Herbs N Health by Premnath Shenoy - Book Review

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Title: Herbs N Health by Premnath Shenoy
Language: English
Genre: Research-backed Self Help Health Guide

Pages: 212
Rating: 5/5

Excerpt: 

Most of the herbs and spices we know are good for your body. It is known for them to improve your gut flora, and keep your immunity high!

This book will help you make the best choices to maximize the benefits of herbs, spices, & other plant-based nutrition, to use them for healing purpose & to fix any discomfort keeping you firmly in charge of your own biology.

With the pandemic ruling our lives for a year now, the need to increase immunity has never been more necessary. Herbal medication has been on a rise ever since as a course of alternative means to fight off maladies.

To begin your journey into the world of herbal medicine and natural remedies, I recommend you start by reading Herbs N Health. It has a lot to offer. Capturing micronutrients, quick home remedies to tackle bodily concerns.

Some foods are often overlooked, vital to maintaining optimal levels of vitamins & minerals, which are referred to as micronutrients. The lack of these does not show any adverse effects instantly until they run low in your body. The addition of certain foods can help bring back the levels up to the required mark.

My Thoughts:

Above description vocals elements of alternate medicine. It serves as evidence of the tangible benefits these plants and herbs can offer and how traditional Ayurveda for centuries are healers. We often ignore this traditional knowledge over the “over the counter pills and prescription”. This no doubt over time has diminished belief in traditional cures and remedies. We chose to close our minds to a whole avenue of alternate remedies. This book reminds us there is still a cure, there is still hope, based on centuries of evidence.

This book would make an excellent addition to your library to help you bring the focus. It is easy to read easy to understand but thorough with details. I am extremely pleased with my purchase. I love the simplicity of the book of introducing readers to different herbs and foods, their benefits & usage. There is no requirement of specialized equipment, or to go to the drug store, to pop in pills, purely the exotic herbs and spices all affordable, safe, and readily available at your local grocery store!. The author has done a great job of making herbal support accessible to the open-minded.

Overall a comprehensive guide perfect place to start learning about natural remedies!

©Shweta, 2021. All Rights Reserved.

From the Dragon's Mouth: 10 True Stories that Unveil the Real China

Source: Shweta's Phone

Title: From the Dragon's Mouth

Language: English

Genre: Non-fiction

Pages: 288

Rating: 4/5

Excerpt:

Fuentes spent a few years living and working in China as an international journalist. The 10 short stories are portraits of citizens of the country she met during her stay. The book is a panoramic view into the psyche of the people, circumventing censoring authorities, about Chinese culture, history since the Chinese Cultural Revolution, etc. The book project began with a series of interviews with the locals Fuentes takes on. They talk about family, power, and the rest of the world; what makes them who they are; why they live in a dictatorship & why they are anarchic.

My Thoughts :

The book is an eye-opener to a world unknown to us, proving how fact reads better than fiction, claiming my attention for reading non-fiction yet another time. The book is an intimate sneak peek into China through the eyes of its people, voices of everyday people victims of all the ill fate. It a book unlike any other I have read thus far.

I found it interesting to read such differing accounts of life in China from rich, poor, migrants, journalist, an entrepreneur, a taxi driver and much more. The book captures the lives of different classes of people thriving there. For anyone interested in China or for anyone who just like well-written non-fiction, this book is for you.

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert — Book Review

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              Title: Committed By Elizabeth Gilbert
Language: English
Genre: Research-backed Memoir
Pages: 320
Rating: 3/5

Excerpt:

This book captures the writer's life after she sets off her life after the "Eat Pray Love" comes to an end, the solo journey she took to find herself. Towards the end of this self-reflecting journey, she meets a Brazilain man, Felipe, she falls in love with & they have their seismic rhythms all tuned in to the frequency that works for both of them. But their rhythm was soon hit by turmoil. The American government Department of Homeland Security officer detains Felipe for violating the visa rules. The book captures the "exile" and uses the experience as a point of departure for delving on different aspects of marriage. the time and great detail of socio-historical aspects of "Marriage" in various cultures & of also the journey they both lived as they figure out an arrangement that is satisfactory to the government & themselves.

My Thoughts :

As I picked up this book, I believed it will be deep dive into the psyche and interpretation of marriage from Gilbert's point of you. But no! The writer has shared personal experiences here and there between a lot of research-based insights into marriage in various cultures and plunged into the history of marriage. With her sharp, witty writing the book was engaging enough & also to make you feel she's talking just to you. Like having a one to one conversation. The book even though it was too meandering moved me with insights & details of research rather than her own personal essays. The research insights running parallel with personal anecdotes are all in her voice as if she was convincing herself to marry for the second time & why. It was aptly pointed out that the book is "rather chatty and personal to be so heavy on research, but it’s rather researched to be so chatty and personal" by the NY Times.


Decent read! A book to read for anyone who wants to understand various cultural aspects and nuances of marriage or closely witness a clear-eyed celebration of love with all its consequences of surviving, in the real world, actually entails.

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert — Book Review

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Title: Eat, Pray, Love By Elizabeth Gilbert
Language: English
Genre: Spiritual Memoir
Pages: 352
Rating: 5/5 💗

Excerpt:

The Bhagavad Gita, ancient Indian Yogic text--says that it is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.

Some days are meant to be counted, others are meant to be weighed.
The title of the book three words correspond to the book's three sections. The author takes a solo journey of self-reflection after a nasty divorce. The journey thoroughly explores one aspect of herself set against the backdrop of each country, in a place that has traditionally done well. Explore the art of pleasure - living to the fullest, eating & mere being alive in any way possible in Italy, the art of devotion - living spiritually, disciplined & dedicated in India and, in Indonesia, the art of balancing the two aspects of life pleasure & spirituality. Gilbert lived consecutively in three different countries – Italy, India and Indonesia. It is a memoir, a journey taken on the quest to find herself & how the journey unfolds.

My Thoughts :


Gilbert's writing offers a comic cult of writing. It feels like we are reading the mind of a witty woman experiencing her life as one reads. Re-reading this book is my guilty pleasure. I always turn towards this book out of the mere joy of enjoying the travel essay, to re-visit these locations once again closely or to seek comfort and flavour of life or the act of balancing. There is always something new the book has to offer. It is an intensively candid & eloquent touching anyone who has ever woken up to the unwavering need for change in their lives. If you find any of these aspects interesting, go for it!


©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review - Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison

Title: Bluest Eyes By Toni Morrison
Language: English Toni Morrison
Genre: Self-help/Motivational
Pages: 288
Rating: 5/5

Excerpt: The book has a dark keynote with varied themes. It covers war, torture, child abuse, racism, sexism, incest, misogyny, self-destruction and failed pursuits in life. It depicts how the roots of family and a stable life impact a kid in their making while growing up vis-à-vis from a broken abused family. This book exposes the buried history of hidden racist ideologies of America.

My thoughts: The book has a narrative style bringing to light historic fictional writing, where the hardships brought by the great depression is discussed. If one is interested to learn about the American ideology on the Afro Americans lives at that time, it is a must-read. The writer has subtly drawn the veil off from the hidden tales and experiences of perpetual racism of the coloured people in the US, which is denied often. The female narrative has a strong voice, which makes it sound like feminist writing.

 

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review of Ancient Toltec: Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Title: Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Language: English
Genre: Historic, Self Help
Pages:
Rating: 3/5

Excerpt:
This book is about the beliefs of the ‘Ancient Ones’ community who believed life is an endless dream — a world of illusion which is just like a smoky mirror that doesn’t allow us to see who we really are! The quality of the dream purely depends on whether your mind or soul is controlling your life. Smoke in between us keeps us from knowing what we are.

Miguel talks about four agreements we need to live by to achieve the life free of limitations, make profound changes to your life, help you re-create your existence — where you find yourself and learn how to be happy at all times in life no matter what life has to throw at you. The four agreements are :-

• Be impeccable with your word
• Don’t take anything personally
• Don’t make assumptions
• Always do your best

My Thoughts :

A must-read to improve the quality of thinking and way of life. The book is engaging to read about an idea depicting, life is a living dream and the analogy, we see smoky image of yourselves in the mirror. Despite this, in my opinion, if the writer also included "how-to" to imbibe these agreements into our daily lives, it would serve more benefits and help one break out of thoughts. While reading this book, it made me wonder and reflect on what we do in our day to day lives and how we can engage in conscious talking and thinking to spread positivity.
©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday’s With Morrie by Mitch Albom — Book Review

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Title: Tuesday's with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Language: English
Genre: Philosophical, Memoire
Pages: 192
Rating: 5/5 💗

Excerpt: Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others.

Morrie Schwartz— the old professor, heart and soul of this book, a doctor of sociology, was diagnosed with a neurological problem in his seventies. He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — an unforgiving illness that consumes a person — day after day, week by week, as time passes. By the end of it, a person is still alive- wide awake, making you lose all control, frozen inside one’s own flesh. The book captures Morrie’s last few months of his life when the realization of mortality is a source of enlightenment.

This philosophical book is written with great clarity, conviction and wisdom glorifying the rekindled connection of student & teacher, along with profound discussions.

My Thoughts:
I simply love this book and can't think what kept me from reading this marvellous book for so long.

A must-read for everybody. The book will make you ponder on your actions, your outlook to life and wake you up to realizations.

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review - I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings!

Source - Shweta's phone

Title: I know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Language: English
Genre: Autobiography, Biography
Pages: 289
Rating: 4/5

Excerpt:

This book is an autobiography of Marguerite Johnson, pen name Maya Angelou written in 1969. It is poetic and has a powerful diction capable of touching the stoned hearts of the ages and change minds. This book keeps one pondering about how gruesome the world has treated the coloured people and scarred them in ways one cannot imagine.
The memoir recounts Maya's life experiences, through her adolescent years with reflections about growing up black and female during the Great Depression.

My thoughts :
A must-read for any of Maya Angelou's fans. A summary of the book, cannot do justice to the true note of incidents. One has to read it to feel the experience of the writer's life in the poetic narration and appreciate the essence of life and sensitivity with which life threads are woven.


©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Becoming — Obama’s Reign - Book Review

Photo by The Girlloop on Unsplash

Title: Becoming by Michelle Obama

Language: English
Genre: Self-help/Motivational
Pages: 400
Rating: 4/5

Excerpt: Grief and resilience live together

The idea of a black woman as the First lady of the US was unthinkable over a decade ago. The country's history always reminded people of the place for a black woman and white woman are different. In such a backdrop, it is difficult to imagine such a thing happening. There has been constant discrimination in the history; ‘white lady restrooms’ within a building and a separate one for ‘coloured women’. The coloured were not called out honorifically and looked down upon for generations. "Becoming", came close to decoding the 2000's where Michelle becomes the First lady in 2008 & once again in 2012, with the weight of this demeaning history.

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is inspirational and intriguing to take a peek into the life of First Lady. Michelle is fierce in giving the details of her journey. The book has two perspectives. One, where Michelle’s role was never defined beyond a silver lining since she married the man — Barack Obama. Secondly, it can be seen as a book in which Michelle takes the world by the hand on a first-hand tour of everyday Afro-American life and aspiration.

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review - Big Magic By Elizabeth Gilbert

"The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them"

                                                          

Title: Big Magic By Elizabeth Gilbert
Language: English
Genre: Self-help/Motivational
Pages: 288
Rating: 5/5

Excerpt: Creative Living Beyond Fear

The book encourages readers to pursue their passion, their inner "Magic” to live creatively, which does not necessarily mean pursuing it professionally or exclusively devoted to the career of arts, but living a life that self-motivated to feed the curiosity than by fear of self or others. It could be anything - write or act or paint, start something of your own, this book wants to help you do that. But if you want to take figure skating, or skiing or learn some new skill, this book wants to help you do that too.

Big Magic is divided into 6 sections: Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust and Divinity.

Each chapter opens up sharing her experiences about how she fights her fear or draws motivation from the universe, and sustains self-belief in keeping the inner spirit alive. Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “hidden jewels” she calls magic within each of us, waiting to be discovered.

My thoughts:

A must-read for readers of all ages and walks of life. I have reread this book at least 4 times completely and many more times in parts too. I have drawn inspiration from this book and it keeps me going. The book digs deep into the consciousness of the reader to inspire one about the perspective of creativity.

Personally, this book will always be the one I will reach out for, each time I find myself in the need to be motivated or look for inspiration in my pursuit of creativity. Reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic has never failed to comfort me. I feel happy even if it is one chapter or one section, which I need to remind myself, to follow my muse,i.e. living a creative living.

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review - Vita & Virginia: A Double Life By Sarah Gristwood

Title: Vita & Virginia
Language: English
Genre: Historical Biography
Pages: 208
Rating: 4/5

Excerpt: Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West Fell in Love.

Vita & Virginia is an extraordinary double biography beautifully describing work, friendship and love between the prolific formidable novelists of the early 1900s. It is a real story behind the longest and most charming & admirable love letters of literature. This book is drawn from their letters and diaries to illuminate the enormity of the love the two women shared from the day they first met to the day Vita learned of Virginia’s death — a love that remained every bit alive until the end.

These women challenged and redefined conventional norms & beliefs of love, femininity, sexuality, art and politics during the Victorian era. The book is a cultural legacy of these legendary women - Virginia Wolf & Vita Sackville- West, enduring icons who put up a fight for gender equality and female liberation both in terms of love and literature.

My thoughts:
This book is very rewarding to read, I recommend you to read this book if you are a literary fan of either of the writers or want to explore an unusual encounter of a historic episode.

I think this is a book that will stay with me for a long time as it made me admire the writers and their writing more dearly, for I grew fonder of their existence.

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Websites to download Free E-books to read during Quarantine

"The first thing that reading teaches us is how to be alone" - Jonathan Franzen

Photo by James Tarbotton on Unsplash

Books have always been the expressions of a human mind, connecting with the reader then and for all the future generations and the deepest emotions, of empathy in the form of a creative gift. It is a human intellect at its finest, showing how these logical abilities are only a blessing in these times of distress and COVID-19 lockdown. They may have only been pages, and only ink from a press, but now it is how we are keeping ourselves connected to the world and a ray of hope that we can indulge in our reading interests. 

I have always been a voracious reader and I love to read a lot since they always have had a way of showing a beautiful perspective of the world. Many of us are out there who love to read books or always hoped to improve our reading habits or incorporate them into our daily lives, but failed because of lack of time. 

In the times of the pandemic where most of us are locked away behind four walls, maybe it is time we bring this long lost hobby to life by reading. 

I am sharing a list of links, which can help get your hands on the finest books through the websites. I'd love it if I could help you read during these quadrant-times and help you with your reading. 

Links to Download PDFs Books to Keep you company!

1. PDF Drive
2. Library Genesis
3. Book Boon
4. PDF World Books
5. CALAMEO
6. National Emergency Library   
7. Google Books
8. Children's Digital Library
9. Feed Books
10. Open Library  
11. Internet Archive

(I tried to make a list of ten, exceeded it by one, could not help so it is 11 now! )

Additionally, Amazon recently cancelled the subscription of books and audio stories for children and students of all ages, people anywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories across different languages, that will help them continue learning, dreaming and just exploring some new genres. 

All these are free to stream on your desktop, mobile devices using the following link - https://stories.audible.com/start-listen 

Let me know if you come across more links, it would be helpful. 

Stay home. Stay Safe.

Happy Reading Folks!

"It is always better to have too much to read than not enough" - Ann Patchett

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

5 Works of Eco-Fiction You must Read

An exploration of the world of the relationship between nature and the human communities that dwell in it

Photo by Eugenio Mazzone on Unsplash

When I visited Seychelles January 2019, I was not aware the land is inhabited by humans about 300 years ago, with untouched flora and fauna, thousands of species lived on this beautiful turquoise waters and lush green land. And I didn’t know to what extent this remarkable view and experience of nature so close, would inspire my reading and writing over the coming years.

As a writer, I find myself curious to read about environmental issues captured into stories and characters and words written through an eco-focused lens, from how a story unfolds, and characters adapt and survive through the changes.

There’s no shortage of nonfiction about the environment, and the way humans are degrading it with every passing day and additionally animal extinction and protection, but fiction has the power to open eyes and hearts in completely unexpected ways. If you don’t believe the oceans are in trouble or farmlands are eroding, for example, you’re not likely to pick up a nonfiction book that outlines exactly that.

Fiction personifies the world around us, by contextualizing life into the story in the same way that it did to me, as I saw nature through a different angle when I visited a place with rich nature.

I’m inspired by the writers on this list, who have woven environmental themes into their fictional stories, raising important issues while they also show how the characters are dealing with the issues. These authors also see the untold ways in which everything is connected — humans, animals, land, dignity, power — and subtly and seamlessly allow readers to connect the dots as well.

1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

This is one of the best books on eco-fictions ever written, dated back to 1939.

The book is set during the Great Depression which was followed by Dustbowl. The novel focuses on Oklahoma capturing the economic hardship, drought, and changes in the agricultural industry from 1920 through 1930. The situation puts the tenant farmers out of work since the farmlands were severely affected by wind erosion. This made thousands of farmers move from their home to different places in seeking jobs, land, dignity, and a brighter future.

How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can’t scare him — he has known a fear beyond every other

 The book is a portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, and a man’s fierce reaction to injustice. The novel captures the terrors and panic of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in the world.

2. The Drowned World by JG Ballard

This book was first published in 1962, a classic book on climactic fiction, 

which has mesmerizing descriptive narrative style making the reader envision going into a petrified future in which solar radiation and global warming have melted the polar ice caps. The book depicts the chaotic breakdown of the world, giving a perceptive of deep implications of time, space, the evolution of humans and the psychology of people going through the catastrophe. Writing during such an era most of perhaps fervently believed the world was ours to shape and module. Sadly, we see now in 2020, it wasn’t true.

3. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

The book is muscled with poverty, helplessness, and reality. Set during hurricane Katrina, building over the Gulf of Mexico, highlights the tragic turn of events of the people living in the Mississippi during the 12-day hurricane and aftermath of the storm. The writer draws a vivid link between personal trauma and climatic disaster.

Suddenly there is a great split between now and then, and I wonder where the world where that day has happened has one, because we are not in it

The writer lived through Katrina and wrote this book after being very dissatisfied with the way Katrina had receded from the world’s attention and people’s consciousness. The book also depicts the Southern life of Afro — American people and culture and their hardships.

4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road is a profoundly moving book on an unplanned journey of a father and his young son over several months, blasted by an unknown cataclysm that has destroyed most of civilization on earth, intervening life on it for years. It depicts a future of no hope, dignity or a simple livelihood, but is sustained by love for each other. It gives a vivid imagination into the world of catastrophe we humans are capable of bringing into this world causing ultimate destruction, making the survivors witness complete devastation.

5. Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver

The book is set in rural Tennessee during a period of unseasonable rain when a young woman tempted to attempt adultery out of marriage witnesses hundreds of monarch butterflies in a field near her house. As the news reaches the experts, it comes as a warning of a disturbing event due to global warming, although they look beautiful in the farmland in Tennessee, displaced from their natural habitat in Mexico.

The book captures the reader leading us to one of the most crucial topics of our time — climate change. With a deft and versatile empathy, the writer dissects the motives of humans of this precarious world.

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So there you have it!

I realized how impactfully these books have captured my empathy and giving a glimpse of ultimate destruction, we humans are causing to the world. I hope this article motivates you to pick up at least one of these books.

I hope this list helps you add some books to your reading list. If anyone has any other books I would love to hear them.

©Shweta, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Art of Living Long & Happy! — Book Review of IKIAGI

This compendium highlights the Japanese secret of living long and happy, by finding a meaningful purpose of life. The inhabitants of Japan believe that everyone has a purpose of life, we just need to find one — calling it IKIGAI — a reason to jump out of bed each morning.

SUMMARY

This word roughly translates into the meaning “the happiness of always being busy”. As the authors Hector Garica & Frances Miracles investigate this Japanese secret, they draw focus to a specific Island — Okinawa, who have people over the age of 100, far more than the global average. The authors arrive there experiencing incredible friendliness among the inhabitants and who talked and laughed at utmost joy amid lush green fields by crystalline waters to interview the eldest residents of the town, only to discover, the uncommon joy flowing in their pleasurable lives is this mysterious work — IKIGAI.

The book draws attention to the various Blue Zones across the earth, where Dan Buettner claims people live much longer than average. Buettner identified five regions as “Blue Zones” —

• Okinawa (Japan)
• Sardinia (Italy)
• Nicoya (Costa Rica)
• Icaria (Greece);
• Loma Linda, California

The book identified that people living in these regions have a similar lifestyle, and he investigated their lives and shared it as first-hand observations, for why these populations live healthier and live longer than the global average.

By making small changes, we can initiate the renewal of our bodies and mind and increase the quality of our life and longevity.

Here are some changes recommended to renew your mind & body —

1. Stress is accused of killing longevity, so be mindful of reducing stress
2. A lot of sitting can age you, so add a few active ingredients into your everyday life — walk to walk, take stairs, indulge in leisure activities, etc.
3. Sleep long and rest yourself. Science shows sleeping is a key anti-ageing tool, as it releases a powerful antioxidant called melatonin offering benefits for preserving youthfulness
4. Find flow in everything you do, which is a state of being at pleasure, delight, creative and completely immersed into the task at hand. This is one key ingredient talked about, to have an optimum experience, helping keep our mind “in order”
5. A few statements from the interviews from the elderly community —

“Don’t worry”
“Cultivate good habits”
“Nurture your friendships everyday”
“Live an unhurried life”
“Be optimistic”

6. Eat more of vegetables and add a lot of natural antioxidants in your diet

7. Exercises from the East that promote health! These gentle movements will help you lead a longer and healthier life

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Tai Chi
• Qigong

Lastly, breathe better, live longer!

Authors Note: Pursue your passion at work or as a hobby and give it your best shot, without any fear and with the least distractions! Life will throw you under a bus eventually, the way you deal with these difficulties will make a difference to your quality of life. What matters is here & now, in the present, we all humans are short-lived and perishable!

©Shweta, 2019 All rights reserved!
Originally published in Blue Insights

What I learnt from Oprah Winfrey's What I Know for Sure

How many of us can actually say at the end of the day, what exactly we are sure of!… The book opens with an anecdote that explains its title. Gene Siskel, a film critic, in an interview asked Oprah a profound question — “ What do you know for sure?” This question led Oprah to ponder about what she was sure about, leading her to write a column in each issue for 14 years in magazine O, the Oprah Magzine.

This book is a private book of revelation, a collection of short essays, a distillation of the column writings from the magazine — all to figure out about the things that matter in life, is organized around 8 different themes: Joy, Resilience, Connection, Gratitude, Possibility, Awe, Clarity, and Power, which are very crucial to become the best version of oneself, according to Winfrey.


These essays give a deep, scrupulous glimpse into Oprah’s mind, body and life, which inspires us to explore and become the best version of yourselves, by listening to your inner voice, addressing your needs and then putting others second which most of us fail to do, to accomplish the path of self-realization. It deals with fears, self-doubts, insecurities, the negativity that many of us have, using it as an anchor and guides us through to help grow our sense of self-awareness.


Her key message to her readers is to make them realize life is a spiritual journey filled with a lot of possibilities and miracles and we need to focus on self-love, instead of looking for love and validation externally and become a source of love and self-worth.


It is a candid, deeply moving, high spirited narration; with a sort of revelations of life and possibilities that the reader will turn to again and again.


I recommend that you enjoy this book with a steaming cup of chai (tea)in a cup, a snugly blanket wrapped around you (Oprah’s favourite, naturally). Finally and above all, Oprah knows for sure, it’s that a hot bath in a room lit with scented candles, is the solution for just about anything!

Here are some quotes the book which I really found thought-provoking — 

• There is one irrefutable law of the universe: We are each responsible for our own life. If you’re holding anyone else accountable for your happiness, you’re wasting your time. You must be fearless enough to give yourself the love you didn’t receive.
• Beginning when we are girls, most of us are taught to deflect praise. We apologize for our accomplishments. We try to level the field with our family and friends by downplaying our brilliance. We settle for the passenger’s seat when we long to drive. That’s why so many of us have been willing to hide our light as adults. Instead of being filled with all the passion and purpose that enable us to offer our best to the world, we empty ourselves in an effort to silence our critics. The truth is that the naysayers in your life can never be fully satisfied. Whether you hide or shine, they’ll always feel threatened because they don’t believe they are enough. So stop paying attention to them. Every time you suppress some part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are ignoring the owner’s manual your Creator gave you. What I know for sure is this: You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more. To be more splendid. To be more extraordinary. To use every moment to fill yourself up. 
• You can either waltz boldly onto the stage of life and live the way you know your spirit is nudging you to, or you can sit quietly by the wall, receding into the shadows of fear and self-doubt. 
• What I love most about reading: It gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing. 
• Think back for a moment on your own history — not just where you were born or where you grew up, but the circumstances that contributed to your being right here, right now. What were the moments along the way that wounded or scared you? Chances are, you’ve had a few. But here’s what’s remarkable: You are still here, still standing. 

©Shweta, 2019 All rights reserved!

Originally published in Scribe