The Gift of a Year: How to Achieve Most Meaningful Satisfying Pleasurable Year of Your Life

by Mira Kirshenbaum

In this one-of-a-kind book, author and therapist Kirshenbaum shows women how to take their dreams off the back burner and make them a vital part of their lives. The Gift of a Year offers checklists, quizzes, and empowering stories as it helps busy women make their fantasies a reality.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me forever to finally read this all the way through, not because its not a most excellent book, but because planning to do things you really really want for yourself is DAMN SCARY. Every excuse in the the world will surface, every obstacle will arise to the test, and it is always a RISK. What if it doesnt work out, or youre disappointed, or you fail....gah but what IF you manage to pull it off? Oh, even more terrifying. Dear god what if you discover you actually COULD be HAPPY?? wave a hankie at me as i hyperventalate. SO. If you read this book, you know what the scariest thing of all is? Finding out its all possible and you could do it and AND you might even like it... so read it. I dare ya.

[Debbie]

I bought this book back in 2000, I really didn't get much into it though, I guess I wasn't ready for "my year" yet.

I started reading in it again in 2007, 2008, now in 2009, I'm reading it alot and ready to put it into practice. My birthday was September 18, and I'm giving myself a year to take care of me.

That is what the book is about. It's about finding time and telling yourself that for the next year you are going to accomplish something with that time. It could be one a week for one year, to every day of the year. But you will see that you can do something and find the time to do it if you really put your mind to it.

It could be something as simple as resting for one hour a day, to writing for one hour a day, to walking more, to just learning to say No more often.

I hope this works for me, because it is time for Debbie now!!!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een interessante gedachte: jezelf een jaar lang als topprioriteit stellen door één ding te kiezen waarop je je focust. Dat ene ding kan iets zijn dat je al heel je leven wil doen bijvoorbeeld een wereldreis, maar het kan even goed iets banaals zijn zoals iedere dag een halfuurtje in een boek lezen. Je kiest een ding en dat is je ding voor het jaar. Zo maak je tijd voor jezelf in deze drukke tijden, want tijd voor jezelf, dat is niet altijd even evident.

De gedachte is interessant, het boek zelf had met gemak maar de helft zo dik kunnen zijn. De laatste hoofdstukken was nogal veel herhaling.

[Renate Eveline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this book about ten years ago and have read it more than once since then. Aimed at women whose lives got so crowded with obligations that they are exhausted or seem to have put part of themselves on the backburner. Very useful and recommended. The only thing I don't like is the tone of Kirshenbaum, who seems to think it is necessary to write like she is a BFF talking to you over tea and cupcakes.

[Jennifer L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to make this "The Year of Me" and this gave me a good basis to get started, and I've been acomplishing what I've set out to do! Defiantely recommend!

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was inspiring! I loved chapter 4!! Chapter 17 is a must read!! I also loved how she talked about having you in your life and that sometimes we get so busy with our lives and get so much stuff that we loose our true self and we no longer have a life. Some of my favorites from this book: -Sometimes simply doing nothing is the one thing your mind and body crave most. -You can work so hard you forget to have a life, and who you really are gets lost in the shuffle. -I think at the end we’re all called to account for what we did for others. But we’re also called to account for what we did for ourselves. Give yourself some time when you come first. -When you make yourself a top priority in your life, you prove to yourself that you’re free, not trapped. You prove that you own your life, instead of feeling that everyone else’s claims on you come first. -Running this race didn’t make her happy. On the contrary, the whole thing was just exhausting and confusing. We all have parts of our lives that we hoped would give us wings that for the moment have turned into something exhausting and confusing. -Imagine yourself a little old lady heading off toward Retirement Village, and on your way you think back on your life, smack yourself on the forehead, and say, “Damn! I forgot to be happy.” This kind of thing happens more often than you’d think. Happiness is a priority, but there are two other priorities we put first: survival and success -I’d never been able to say no to anyone before because I’d never been able to say yes to myself. -How can you be selfish if you are being true to yourself? -We can’t play out the stories of our lives according to the script other people have for us. Love can turn to hate when the bonds of love turn into chains. -for once you walk to come first in your own life. - You can’t say yes to yourself until you say no to the people who won’t let you have a self. - Anything is possible once you take the time to give yourself what you need.

You have plenty of time to show who you are, but why bother until you know you’re showing who you are to the right person?

Sometimes we try new things to learn more about what life has to offer. But sometimes we try new things to learn more about what we have to offer.

[Coppertop · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read book for any woman who is stressed, busy, and burnt out on life. This books gave a new perspective to life and directly calls you out on limiting beliefs society imposes upon women.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good self-help book. The author proposes that you take a year to do something you've always wanted to do or always needed to do to make yourself happy. It's a pretty simple idea and the author offers tips on figuring out what you want/need to do, how to pay for it, how to find the time to do it and how to get your family/boss to support you or work around them if they don't. Many of the examples in her book are from patients she has counseled over the years and the ideas the women had were as simple as devoting a year to reading books every day to leaving your family, quitting your job and going to Africa for a year. Good book and ideas worth thinking about.

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a book by this author awhile ago and liked her style, so I decided to pick up some others by her. This is written in her same practical style, full of specific and doable things to create this “gift of a year.” Which is really just about woman making time for themselves and reconnecting with their sense of self. An intersting premise and I can see how it would be helpful to women who feel they’ve lost a piece of themselves but it didn’t really apply to me.

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gift of a year refers to women taking a year to pursue something that would make a marked difference in their lives. What that would be - from taking the time to enjoy a bubble bath each evening to taking a year to live in Africa - is dependent on each person's passions and circumstances. Full of practical advice and cheerleading, this is a fun springboard for dreams.

[Leanne Pavel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers practical advice for women who want to make changes in their lives. It goes over the planning, the support, and the obstacles women may face when trying to achieve their goals. Whether relaxing more or visiting Paris, this book will help you make your dreams come true.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, so good. This book has provided much food for thought. I'm already doing some of the things that the women in the book have done, and hoping to do more.

[Laura Bolling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like the book could have been half in size and we would have gotten the point. But the idea of it is awesome...

[Cami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found myself fighting against the writing style. It felt very bossy, condescending, and know-it-all-ish. But I love the ideas in the book, and the big picture.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me during my quest. I have already highly recommended it even while first reading it. This and several other change tools have been very powerful.

[Linda G · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like it as much as the first time I tried to read this book. At least I finished it this time!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book!