Waiting for Autumn

by Scott Blum

In the tradition of the bestseller Eat, Pray, Love and spiritual classics such as The Alchemist, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, and The Celestine Prophecy, Waiting for Autumn is an enchanting semiautobiographical parable that reveals a deep and powerful message. This book follows Scott, an inquisitive seeker who meets a mysterious cardboard-sign-t...

Genres: Fiction, Spirituality, Metaphysics, Novels

180 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2009

Reviews

[Tonkica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Svatko ima svoj put. Super je kada se otvorimo prema njemu pa nam pri ruci budu oni koji znaju vise od nas. Treba "samo" vjerovati!

[Lura Landon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was a great uplifting story. But after a few days of thinking about it, I started getting jealous of the main character. I want to know why spiritual guides just seem to walk up to him and offer him free advice and help, whenever he needs it. I know its just a story, but I'd like to know if there really are people out there looking for people to guide...for free??? All I see are ads in the Stranger and Seattle Weekly advertising services....no one walking up to me or anyone I know offering their "wake up call" services to us. We have to fumble through and hope to God we do run into someone/something or a book like this, that will give us some hope. Or we run into a burning bush where God talks to us! Or maybe I've taken the people around me for granted...or maybe they are lying to me about who they really are, keeping their special skills and abilities to themselves...Ugh...I don't know...I liked the book, but it kinda made me mad too. lol!

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forget the exact date I finished this. If you consider yourself a spiritual person, I think you would like this book. I liked it a lot.

[Persephone Abbott · Rating 1 out of 5]

This semi-autobio was painful to read, and not in a good way. My favorite passages:

"I had to stop eating at restaurants completely because I could no longer trust that employees would be in a good mood when they prepared my food." Anyway you look at that sentence boundary problems appear.

"And when they are born, they have to decide if they are ready to deal with the limitations of living here. A few who decide they don't want to be here leave, and that's what is commonly referred to as SIDS." Frankly, there are some more boundary problems here, and strong fences may be raised about this issue.

Now believe me, I understand that human beings may go through problems at some point and seek reaffirmation in welcoming places. This leads, in some cases like this book, to a new version of Genesis and the Garden of Eden. Well if you see the invaders coming, you recognize what you'll lose.

Still what it is about empowerment, and I'm not uncertain that this book describes false empowerment, that overwhelming mix in some circles of Wizard of Oz tactics and 1930's cartoons that is so appealing? Still, this said the best part in the entire book was the description of the Last Supper rendered in cigarette butts as an objet d'art.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absentmindedly picked up this book at a book store to pass the time while waiting for a friend. I couldn't put it down, ended up buying it and finishing it the same day.

For those of you who loved The Alchemist, Celestine Prophecy and the like, this book is for you. A wonderful parable of a man on a journey toward finding enlightenment. Very heart warming and really changed the way I look at life.

[Vicki Jaeger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just couldn't get into it. I get that it's a parable of a religious nature (I *was* a literature major!), but it was waaaaay too esoteric and lofty for me. I stopped at about p.70.

[Genndy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a real mess. Either is this book's author mentally challenged (if he actually believes in everything he wrote and is trying to present to reader as truth), or is he an umbelieveably unscrupulous money-grabbing cheat trying to form a new cult. This is a book about author's ("semi-autobiograpical") spiritual awakening before he become a guru. It involves energies being exchanged naturally as money, demon fighting, spirit encounters, hippie philosophy, hippie meetings, and the main thought that everything is real as long if it is real in your mind, and that you shouldn't really worry or do anything with your life because your destiny will lead you, which is a fucking terrible and damaging point to send to the masses. Do yourself a favour and ignore the existance of this cheap, dishonest, dumbening semi-spiritual trash, and go read some real buddhist and hinduist scriptures if you must.

[Shannon Cruz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I picked up this book because it was short and I'm trying to reach my reading goal.

Honestly, I'm very upset that I had to read this.

I'd give it 0 stars if that was an option. Reading this made me uncomfortable. That's the only way I can describe it.

Whether this novel was a true or not true or story about his "truth," it was so far fetched and almost comical. The whole thing is very cult-like and the author automatically trusts every single person he meets, following their advice. This isn't a novel about spirituality. This is a novel about someone feeling lost and completely taken over by the power of suggestion.

So mad I read this.

[Ryviera Shayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not at all what I expected. In this case I don't consider that a great thing. The story is interesting however you would not find a lot to it unless you believe in reincarnation, which I don't. For those that do, you will probably enjoy this book immensely. For others, there are some good points or thoughts, regardless of your belief system. There ya have it.

[Georgia Glasgow · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good

[Donna Pachota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really an interesting book

I have had this book on my want to read list for awhile. I'm glad I have finally read it and look forward to more by this author

[Jessie White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Forget the negative reviews, come to the book with an open mind. Some will like it some won’t, but I’m glad I didn’t miss out.

[Kimmie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, very spiritual and uplifting.

[keely · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was not for me. the story felt too predictable at times and the words "literally" and "genuinely" were very overused which made the writing style feel poor.

[Fallon Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is certainly and interesting book and not something I would normally read. It is about a spiritual path/healing/mindfulness.

https://authorfallonwilloughby.wordpr...

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn’t tell if this book was intended to be a nice inspirational story or if it is based on actual practices and beliefs that people rely on. I went to dailyom.com, the website the author co-founded, and saw they have horoscopes, online courses, discussions, book suggestions, music suggestions, and methods of meditation, but no mention of a specific religion. I had never heard of some of the practices in this book and am curious as to their origin and use. Maybe the book was supposed to be metaphorical? Anyway, on to the book and how my beliefs are similar or different.

On page 137 Robert is telling Scott, the main character, that every human has both a light and a dark side. The implication is made that if we wouldn’t subvert our dark side then many tragedies would be averted. This logic seems backward to me. I am all for recognizing you have something in you that isn’t good, but trying to embrace it? Most religions state that part of the purpose of this life is to progressively learn to be better, more perfect; replacing the bad with good, not allowing the bad to flourish.

On page 140 Robert visits Martika. On the wall of her house is a prominent ‘painting’ made out of cigarettes. She says “this piece repulses me so much that I just had to have it. And I promised myself I would hang it in a prominent place until I am able to accept it completely and fully.” I received this idea both positively and negatively. On the positive side I like the implication that we should respect others as people. On the other hand, what is wrong with having an opinion about something? Why should I feel bad if I don’t like something aesthetically? Also, on a deeper note, I don’t like how the world is all into relativism and tolerating everyone’s actions and choices. I still believe in morality. The idea that there are universal, eternal truths that describe a code of conduct we should live by. I still believe that you can label actions ‘wrong’ or ‘right’.

Truth bumps (pg. 143 “they happen when the connection to your spirit is stronger than the connection to your body.”), conscious cooking (pg. 148 “I tried to eat in a restaurant and couldn’t, because it felt like I was eating someone else’s anger.”), constellations, soul retrieval, spirit animals (pg. 166 “You have much change to experience in this lifetime, and the ravens will help keep you on track. They act like signposts to indicate you’re on the right path.”), and thread tying two people together (pg. 198 “Scott, you are now the thread that ties Donald and me together. Whether you stay on this earthly plane or continue on your journey, you are now the connection that keeps us linked.”) are interesting symbols of ideas. What I mean by that is I agree with the meaning of or the purpose of the symbol, but not the symbol itself. For example, while I believe it is possible for your spirit to be stronger than your body, I don’t believe that goose bumps rightly reflect that state. Another example: I believe it is possible to ‘tie’ two people together for the duration of eternity, but I don’t believe that string and having someone else be the ‘holder’ of said string will bring about the ‘tie’.

The Spirit Plane was a fascinating place. I do not believe we turn into blobs of energy (pg. 167) and I do not believe we necessarily go back to the place we were before (Scott met his future daughter there – in my belief system people who have yet to come to earth are in a different place than the people who have already lived and died). What I do like described in the spirit plane was this concept: “I retrained myself to be fully present, and once I did, I began to have some of the most profound conversations I’d ever had…I had been missing out on the majority of what was going on around me by constantly “multitasking” my focus away from what was truly happening” (pg. 172). I really think that a lot of people don’t get this concept very well. I am included in that category a lot of the time too. It is a hard thing to put away all the distractions: movies, books, tv, music, cell phones, games, etc… and focus on the people in your life.

When I first read about this book someone made the comparison to “The Secret”. What an unfortunate comparison because I loathe The Secret. I started reading it because it was for book club, and after the whole scene where Robert ‘manifested’ the orange, there was no similarity between Waiting for Autumn and The Secret. Waiting for Autumn is much much better and delves into concepts of a much deeper nature than just merely common sense.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you very much to the person who spilled coffee on this library book. I had picked it off the shelf while shelf checking at work, noticed the coffee stain and was about to withdraw it when the title caught my eye. I decided to read it before I withdrew it and checked it out. I don't know what it was that drew me to the title of this book but for whatever reason, I turned over and saw the author of the Celestine Prophecy had written about it and the publisher had put it on the back cover. Not wanting to spoil anything I didn't read what he had written, it was enough to see the title and The Celestine Prophecy. I could have withdrawn the book and paid for it but felt I wanted to read it before I decided on clogging up my bookshelves with yet another tome.

I will be buying the book when I take it back to work to withdraw it (one of the perks of the job!) I think now the book found its way to me because it was exactly what I needed to read at this stage in my life. I think every time my head starts to worry about where I am and where I am going, I will re-read this book so I can calm down and be happy with where I am at the moment.

If you enjoyed The Celestine Prophecy, you will love this book of a man's journey in search of his life path.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book much more than I eventually did and that may be due, in part, to my outsized expectations. I'd hoped that reading about the author's spiritual journey would help me understand my own a little better, but too often I found myself getting frustrated at his writing style and in some places it overshadowed the many interesting aspects of his transformation.

If you're able to focus more on the building blocks of the author's awakening and ignore the pacing, dialogue, and exposition irregularities, you'll see glimmers of a great story. In the hands of a more skillful editor or perhaps a ghost writer, this could have been great.

[Jeanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I must admit that I bought this book based on the reviews that I had read.... but I was very disappointed with the author. Although I enjoyed the beginning of the book.. . the author attempts to roll in too many concepts, in a short period of time, with just a superficial exploration of each. If you are looking for "non-religious" spiritual insights - I would recommend the Celestine Prophecy over this book.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those "inspirational, written like a true story" books, where the events are probably mostly made up, but the author is trying to convey a message. It worked for me. I'm not saying I buy into all the "out there" stuff he presents, but it's an uplifting story, and it made me feel good.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course I would read the middle book of this trilogy first. Actually you could read them out of order and still have an idea what's going on. I really enjoyed this book. It made me want to visit Oregon and I love the way it is connected to nature. Not your usual metaphysical novel. Thought-provoking and captivating. Interesting vision of the afterlife/prelife also.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the kind of book that left me not knowing exactly what I thought of it. It was either terrific or it was just ok. I think I need to think about it awhile before I can give in an honest review.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first 3 chapters free from Hay House and I am HOOKED! At first, it reminded me of Ishmael because it is also about a teacher searching for a student where the student is completely unaware of how lost he really is. But this book already has delightful spiritual surprises!

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I'd read a review about, which made me think it was worth checking out. This is a story about a man who found spiritual inspiration, insights, & wisdom about life in the most unlikely of places - through a homeless man he meets on the street. A very poignant story....

[Ricky Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Waiting for Autumn" is a charming story about a man searching for his life's path and for healing after a tragic accident kills his fiance. Those who enjoyed "Peaceful Warrior" and "The Celestine Prophecy" will love this one.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, really an interesting read. I am not a parent, but got a good perspective of some expecting one's. If you are a parent or a person who is just interested in Soul contracts; READ this book. It's an excellent read and a page turner.

[Joe Schonewolf jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see people claiming this book "goes against my beliefs." Honestly, who cares? This book is a very real experience, and it was a delightful metaphor to how we want to feel in our lives. Awesome story, and an easy read.

[Maureen Milliken · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good. A bit sappy and cliche at times. I liked some of the New Age concepts in the story especially the bit about dragonflies being fairies and about drawing in the energy of the moon.

[Minal Arora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's a great read and though at times I felt the author could do with lesser words, the essence of the book is quite profound and it came to me at a time when it helped me realise myself deeper!

[Inharmonydesign · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!