steph's review

Pursuit of Light: An Extraordinary Journey
by Sandy Brewer (Goodreads author!)

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2074930.Pursuit_of_Light_An_Extraordinary_Journey?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Pursuit of Light: An Extraordinary Journey" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51leEQKPZxL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2074930.Pursuit_of_Light_An_Extraordinary_Journey?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Pursuit of Light: An Extraordinary Journey</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/941890.Sandy_Brewer">Sandy Brewer</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33204419?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 2 of 5 stars<br/>i really disliked this book until i got to the last few chapters.  despite that the author takes us through many levels of her initial self-analysis and meditations, i didn't feel like she had contributed anything valuable or educational up until the end.  is this because i've used many of these self-taught techniques already, and didn't recognize them as revelations?  not sure, quite possibly.  
<br/>not that my life has been anything nearly as horrible as hers.  but i think we all feel the same emotions growing up and going through life.  some people more strongly than others, and for many different reasons.  but i think we all need to take ourselves through at least a minimal self-analysis if we're to actually accomplish anything close to happiness in life.  i guess, like for sandy, it was an intuitive process for me.  maybe not so much for other people
<br/>what i found really enlightening was when she talks about how the source of our frustrations is usually something within ourselves that we haven't yet come to terms with.  and that our knee-jerk reactions to being provoked usually go deep to our most intrenched insecurities about ourselves.  i think i recognized that on some level, but the way she talked about it really made sense to me.  that is something that takes a lot of effort to realize, and then implement.  and it's largely and eastern concept, too.  it makes me want to read more about eastern culture, religion, and lifestyle.  
<br/>the thing i found most frustrating was that she never did anything about her father's abuse.  i know why, because she talks about it in the book.  but i feel like she was essentially condemning all her extended family [well, the young girls, at least:] to the same fate as hers.  why would she not report him?  why would she just not do anything about it, except for herself?  i know there are soooo many reasons why people don't prosecute sexual offenders.  but i think that's an offense in and of itself because no one is breaking the pattern of behaviour.  this guy knows he can continue to do hideous things to children, for YEARS, and get away with it scot-free.  that part really bugged me.  but as she believes, revenge is one of those things that you only need if you're still angry, and anger is only a reflection of the things in yourself you're still unhappy with, or have yet to resolve.  good for her that she was able to resolve those issues and move on without this weight of anger towards her parents hanging over her head.  i don't know if i'd be there with her.  maybe that is the only way to survive something like this.  to let it go completely.  
<br/>though this has been a largely negative review, i do think it's amazing and damn near miraculous that this woman was able to become what she is today.  that takes a hell of a lot of inner strength to overcome her experiences.  yes, she acknowledges she made mistakes along the way, but we all do.  and most of us don't have the same history as hers.  if i had to rate her effort, she'd get 5 stars.  for some reason, the telling of it, maybe the way it flowed, didn't enthrall me.  like any heavy text, i may want to reread certain parts of it to get a better understanding.  i might feel differently afterwards.  
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1472612?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

steph's review
rating:

bookshelves: petrolia-book-group
status: Read in November, 2008, read count: once

i really disliked this book until i got to the last few chapters. despite that the author takes us through many levels of her initial self-analysis and meditations, i didn't feel like she had contributed anything valuable or educational up until the end. is this because i've used many of these self-taught techniques already, and didn't recognize them as revelations? not sure, quite possibly.
not that my life has been anything nearly as horrible as hers. but i think we all feel the same emotions growing up and going through life. some people more strongly than others, and for many different reasons. but i think we all need to take ourselves through at least a minimal self-analysis if we're to actually accomplish anything close to happiness in life. i guess, like for sandy, it was an intuitive process for me. maybe not so much for other people
what i found really enlightening was when she talks about how the source of our frustrations is usually something within ourselves tha...more i really disliked this book until i got to the last few chapters. despite that the author takes us through many levels of her initial self-analysis and meditations, i didn't feel like she had contributed anything valuable or educational up until the end. is this because i've used many of these self-taught techniques already, and didn't recognize them as revelations? not sure, quite possibly.
not that my life has been anything nearly as horrible as hers. but i think we all feel the same emotions growing up and going through life. some people more strongly than others, and for many different reasons. but i think we all need to take ourselves through at least a minimal self-analysis if we're to actually accomplish anything close to happiness in life. i guess, like for sandy, it was an intuitive process for me. maybe not so much for other people
what i found really enlightening was when she talks about how the source of our frustrations is usually something within ourselves that we haven't yet come to terms with. and that our knee-jerk reactions to being provoked usually go deep to our most intrenched insecurities about ourselves. i think i recognized that on some level, but the way she talked about it really made sense to me. that is something that takes a lot of effort to realize, and then implement. and it's largely and eastern concept, too. it makes me want to read more about eastern culture, religion, and lifestyle.
the thing i found most frustrating was that she never did anything about her father's abuse. i know why, because she talks about it in the book. but i feel like she was essentially condemning all her extended family [well, the young girls, at least:] to the same fate as hers. why would she not report him? why would she just not do anything about it, except for herself? i know there are soooo many reasons why people don't prosecute sexual offenders. but i think that's an offense in and of itself because no one is breaking the pattern of behaviour. this guy knows he can continue to do hideous things to children, for YEARS, and get away with it scot-free. that part really bugged me. but as she believes, revenge is one of those things that you only need if you're still angry, and anger is only a reflection of the things in yourself you're still unhappy with, or have yet to resolve. good for her that she was able to resolve those issues and move on without this weight of anger towards her parents hanging over her head. i don't know if i'd be there with her. maybe that is the only way to survive something like this. to let it go completely.
though this has been a largely negative review, i do think it's amazing and damn near miraculous that this woman was able to become what she is today. that takes a hell of a lot of inner strength to overcome her experiences. yes, she acknowledges she made mistakes along the way, but we all do. and most of us don't have the same history as hers. if i had to rate her effort, she'd get 5 stars. for some reason, the telling of it, maybe the way it flowed, didn't enthrall me. like any heavy text, i may want to reread certain parts of it to get a better understanding. i might feel differently afterwards. ...less

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