Who hasn’t heard all the hype surrounding this book – Oprah’s book. Several of my friends and family have recommended it to me and reluctantly, I read. I say reluctantly because I am not a big fan of reading journals. I’m a prose-girl. I have only found a few (David Sedaris, Dr. Beryl Markham, Anne Morrow Lindbergh…go to my resources page to get reviews/info) that have a voice that not only resonates with me, but doesn’t bore…She bores a little – do I really need to read about her urinary track infection, the drama of embarrassment and alternative healing? I’m sorry this just isn’t that big of a deal – obviously no childbirth experience…
And I guess this is at the root of the difficulty for me with this book – it really centers on her coming to terms with not waiting to have children and starting down a new path with new behaviors and new beliefs. Me – I’ve got two kids, a husband and a private practice, it’s a balancing act here. So, after a while, her choices, behaviors and their reports became boring, predictable, slightly annoying and self-indulgent.
This is not to say there wasn’t good stuff in some places, but her experiences were very “me” focused – how could they not? She didn’t have any kids, divorced. She battles ferocious demons of depression. Basically, she falls apart and this is her tale of being put back together. All well and good, and this is where it loses my interest. I become slightly annoyed with this theme that to find higher spirituality you have to forsake your life and go to some far off place? Who – in the real world, has that luxury? Kids? Spouse? Bills? Job?
It smacks of an elitist sense of reality. Connection to the divine is not restricted to an Ashram in India or living in poverty on a bench for a year (Eckhart Tolle – The Power of Now). Actually, the divine is here and now, waiting for you to step into. I didn’t always believe this, but I found the key – here in my present life, not a reality that I manufacture to create an experience. Yes, I had to find a way over the years (meditation, Church, reading, mentoring, therapy…), but honestly that is an integral part of it, the journey to self.
So, I got bored with the book. I highly recommend it to ladies struggling with not having kids and fitting into a society that is sometimes at odds with that choice. This is a very real segment of society that struggles with this and needs a voice. However, I caution, you don’t need to go to India to find peace. It’s a choice, here today.
The struggle comes from an old belief system that you acquired during childhood and it is sabotaging your life right now. It’s time to establish a new, healthier way of looking at your life with better habits such as meditation and exercise. Peace waits for us all, here, not thousands of miles away in an Ashram. However, it may feel as if resides in some far off place…this is the journey to self.
