Madly in Love with ME: The Daring Adventure of Becoming Your Own Best Friend

by Christine Arylo

Most of us know that loving ourselves would be a good idea, but we have no clue what that really means. Self-love feels too vast, too esoteric, and frankly like something you should keep under wraps.

This breakthrough book on self-love changes all that by taking you beyond the idea of loving, valuing, and caring for yourself into daring acts that will help you experience it. Christine Arylo provides practical, fun ways to explore and embody the ten branches of self-love every day and in every part of your life. Reading this book is like receiving permission to treat yourself as a best friend would. Imagine having the power

* Give to yourself first, without guilt
* Shower yourself with loving words instead of criticism and comparison
* Go for your dreams with conviction and courage
* Choose the situations and relationships that make you happiest
* Discover and explore your deepest thoughts and desires — and act on them

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Relationships, Mental Health

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2012

About the author

Christine Arylo is a transformational teacher, speaker and best-selling author. After earning her MBA and climbing the corporate ladder, she chose to devote her life to creating a new reality for women and girls, one based on self-love and true feminine power instead of the relentless pursuit of having to do, be and have it all.

She is the author of two best-selling books, Choosing ME before WE and Madly in Love With Me, The Daring Adventure to Becoming Your Own Best Friend, and the co-founder of Inner Mean Girl Reform School, which has helped over 23,000 women transform their inner critics. She is also the founder of the international Day of Self-Love, February 13th. She is affectionately known as ‘The Queen of Self-Love.’

Christine has been featured on CBS, ABC, FOX, E!, the Huffington Post, and on radio shows and stages around the world, including TEDx. She normally lives in Northern California with her partner, Noah, but recently they sold their house to live their dream of living, working and speaking and teaching from anywhere in the world.

To find out more about Christine go to www.ChristineArylo.com and www.ChooseSelfLove.com

Reviews

[Catrina Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Awesome

This was a great book! I feel inspired and open to new things. I really had not given self-love much thought, but after reading the book and doing the activities, I saw myself grow. GreAt read!

[Anna Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m so torn over rating this book. On the one hand I think it’s a load of hippy sprouting nonsense riding on the coat-tails of the excellent “Me Before We”. But that sounds so harsh and to be fair, although that’s my experience of it, I can see that there are woman out there who could get something out of this.

This is not ‘Me before We’ and I don’t even find it insightful or helpful in any way. It’s full of ideas on how to get comfortable with your own self-esteem but the examples offered (like drawing over your body in red lip liner with affirming statements) read too much like a bad teen magazine.

However, if you have self-esteem issues or the ideas and concepts surrounding self-esteem are genuinely new ideas to you, this book might help you. It might also be good for teenagers or women who are struggling with self-esteem and identity issues by providing an easy read and easy activity list of ways to think about and open conversations about identity and self.

If you are reading this book and haven't read "Me before We' ditch this one and go straight to 'Me before We' because frankly, if you read and engage with 'Me before We', you'll have all the stuff covered in this book sorted out anyway, this book really feels like a companion read for these needing extra groundwork.

[S. Wigget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't finish reading this, but... I realized that I've reached a stage where I don't need to read it. Besides, books specifically addressing empaths are a higher priority.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5* (I use my 5* sparingly but this one is close, a definite reread)

This book is for you if you treat your best friend better than you treat yourself.

The title resonated with me because for once your love for self was not being perpetually compared to romantic love instead it was the love between a best friend and yourself. I have often wondered why it is that I can be supportive of my friends short comings and quick with encouragement when she needs it but as soon as it is myself who needs it everything changes.

It should be noted that I also have problems with anxiety and have been dealing with it for as long as I can remember, although it is better than it was a couple of years ago, I really think this could help other people dealing with mild anxiety, especially the chapters 5,7,8,9 and 10.

She also goes through the different branches of self love and how they all work together to make a beautiful healthy tree of a better you.

I feel like I highlighted the entire book, there were so many relatable quotes and scenarios in this book.

I've had the most fun with the daring acts of love where you have to put everything in to practice within each chapter.

All in all great read if you feel like you're not your own best friend.

[Marika · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked about the book is the practical approach. There are many exercises in it you can try and if they're not fitting you can adapt them to you. But a lot in this book is over the top and some exercises are just ridiculous. Obviously one can do the exerciseses she wants to, but still sometimes i was a little annoyed by the writing style and the easy solutions the book trys to provide.
In the end this book might be a beginning for your selflove journey, but you still have to find your own way after all.

[Natalie K. Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of this book. I'm a big believer that we should all love ourselves as we do others, but this wasn't for me. Maybe I've already gone a bit too far down that path but I found this to be quite gimicky and a bit wishy-washy, particularly the dares and love baths etc.

Great premise, just not for me.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its great information to have, but tends to be repetitive. It took me far too long to finish. I almost gave up a few times

[Dina Guardado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another Awesome! book from Christine Arylo.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it halfway through the second chapter and just couldn’t go on. Here are some gems from the mind of the author:

“You should know that self-love, while yummy, fulfilling, and healing, is by nature a daring adventure...”

Yummy? Who the heck over the age of five uses that word in a serious context? Reading this made it difficult to take the rest of the book seriously, but I ventured onward.

“...there are lots of ways to create pleasure for ourselves that have nothing to do with sex — long walks in nature, ice cream, spending all day in bed reading a good book, yummy food, cashmere everything, shoe shopping, and anything that makes you laugh.”

And with that, Ms. Arylo alienates the entire segment of the population that isn’t into stereotypically “girly” pastimes. Not every woman lives for shoe shopping or ice cream. And there’s that g.d. “y” word again. 🤢

“To complete this Love Bath, you need to look in one more set of places — your private places. No, not your private parts — lol! Your private places.”

This entire sentence insulted my intelligence and made my eyes bleed. Plus, really, Ms Arylo? You used “lol” to punctuate a sentence? Clearly this is written as a Seventeen Magazine special interest publication, because no one I know, particularly no one over the age of 12, talks like that. Unless they’re being ironic. I don’t think Ms. Arylo knows how to be ironic.

And that was as far as I got. The entire first couple chapters of the book came off as banal and immature. I can only assume that the rest of the book is at a similar level.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Easy and fun read. I tried many of the exercises she suggests and I could really feel a difference. My confidence is stronger and I definitely love myself a lot more now than I did before reading this book. I loved the tree analogy. It helped me to see the areas of my life that need improvement.

[Alejandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was stoked to read this book, but to be honest it was meh. I lost interest early on because the author just seems to over explain whatever point she tried to get across. By the time I got to part two I was reading only the first sentence to each paragraph and even that didn’t help me finish the book quickly...I was still dreading the next page each time.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the principles of this book and think every woman should take a hard look at their definition of self love and be more cognizant of how they’re taking care of themselves spiritually, physically and mentally. However, the practice methods and activities were not for me so I ended up flipping through those parts.

[Nikita · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Some of the advice was good, but it just seemed way to long with to many activities that were pretty hippy-dippy and that most people won't actually do. I did discover some areas I need improvement, and it definitely made me want to read the "Me before We" book, but not something I would really recommend.

[Vishnu Priya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was all about loving myself in all the ways I could possible think of! I quite enjoyed some of the activities and will always remember to give me all the love I need. What a lovely book and I would recommend it to girls and women who tend to feel they need love, validation or affection from outside, when you have it all within you.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Done, after what seemed like ages, and the deadline for this interlibrary loan book helped me get on with the writing exercises that at times halted my motivation. Thank you, Christine Arylo. Cool name :)

[Kristin McTiernan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for a book club. I would not have chosen it of my own volition, so take my utter disdain with a grain of salt.

[Heather Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although the message is an important one, I did not enjoy the style of writing or a lot of the exercises. I did not finish it as I could not connect with the narrator's voice at all.

[Gloria · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was too dumbed down. It’s heart is in the right place, I think it can help other women, but it wasn’t for me.

[Lacy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me. Way too cheesy

[Tabatha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t learn anything that I haven’t already heard before but this was well written.

[Another · Rating 2 out of 5]

lost interest after a while

[Doan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silly book that wasn't even entertaining.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with good advice, but the 'activities' are not my style. they seem a bit hokey.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really buy into all this but if you do then I guess it would be a good self help book.

[Carlease · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finding it hard to get through this. I'm done.