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Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self
The Barnes & Noble Review
In Simple Abundance Sarah Ban Breathnach taught readers about the power of gratitude and passed on the wisdom that "all you have is all you need." In her new book, Something More, she explores the curious circumstance that many women find themselves experiencing today: They feel that they really ought to be happy, given all the wonderful things in their lives, but live with the sadness that there's still something missing. Ban Breathnach attributes that feeling to spiritual hunger, a hunger that has at its root a disconnection from an authentic sense of self. In Something More, she offers inspiration and practical advice for getting in touch with that authentic self and charts the nine stages Sensing, Surviving, Settling, Stumbling, Selling Out, Starting Over, Searching, Striving, and finally, Something More that women must go through to find it.
In Simple Abundance Sarah Ban Breathnach taught readers about the power of gratitude and passed on the wisdom that "all you have is all you need." In her new book, Something More, she explores the curious circumstance that many women find themselves experiencing today: They feel that they really ought to be happy, given all the wonderful things in their lives, but live with the sadness that there's still something missing. Ban Breathnach attributes that feeling to spiritual hunger, a hunger that has at its root a disconnection from an authentic sense of self. In Something More, she offers inspiration and practical advice for getting in touch with that authentic self and charts the nine stages Sensing, Surviving, Settling, Stumbling, Selling Out, Starting Over, Searching, Striving, and finally, Something More that women must go through to find it.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
327 people are currently reading
3400 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Ban Breathnach
57 books545 followersIn addition to SIMPLE ABUNDANCE, Sarah Ban Breathnach is the author of THE SIMPLE ABUNDANCE JOURNAL OF GRATITUDE, SOMETHING MORE, and MRS. SHARP'S TRADITIONS. She currently resides in California. Please visit her website at www.simpleabundance.com.
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August 11, 2011I never read "Simple Abundance" which preceded this book, so I have nothing to compare "Something More" against. I picked up this book at a swap several years ago, not even sure why I was drawn to it. Over the past month, I finally took the time to slowly read through it nightly before bed. This book deeply resonated with me. Sometimes a simple quote is all it took to unhinge my soul and bring to the surface issues that my mind seemed to wrestle with in my sleep. Sometimes it was the examples and stories she shared that moved me to thought and emotion. I love this book, because I came to it at the right time. With these types of books I believe you have to read them when you're ready or have reason to need the messages they contain. I'm not sure that had I read it when I found it, that it would have held as much meaning for me. This happened to be my time for something more.
September 15, 2023
I was visiting friends and family in June 2002 in southern California at the time. I happened to be with my old friend, Jill walking around in a bookstore in a mall, when a book literally (I kid you not) fell off the book shelf beside me. It was this book. I picked it up. I said, “You obviously want my attention.”
I think the reality was the book telling me, “No Karen, you need my attention.” It was the beginning of a journey that changed my life.
This book is still in my collection.
I am now bringing my review to Goodreads.
I open the first page, and my note in the corner says… “She begins…6.20.02.”
What I have come to learn in my own life is that there is one basic question:
What is it that I need and want to be happy in this life?
When I have clarity about that everything falls in to place. And everyone around me will be happy as well. Think about it a moment. Because it is true.
So much of what we expect, or work towards, has always been about trying to make others happy. But what has typically happened, is that we have a tendency to lose ourselves in that mission.
But the reality is – joy is our birthright. The author reminds of this in several different ways throughout the book.
She even shares about the Irish poet W.B. Yeats once telling an admirer of his work, “If what I say resonates with you, it’s merely because we are both branches on the same tree.”
And such is the gift of what the book does for readers. We all want the same thing – we learn truths about ourselves – we push past our comfort zones – we admire others for their accomplishments, too.
The author felt that “transformation is a slow process.” That if we are patient, we can recognize that the buried treasure lies within.
This book allows readers to contemplate many issues we as readers may not be used to thinking about. It is a process of personal discovery. Something to take time with.
Self-discovery does take time, and that is what I did with this book. I read each chapter over a period of time and I journaled along with it. And I asked myself lots of deep questions along the way.
A couple of questions that stood out for me were:
If I died tonight, what would I regret not having done today? Say it then. I love you. I forgive you. I’m sorry.
Is there one small action that I can take to nurture my new dreams toward their fruition? Put it at the top of my To Do List.
The key for anyone taking on a deep dive self-help journey is to be willing to do the personal work. And to trust the guide. And this author was an excellent guide.
The work was plentiful but the results were amazing. I met my husband 4 months later. The rest is history.
I think the reality was the book telling me, “No Karen, you need my attention.” It was the beginning of a journey that changed my life.
This book is still in my collection.
I am now bringing my review to Goodreads.
I open the first page, and my note in the corner says… “She begins…6.20.02.”
What I have come to learn in my own life is that there is one basic question:
What is it that I need and want to be happy in this life?
When I have clarity about that everything falls in to place. And everyone around me will be happy as well. Think about it a moment. Because it is true.
So much of what we expect, or work towards, has always been about trying to make others happy. But what has typically happened, is that we have a tendency to lose ourselves in that mission.
But the reality is – joy is our birthright. The author reminds of this in several different ways throughout the book.
She even shares about the Irish poet W.B. Yeats once telling an admirer of his work, “If what I say resonates with you, it’s merely because we are both branches on the same tree.”
And such is the gift of what the book does for readers. We all want the same thing – we learn truths about ourselves – we push past our comfort zones – we admire others for their accomplishments, too.
The author felt that “transformation is a slow process.” That if we are patient, we can recognize that the buried treasure lies within.
This book allows readers to contemplate many issues we as readers may not be used to thinking about. It is a process of personal discovery. Something to take time with.
Self-discovery does take time, and that is what I did with this book. I read each chapter over a period of time and I journaled along with it. And I asked myself lots of deep questions along the way.
A couple of questions that stood out for me were:
If I died tonight, what would I regret not having done today? Say it then. I love you. I forgive you. I’m sorry.
Is there one small action that I can take to nurture my new dreams toward their fruition? Put it at the top of my To Do List.
The key for anyone taking on a deep dive self-help journey is to be willing to do the personal work. And to trust the guide. And this author was an excellent guide.
The work was plentiful but the results were amazing. I met my husband 4 months later. The rest is history.
November 27, 2009
I found this book while I was in the middle (or end) of a very bad relationship with someone I worshiped. That was the problem, I wasn't worshiping or even respecting myself.
This book opened my eyes and heart and helped me work not only out of and through that poisonous situation but also helped me to understand the meaning of the words loving yourself, respecting yourself, honoring yourself and boundaries: How to have them and stand by them.
My favorite part of the book: "Bad men come into our lives to torture us into loving ourselves" paraphrased.
Boy did she ever hit the nail on the head there.
I came out of the end of this book a better, stronger, changed woman. It really helped me to grow. It was the right book at the right moment.
This book opened my eyes and heart and helped me work not only out of and through that poisonous situation but also helped me to understand the meaning of the words loving yourself, respecting yourself, honoring yourself and boundaries: How to have them and stand by them.
My favorite part of the book: "Bad men come into our lives to torture us into loving ourselves" paraphrased.
Boy did she ever hit the nail on the head there.
I came out of the end of this book a better, stronger, changed woman. It really helped me to grow. It was the right book at the right moment.
March 10, 2012
I never did get into Sarah Ban Breathnach's popular "Simple Abundance," although I am re-reading it now, but this book was my daily rocket launcher into a vital and authentic life. It is unashamedly for women only.
Her writing style is quite full of feelings and she does get a bit carried away with enthusiasm at times, but that may be a good thing. The book started me on excavating my authentic self, and I'm 62 years old and thought I knew myself pretty well. With prompting from this book I got to work on scrapbooking my life, art journaling it, collaging it, writing a large chunk of memoir, and really shining a light on places within that were trying to hide out or stay below the surface.
I am normally not too tolerant of anecdotes of "real people" as examples of concepts being discussed, but there is just enough of interesting and inspiring stories to keep it real.
She has lots ofgreat exercises to do to dig down and get the True you. One of them, "field work," involved categories to help you get at your authentic self by collecting images that to you meant: authentic success, authentic style, return to self, relationships, spiritual journey, someday, The House of Belonging (your authentic home, cooking, decorating, etc.), entertainment and "mystery" images that reached out and grabbed you but you're not sure at this time why exactly. I love to art journal and I got curious to find out which categories were most represented in my art journals. I found an absolute majority were representative of return to self followed by authentic success and spiritual journey. It was enlightening.
This is a book you must make your own by writing in it, highlighting it, writing in the margins and talking back to the author.
I was sad to have it end, which is why I am again picking up "Simple Abundance."
Her writing style is quite full of feelings and she does get a bit carried away with enthusiasm at times, but that may be a good thing. The book started me on excavating my authentic self, and I'm 62 years old and thought I knew myself pretty well. With prompting from this book I got to work on scrapbooking my life, art journaling it, collaging it, writing a large chunk of memoir, and really shining a light on places within that were trying to hide out or stay below the surface.
I am normally not too tolerant of anecdotes of "real people" as examples of concepts being discussed, but there is just enough of interesting and inspiring stories to keep it real.
She has lots ofgreat exercises to do to dig down and get the True you. One of them, "field work," involved categories to help you get at your authentic self by collecting images that to you meant: authentic success, authentic style, return to self, relationships, spiritual journey, someday, The House of Belonging (your authentic home, cooking, decorating, etc.), entertainment and "mystery" images that reached out and grabbed you but you're not sure at this time why exactly. I love to art journal and I got curious to find out which categories were most represented in my art journals. I found an absolute majority were representative of return to self followed by authentic success and spiritual journey. It was enlightening.
This is a book you must make your own by writing in it, highlighting it, writing in the margins and talking back to the author.
I was sad to have it end, which is why I am again picking up "Simple Abundance."
January 3, 2008
on the surface, this is the sort of cheesy book that i buy in secret and read behind everyone's back. there are flowers on the cover. its subtitle is 'excavating your authentic self.' the only way it could be more embarrassing is if it came with a tea cozy and a purple t-shirt all packaged up in a floral gift box.
however. it's written by a smart, sensitive, and inspiring woman who's dealt with death and divorce and depression. it's about the ways women tend to give ourselves away to the other people in our lives, especially those we are in relationship with. and it's about how to find yourself again after shit blows up in your face and tears you to pieces.
also, it recommends making collages. which is super cheesy and really really fun. i have made three so far, and they are great.
however. it's written by a smart, sensitive, and inspiring woman who's dealt with death and divorce and depression. it's about the ways women tend to give ourselves away to the other people in our lives, especially those we are in relationship with. and it's about how to find yourself again after shit blows up in your face and tears you to pieces.
also, it recommends making collages. which is super cheesy and really really fun. i have made three so far, and they are great.
August 22, 2014
I think that Sarah Ban Breathnach wrote this book during a darker time in her life when she was still possibly bitter from her divorce. Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self is a follow up to her first book Simple Abundance, a book about finding your authentic self and what truly makes you happy. This is a daily (or almost daily) secular devotional on self-awareness. Something More tells us that this authentic self, i.e. our true happiness, lies beyond something more. So, wait....we're not happy knowing ourselves better...we have to go beyond that before we can be truly happy? What?
I really was disappointed in this one. With Simple Abundance and Romancing the Ordinary, I came away with thought-provoking ideas and activities, and could find joy in everyday life. I constantly remember to find the good within the bad and to count the things that I am grateful for, especially when life is frustrating. With Something More, I felt like Breathnach was constantly bitching and moaning about all the crap that she's had to deal with especially a failed marriage. Many of the passages seemed depressing and I felt that she wanted the reader to see all that was bad but never really showed all that was good. Skip this one. I think Breathnach Simple Abundance journey has run its course.
I really was disappointed in this one. With Simple Abundance and Romancing the Ordinary, I came away with thought-provoking ideas and activities, and could find joy in everyday life. I constantly remember to find the good within the bad and to count the things that I am grateful for, especially when life is frustrating. With Something More, I felt like Breathnach was constantly bitching and moaning about all the crap that she's had to deal with especially a failed marriage. Many of the passages seemed depressing and I felt that she wanted the reader to see all that was bad but never really showed all that was good. Skip this one. I think Breathnach Simple Abundance journey has run its course.
July 9, 2007
This book is a source to finding that voice of an authentic self. Written especially for women by a woman herself I think it depicts a lot of challenges we face going throughout life. Especially facing the challenge of finding our own identity not just an extention of an entity (be it family, wife, mother..). This book is a challenge and stirs up a lot of questions within a woman's soul that is both perplexing at time and full of joyful moments of ah ha's and wow I knew that but now I get it moments. A read for someone who might feel a bit lost or craving "Something More" in their life.
Out of a job and car and between semesters at school I was faced with some depression and feeling sorry for myself. I'm still and undecided major and feel I should know more about what I want to do with my life so I turned to this book which I happened to have obtained early in 2006. This book seemed to be calling my name at just the right time. (I really think that is the key to enjoying a good book, I think they find you at the right time.)
Out of a job and car and between semesters at school I was faced with some depression and feeling sorry for myself. I'm still and undecided major and feel I should know more about what I want to do with my life so I turned to this book which I happened to have obtained early in 2006. This book seemed to be calling my name at just the right time. (I really think that is the key to enjoying a good book, I think they find you at the right time.)
February 10, 2018
Essays of a woman discarded in later life by her husband. Sarah circles the drain of self-loathing and decides she needs Something More, in the form of Perfection, which can only be found in the perfect love of the perfect man. Until then she will become her Authentic Self, and ladles out substantial amounts of advice that proudly make her "the most self-centered woman in the world." (See page 325)
I read this book many years after "Simple Abundance", hoping to find additional vignettes for looking at life through delicate rose-colored glasses. Sadly, "Something More" advises me to demand more from my relationships, and if they don't shape up then I should pack up and ship out, because I deserve Something More.
Sarah does not seem to understand that gentleness of Spirit comes when we are malleable, open, and willing to see our portion of the blame in the demise of an important relationship. Reinventing the self does not correct the deficiencies we bring to the table, it only dresses them in different clothing.
The book gives some lovely quotes, and reminds the reader that being true to yourself is essential to happiness. But that truth does not come with searching for Something More. It is there all along, waiting for you to uncover it by discarding the layers of UN-truth that hide who we are meant to be.
Three stars for snippets of thoughtful prose that kept me going, albeit over several weeks, to the end of the book.
I read this book many years after "Simple Abundance", hoping to find additional vignettes for looking at life through delicate rose-colored glasses. Sadly, "Something More" advises me to demand more from my relationships, and if they don't shape up then I should pack up and ship out, because I deserve Something More.
Sarah does not seem to understand that gentleness of Spirit comes when we are malleable, open, and willing to see our portion of the blame in the demise of an important relationship. Reinventing the self does not correct the deficiencies we bring to the table, it only dresses them in different clothing.
The book gives some lovely quotes, and reminds the reader that being true to yourself is essential to happiness. But that truth does not come with searching for Something More. It is there all along, waiting for you to uncover it by discarding the layers of UN-truth that hide who we are meant to be.
Three stars for snippets of thoughtful prose that kept me going, albeit over several weeks, to the end of the book.
March 14, 2008
So far, I can't really get into this. I've opened up pages here and there, but this one may be one that takes a while to read. I'll go about it through time. Update: I can't fininsh. There are too many other books I would rather be reading. I'll put this on the shelf to look at later.
April 24, 2011
All I can say is that authors should not use their books to bitterly lament their failed relationships/marriages, especially if they are trying to provide inspiration to others. While I've loved the other books by this author, she lost me on this one. Unless you want to read how angry the author is about her divorce and don't care about inspiration for your own life, then I'd recommend you skip this book and read her others. Simple Abundance is great and so is Romancing the Ordinary.
May 8, 2014
I was disappointed in this book. I didn't come away from it feeling energized and uplifted, as I did from Simple Abundance. The thoughts shared by the author seemed a little...jaded, somehow. This could be attributed to the fact that she had gone through a very difficult time in her life--the ending of her marriage, etc., just before she penned it. Whatever the reason, the book left me wishing for...something more.
August 4, 2009
There are two subspecies of humans, Breathnach notes at the beginning of her 1998 Something More: Excating Your Authentic Self--the resigned, who live in quiet desperation, and the exhausted, who live in restless agitation. Her goal in this book, a followup to her popular Simple Abundance, is to lead readers beyond these discomforting categories by helping each of us to discover the person we were really meant to be and thereby, to find our maximum level of satisfaction and joy. She does this very well, and with some really interesting instructions. "I've told you before that authenticity pushes us past our comfort zone--it's meant to"(13), Breathnach tells us in her first chapter entitled "Our Authentic Lives." "Blessings on your courage. You buried treasure lies within" (15). Like Simple Abundance, Something More is a series of small essays, but this time they are divided into nine chapters rather than set up in a calendar format. Early in the book, Breathnach again advocates the pet project she urged in the earlier book--the illustrated discovery journal. She instructs readers to clip magazines and catalogues for various pictures and sayings that appeal to each of us, then to make them into collages that represent various categories of our lives--Authentic Success, Relationships, Spiritual Journey, Someday, etc., "This is a meditative insight tool . . these are the illustrated versions of the book your soul is writing for and about you" (26). "There are only three ways to change the trajectory of our lives," she continues--"crisis, chance and choice" (40). Her subsequent essay on choices and the courage to make them without fear or regrets is an interesting one. Breathnach shares the story of a severe head injury she suffered years earlier, and how she recovered from the resulting brain damage by creating an alter ego --"my Authentic Self"--that pulled her out of the fog and led her on a more honest path than she had been on before. Her ensuing essays, whether inspiring, thought-provoking or funky, and all enriched with quotations from numerous other writers and philosophers from Emily Bronte to Anais Nin to Mick Jagger and many more, focus on this same dedication to mining a more honest and actualized self. Breathnach concludes, "For the sake of all that his holy, believe that you deserve nothing less than Something More" (325).
May 11, 2020
I've read Breathnach's Simple Abundance. Twice. I really enjoyed it and it definitely helped me lead a happier, more fullfilled life. "Something More", on the other hand, left me flat. Where the first book was lovely and insightful, this one just felt trite and uninspiring. I gave it a fair chance; I read the first 100 pages and just couldn't spend another minute with it. Perhaps because I am in a good place in my life I just don't see the point of most of the pointers/exercises/meditations; or maybe Mrs. Breathnach was in a positive space herself so that this "follow up" book lacks conviction on her part. I've read other reviews from women for whom this book saved, or at least changed, their lives; so, good for them. And I'd ask you to read the book yourself, give it a chance before you decide not to read it based on my review. If you've read this far, I certainly do wish you well and hope you continue to search out paths that help you feel better about yourself.
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September 5, 2014I read this book when it was first published. It was life changing for me. I was becoming an empty nester with many challenges which had put me in situations that made me realize I was no longer in control of my kids lives. It was killing me inside with worry. This book taught me how to lovingly give my advice then let go of the situation and pray the kids would come to a good decision. So much anguish and stress was lifted from me. I am not saying i don't go too far sometimes with running off at the mouth but I do 90% better than before I read this book.
I also use what I have learned with my husband, other relatives and friends.
I highly recommend this book.
I would like to rate this book a 10+.
Disclosure: This book was bought for my own reading pleasure. This review is my honest opinion.
I also use what I have learned with my husband, other relatives and friends.
I highly recommend this book.
I would like to rate this book a 10+.
Disclosure: This book was bought for my own reading pleasure. This review is my honest opinion.
November 25, 2012
the book starts out as Sarah's routine run-of-the-mill details about Victorian living and stories of different women that have inspired her, but ends with one of the most brilliant anecdotal evidence through her experiences to inspire women of what "our" life is meant to live as and for. her words strike the innermost chord and the effect is both earth-shattering and enlightening.
i can't thank Sarah enough for her candidness and her bold authenticity, which continue to inspire myself to live an authentic and true loving happy life possible.
i can't thank Sarah enough for her candidness and her bold authenticity, which continue to inspire myself to live an authentic and true loving happy life possible.
December 3, 2010
This is a great book for critical thinking. Great for teachers. I own a very worn copy it is a book you can read again and again I have two books by breathnach and I will own everything she writes . she also wrote simple abundance which is a daily reader that i read just about everyday. this book was written for women but men can read it too !! We won't mind !!1
July 10, 2008
A few quotes:
"There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you." Zora Neale Hurston
"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, but it is not possible to find it elsewhere". Agnes Repplier
"There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you." Zora Neale Hurston
"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, but it is not possible to find it elsewhere". Agnes Repplier
December 4, 2012
It's amazing to me how few people know themselves.
January 1, 2016
I found this book insightful, although I liked the author's " Simple Abundance" better.
June 11, 2018
A few years ago, I was wallowing: wallowing in self-pity; stressed and burned out at my job and debating ending my current career and starting over; frustrated with the singles scene when I was a part of it, frustrated with the lack of men to date when I kept myself out of it.
I had regularly scheduled crying jags. When I voiced my dissatisfaction with being alone to my friends, they wished I could be happy on my own. When I voiced the idea that I wasn’t planning to marry and would spend my life alone, they told me I would find someone. (This is called the Great Singles Paradox: if you are unhappy being alone, everyone thinks you should learn to be happy anyway; if you decide to be alone and are happy about it, everyone thinks you should find someone.)
I was in that place where the question at the forefront of my mind was, “Is this all there is?” The mantra I kept hearing, whispered in my thoughts, was, “There has to be something more.”
And there is: a book by Sarah Ban Breathnach entitled Something More . I zoomed (or rather with my slow internet connection, limped) to Amazon.com and placed my order.
Did I expect this book to hold all the answers to my angst and confusion and despair? No. If that is what you, dear reader, would expect from this book, you’ll be disappointed, but a book can teach you how to look for those answers within oneself. Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self has the potential to be such a book.
The Framework
Sarah Ban Breathnach uses archaeology as the framework for Something More. The idea is to excavate one’s Authentic Self. The Authentic Self is the real person inside each of us who doesn’t care what “they” think, who does exactly what she wants to do, who gets what she wants because she knows intuitively that she deserves it.
Ban Breathnach’s method to excavating one’s Authentic Self calls for introspection and an exploration of one’s past. She gives “assignments” in the form of “field work” and “site reports” at the end of major sections. The field work consists of things like going through old photographs (if available), creating an illustrated “discovery” journal, and playing the games we played as children. The site reports ask questions for the reader to explore in journal entries; questions like, “Were there events in your childhood that seemed very mysterious when they occurred?” and “How do you define comfort?”
Arts and Crafts
The first and main assignment of Something More is to cull old magazines and photographs for images that appeal to the reader, cut those images out and put them in one of nine different manila envelopes labeled: Authentic Success, Authentic Style, Return to Self, Relationships, Spiritual Journey, Someday, The House of Belonging, Entertainment, Mystery. Once the reader has accumulated a goodly amount of clippings and paraphernalia, her goal, with the field work at the end of each section, is to make a collage in her discovery journal with the items in the enveloped corresponding to the section she just finished reading.
I’m not an arts-and-crafts type of person. I didn’t own a glue stick until this item started appearing on school supply lists; I (still) can’t draw a decent picture of anything to save my life. Upon first reading, I was in a very demanding and stressful job (you know, the one that will make or break your entire career) that required a good chunk of my free time for social commitments, while I led my own hectic social life. The very idea of taking on one more thing, of feeling I “had to” pushed me to my limit. I made a conscious decision to not make an illustrated discovery journal. (I also loathe scrapbooking and refuse to do “vision” boards.)
Ban Breathnach states, up front, that “you cannot do the illustrated discovery journal incorrectly.” I wasn’t worried about doing it incorrectly; its goal is a journey to the soul and there is no right or wrong in that regard. I was worried about feeling compelled to do it, just as I had turned reading the daily devotion from the Something More forerunner, Simple Abundance, into a chore that must be gotten through each day and crossed neatly off my list of things to do. I didn’t do the discovery journal. Ban Breathnach states that the reader should read the entire book through, then go back and create the discovery journal as she rereads each chapter. I didn’t do that either. In following my own will in this instance, I discovered a part of “Something More” which means doing something less.
Elements of Style
Ban Breathnach writes beautiful, thoughtful sentences that flow well throughout the book. She tells of personal experiences in her own life and stories from the lives of others to illustrate the points she’s trying to make in each chapter. She also uses an abundance of quotations, some well known, others obscure, that are particularly apt and well-chosen.
Ban Breathnach writes short chapters that often reminded me of the daily devotion sections of Simple Abundance. The short chapters, many no more than a page, also make it easy for the reader to put down the book and think about that chapter before moving on to the next.
For Women Only?
Speaking as a woman, Something More resonated with my soul. I saw myself in some of the stories that Ban Breathnach related, realized things about myself when I read them printed in black and white. Ban Breathnach focuses on the woman reader, the person who is so involved in care giving and nurturing others that she rarely nurtures her own soul. However, that’s not to say, in my estimation, that men would not also gain something from this book. Some men are cast in the role of caregivers as fathers, and many more are cast in the role of breadwinners for their families and search for something more in their lives beyond the daily grind of work.
Less Is More
I was intrigued by the fact that Ban Breathnach wrote Something More after her divorce, a divorce that she didn’t see coming. Her marriage ended shortly after the publication of Simple Abundance while the ink was wet and the accolades flowing in. She felt at the height of her powers as a woman, a human, only to be brought low by the realization that part of her life was a sham. She had experienced something similar once before when, just as her career was taking off, she was injured in an accident that left her partially disabled for a year and a half. Ban Breathnach candidly uses her own life as an example of “living in the wilderness,” where all the accoutrements are stripped away and only the soul is left. In that wilderness, that loneliness of the soul, is when we really get to know and understand our Authentic Selves.
Did I discover Something More? Yes and no. This book was an integral part of fulfilling my need for introspection and helped me to refocus on certain things in my life. I didn’t discover The Meaning of Life or have any lightning-bolt epiphanies, but I did learn a few tools for making my journey a little easier. I find it endlessly comforting, and also rather disturbing, that so many of us are still searching.
I had regularly scheduled crying jags. When I voiced my dissatisfaction with being alone to my friends, they wished I could be happy on my own. When I voiced the idea that I wasn’t planning to marry and would spend my life alone, they told me I would find someone. (This is called the Great Singles Paradox: if you are unhappy being alone, everyone thinks you should learn to be happy anyway; if you decide to be alone and are happy about it, everyone thinks you should find someone.)
I was in that place where the question at the forefront of my mind was, “Is this all there is?” The mantra I kept hearing, whispered in my thoughts, was, “There has to be something more.”
And there is: a book by Sarah Ban Breathnach entitled Something More . I zoomed (or rather with my slow internet connection, limped) to Amazon.com and placed my order.
Did I expect this book to hold all the answers to my angst and confusion and despair? No. If that is what you, dear reader, would expect from this book, you’ll be disappointed, but a book can teach you how to look for those answers within oneself. Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self has the potential to be such a book.
The Framework
Sarah Ban Breathnach uses archaeology as the framework for Something More. The idea is to excavate one’s Authentic Self. The Authentic Self is the real person inside each of us who doesn’t care what “they” think, who does exactly what she wants to do, who gets what she wants because she knows intuitively that she deserves it.
Ban Breathnach’s method to excavating one’s Authentic Self calls for introspection and an exploration of one’s past. She gives “assignments” in the form of “field work” and “site reports” at the end of major sections. The field work consists of things like going through old photographs (if available), creating an illustrated “discovery” journal, and playing the games we played as children. The site reports ask questions for the reader to explore in journal entries; questions like, “Were there events in your childhood that seemed very mysterious when they occurred?” and “How do you define comfort?”
Arts and Crafts
The first and main assignment of Something More is to cull old magazines and photographs for images that appeal to the reader, cut those images out and put them in one of nine different manila envelopes labeled: Authentic Success, Authentic Style, Return to Self, Relationships, Spiritual Journey, Someday, The House of Belonging, Entertainment, Mystery. Once the reader has accumulated a goodly amount of clippings and paraphernalia, her goal, with the field work at the end of each section, is to make a collage in her discovery journal with the items in the enveloped corresponding to the section she just finished reading.
I’m not an arts-and-crafts type of person. I didn’t own a glue stick until this item started appearing on school supply lists; I (still) can’t draw a decent picture of anything to save my life. Upon first reading, I was in a very demanding and stressful job (you know, the one that will make or break your entire career) that required a good chunk of my free time for social commitments, while I led my own hectic social life. The very idea of taking on one more thing, of feeling I “had to” pushed me to my limit. I made a conscious decision to not make an illustrated discovery journal. (I also loathe scrapbooking and refuse to do “vision” boards.)
Ban Breathnach states, up front, that “you cannot do the illustrated discovery journal incorrectly.” I wasn’t worried about doing it incorrectly; its goal is a journey to the soul and there is no right or wrong in that regard. I was worried about feeling compelled to do it, just as I had turned reading the daily devotion from the Something More forerunner, Simple Abundance, into a chore that must be gotten through each day and crossed neatly off my list of things to do. I didn’t do the discovery journal. Ban Breathnach states that the reader should read the entire book through, then go back and create the discovery journal as she rereads each chapter. I didn’t do that either. In following my own will in this instance, I discovered a part of “Something More” which means doing something less.
Elements of Style
Ban Breathnach writes beautiful, thoughtful sentences that flow well throughout the book. She tells of personal experiences in her own life and stories from the lives of others to illustrate the points she’s trying to make in each chapter. She also uses an abundance of quotations, some well known, others obscure, that are particularly apt and well-chosen.
Ban Breathnach writes short chapters that often reminded me of the daily devotion sections of Simple Abundance. The short chapters, many no more than a page, also make it easy for the reader to put down the book and think about that chapter before moving on to the next.
For Women Only?
Speaking as a woman, Something More resonated with my soul. I saw myself in some of the stories that Ban Breathnach related, realized things about myself when I read them printed in black and white. Ban Breathnach focuses on the woman reader, the person who is so involved in care giving and nurturing others that she rarely nurtures her own soul. However, that’s not to say, in my estimation, that men would not also gain something from this book. Some men are cast in the role of caregivers as fathers, and many more are cast in the role of breadwinners for their families and search for something more in their lives beyond the daily grind of work.
Less Is More
I was intrigued by the fact that Ban Breathnach wrote Something More after her divorce, a divorce that she didn’t see coming. Her marriage ended shortly after the publication of Simple Abundance while the ink was wet and the accolades flowing in. She felt at the height of her powers as a woman, a human, only to be brought low by the realization that part of her life was a sham. She had experienced something similar once before when, just as her career was taking off, she was injured in an accident that left her partially disabled for a year and a half. Ban Breathnach candidly uses her own life as an example of “living in the wilderness,” where all the accoutrements are stripped away and only the soul is left. In that wilderness, that loneliness of the soul, is when we really get to know and understand our Authentic Selves.
Did I discover Something More? Yes and no. This book was an integral part of fulfilling my need for introspection and helped me to refocus on certain things in my life. I didn’t discover The Meaning of Life or have any lightning-bolt epiphanies, but I did learn a few tools for making my journey a little easier. I find it endlessly comforting, and also rather disturbing, that so many of us are still searching.
May 29, 2024
This book was good, but likely not something I would read again. I found that the last few chapters were the best, in my opinion, because they felt the most closely related to our personal journeys of "something more." Overall, the book gave insight on the lives of many women who fought for their own something more -- which was inspiring at times, but I thought it would focus more on the reader. <3
August 5, 2019
This book is filled with little nuggets of wisdom, wonderful quotes, and some great advice. It seems it found its way to me, when I picked it up at Goodwill. My only conundrum now is whether I keep it to savour possibly reading again as I age and grow wiser (hopefully, anyway 😉) or to pass it on to someone else who might need the wisdom/advice in this gem of a read.
January 12, 2022
I just couldn’t get in to it.
July 26, 2019
Liked it, but not in a couldn’t put it down sort of way.
Read
May 18, 2010From this book I learned that there's a use for all those magazines the spiders watch over under my day bed. For the exercises in this book, I cut out images and ad copy from those magazines to paste into the sketch book that the author recommends her readers keep while reading. Also learned that there is such a thing as a watercolor pencil and that they are tres cher!
This was my first foray into Sarah Ban Breathnach and I would say that she is an easy deep read (which is not easy to write). I'm curious what all the fuss was around Simple Abundance,
her bestseller, since I started out with this later title.
Something More attempts to get at that elusive part of us that is real--it's about what we would be and do if there were no constraints on us.
It's about who we are and what we can be in spite of those constraints.
Recommended.
This was my first foray into Sarah Ban Breathnach and I would say that she is an easy deep read (which is not easy to write). I'm curious what all the fuss was around Simple Abundance,
her bestseller, since I started out with this later title.
Something More attempts to get at that elusive part of us that is real--it's about what we would be and do if there were no constraints on us.
It's about who we are and what we can be in spite of those constraints.
Recommended.
July 20, 2016
Another reviewer said that this is the sort of book she would read under wraps because its skin screams self-help. Authentic self. It does sound cheesy!
I found so many beautiful quotes from this book.
Plenty of reviewers say Breathnach is bitter. I noted the bitterness myself once and laughed, because I have been there. It comes from letting others decide your boundaries for you. Make decisions for you. Reading this book has not helped me decipher who my Authentic Self is, but it has reminded me that I am the only person who can make myself happy. Nice reminder to stop searching for my reflection in the faces of others. It's so awfully cheesy but: I want to be my own beloved.
"The beloved is one who nurtures you, trusts you, supports you, encourages you, loves you without conditions."
- Iyanla Vanzant
I found so many beautiful quotes from this book.
Plenty of reviewers say Breathnach is bitter. I noted the bitterness myself once and laughed, because I have been there. It comes from letting others decide your boundaries for you. Make decisions for you. Reading this book has not helped me decipher who my Authentic Self is, but it has reminded me that I am the only person who can make myself happy. Nice reminder to stop searching for my reflection in the faces of others. It's so awfully cheesy but: I want to be my own beloved.
"The beloved is one who nurtures you, trusts you, supports you, encourages you, loves you without conditions."
- Iyanla Vanzant
November 12, 2013
Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self is a great read for looking at life through a different lens. Clearly targeted towards women who currently feel like "is this really it?" in respect to their lives, their relationships, themselves, Sarah Ban Breathnach provides us with the tools and insights to really dig and rediscover our inner goddess, our inner truths. She reminds us that the power lies within, both to change our physical realities but also to know that happiness happens from the inside out.
Quick and easy, she chronicles all of life's major moments and talks us through the twisted path of self-discovery and realization, one where two steps back, one step forward is, really, life's most beautiful and treasured gift.
Quick and easy, she chronicles all of life's major moments and talks us through the twisted path of self-discovery and realization, one where two steps back, one step forward is, really, life's most beautiful and treasured gift.
April 13, 2008
I had been married for 23 years... and my life was falling apart. I was spending most of my days (and nights) in tears - I was facing difficult decisions and this book was pivotal for my own self acceptance, awaking my understanding that I truly deserved more. I read the hardcover and had it on audio (cassette tapes, thats how long ago it was!)... and I knew the book by heart. My copy still opens to the tear stained page - 144, "The Souls Duty"
March 19, 2009
OK - Well, funny how your needs for books change as life circumstances change! Being as I'm currently in the process of being single - this book now has much more meaning then it did previously! I actually needed some and most of her thoughts on self and starting over.
This was written after her divorce. I didn't enjoy it as much. It seemed like it was more for her then me. Not being divorced and all.
This was written after her divorce. I didn't enjoy it as much. It seemed like it was more for her then me. Not being divorced and all.
June 30, 2009
I love this woman/author. I loved going each day of the year with Simple Abundance and writing in a gratitude journal everyday of 2007. I asked to borrow that book again for 2009 and she couldn't find it but gave me this instead- I feel so blessed to have books like this in existence.
She leads the reader through an archeological dig to find the true self or soul. The activities seem like eye openers and I can't wait to get my hands dirty and try them out.
She leads the reader through an archeological dig to find the true self or soul. The activities seem like eye openers and I can't wait to get my hands dirty and try them out.
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