candace looks bright, and she enjoys her current role starring on Fuller House.
“Yes, it was very surreal, the first season being back was exciting, and it felt like I never left. My best friends are on the show-not to mention the show is still very fresh and new,” she said.
Which is something she would like for people to see in the book: she is still the same DJ that they got to know back in the ’90s. Only now, she has grown up and is offering her spin and ideas on how a world, that may be spinning out of control, can “regain civil discourse with one another even when we disagree with one another.”
She said, “I could have dug a little deeper but I’m happy with the finished product, and I think people will be, too.”
For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.
Maina Mwaura is a writer in Atlanta, Ga.