Beauty in the Stillness

by Karin Hadadan

For those who yearn to live in the present moment, who seek reflection through heartbreak, comfort during times of loneliness, or guidance while healing, this poetry and essay book explores the transformative power of mindfulness and reflection. Through personal stories and insightful guidance across varying life topics, readers will discover how to connect with their true selves and step into the path of alignment.

Genres: Poetry, Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2023

Reviews

[Grace Eva Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and straight to the point reminders and affirmations to guide living in the present moment.

favorited snippets:
Does it ever occur to you, that you are not the reflection in the mirror but the cheerful sound that comes out of your mouth when you laugh or the way your mind expands when you see more than what is actually there or your energetic leg movements when you're dancing alone in your bedroom and the way you open your heart towards those that you love. Because our laughs, mind, energy, and hearts cannot be felt through a reflection. It can only be felt through energetic exchanges and experiences. (loc. 59)

Become a student of life, study all that is around you, take note of every experience, write pages of what your feelings hold, cross off things you want to do, highlight memories you yearn to keep, immerse yourself in new topics, digest the intricacies of the people around you, befriend the professor that is the universe. There is always something novel out there that will bring you closer to home. (loc. 193)

[Melina B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best poem book I’ve ever read. 🌷

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

“.. be where your feet are..”

[Jenna Tocatlian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely book that helped me find balance, gratitude and joy in everyday. Highly recommend this collection of beautiful poems to anyone looking to find themselves more in the now.

[Meredith Zuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different read for me but thought I needed it, and I did!! Simple reminders to stay present in daily life.

[Ray Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will be transformative to anyone who picks it up. So beautifully written and extremely relatable. EVERYONE should read this book!!!

[Taryn Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

so relatable. beautiful words about the wild journey that is life.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can’t help but compare this to Yung Pueblo who I feel writes in a similar way and about similar topics, for me those seemed to connect more but still tabbed a few of my favorites of this.

[Ava Moran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I didn’t agree with everything, it was beautiful perspective

[Katie Kiernan Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

a friend gave me this book in 2023 with the encouragement to keep growing. Quotes have always brought me peace, an anchor to common humanity.

i pick it up off my shelf and reread some of the quotes, its amazing to see how they apply to life chapters later.

thank you Karin for the beautiful words 🤍

[Alessandra Rabellino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, insightful, beautiful. It’s as if she took many of my inner reflections and put them in an eloquent, thoughtful collection. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys mindful readings

[Madi Dwyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a pleasure to be inside her head with all those lovely thoughts

[Marlin Reijerink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gedichten

[Margaret Silliman · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really gorgeous set of poems & essays for the different highs and lows of life 🫶

[stefiereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karin's writing is so beautiful and easy to understand. She offers insights that is empowering and encouraging for some of the things that many is struggling with - love, heartbreak, healing, growth, purpose, etc.
I read it in one sitting and there are quite a lot of the essay and poetry here that I love. Some are just not for me, but a lot were very relatable to the season and place I am in right now.
But nonetheless, this collection is gentle and beautifully written :)

[George Fredricck · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love most about this book is how relatable it is. It is not meant to make you feel “good” per se, rather to make you feel present and in touch with all aspects of your being at whatever state you are in; powerful, hopeful, sad, lonely, full of love, grateful, confident, among others, all being valid. Today, I could mark certain pages as favourites and tomorrow I can mark others. This is the type of book you can go back to and find your present self.

[Madeleine McCusker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited for this book based off of one poem I had seen previously that I loved. It ended up being ok. I’d say there were about 15% of the total poems that I ended up book marking that I really liked. It was kind disappointing.

[Audrey O’Keefe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and it is now one of my comfort books.
:)

I treated this book more as a journal and annotated every single inch of it, which is honestly how I recommend going about reading it.

[Bella Cutone · Rating 4 out of 5]

book full of poems, some really great reminders in there

[Kimberly Kardas · Rating 4 out of 5]

so so real and beautiful!! I love these poems so much. It’s so cool that she started writing this book when she was 16 up until 25! a perfect read to end the year 🥳

[emma !! · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely book that helps with introspection and romanticizing your life

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beauty in the Stillness was very thoughtful and lovely read.

I terms of diction and technical quality, it was very easy to understand. The kind of book you can finish in a sitting and feel accomplished having done so. I can see it being very appealing if approached in that intention. This had a very similar feeling to Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey, where you're offered a stream of consciousness that mimics our own in syntax and diction. I quite loved her passages that explored stillness: not what it means, but offering it in a very effortless way. Those moments were eloquent and endearing. They were very enjoyable to read, and where I personally felt that 'beauty in the stillness.'

However, philosophically, the collection of ideas are very much centered around having a positive outlook on everything or giving it purpose. It's highly optimistic, and motivational in that way. But in that, sometimes the tone felt a little unrealistic or ignorant to the practicality of our modern problems. Poems titled 'life is meant to be enjoyed at every moment,' didn't resonate with me. Though she explores the purpose of pain and it's importance, she also tends to almost expect... you to view tragedy in a happy light. And though it is purposeful to consider the lessons hardship brings us, it is also okay for it to be.. not okay. To simply grieve without intellectualising the process. The reality of that I felt was not prevailed enough to take a lot of this seriously.

A quote to explore what I mean : )

<"If we simmer too long on negative feelings we endure- depression, anxiety, stress,... these cues show us that our current lifestyles, experiences, and mindsets are not serving or feeding our souls.">

Depression and anxiety are not 'feelings.' The word choice whereby they are 'endured' only brings forth a guilt in the reader by implying it to be a choice: not being able to "feed our souls" better, to fix a chemical imbalance in the brain.
As someone with depression, I certainly didn't feel this to validate me or empower me.

Much of the narrative explored was to do with autonomy over our lives. The "if you manifest better and see the good in it, it is purposeful and you'll grow," kinda feeling. But what about the reality that not everything is within our control? Not everything is an opportunity to grow? It felt very much like stillness was being conceptualised as something that needs to be productive. And the consistent use of second person made it feel like I was being told to see it one way.
I tend to gravitate at towards literature that offers an experience and lets you extract the meaning from it. That's why I loved her poems that depicted this stillness. Those I adored. And though this perspective may be practical in another season of my life- and absolutely be productive for others- I had a hard time connecting with it.

What this book brought forth personally, was perspective on the periods in our lives where we feel behind. It wasn't exactly self-help to me. Perhaps the flaw is in my expectation for it to be! It was easy to understand contextually, but personally I couldn't grasp a lot of the philosophies brought forward on the matter. It made me reflect on the ways that we all may require different mindsets to grow. I am certain this was effective and worked for many people. And wether or not it worked for me, it was still lovely to get to dive into someone's personal methods for success. : )

[Rand Jreisat · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this is not just a book. It feels so close to my heart and understands the language of my soul. It helped me heal and learn to sit by myself which I’ve always found hard to do. Thank you, Karan. Your writing beautifully shows what a great person you are and the light inside you that you pour into the world. God bless you ✨🤍

[Natasha Gudegast · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful soulful masterpiece of work this is, I suggest this to literally anyone and it speaks to such a different place in your soul but gentle and beautiful understandings and reminders. Highly recommend.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully expressed book, it really got me through the most transformative period of my life. It was like a hug for my heart.
I love how Karin expresses her thoughts. It felt like having a friend that understood me
Highly recommend it

[Jennifer Soares · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the affirmations in this one and I tabbed quite a few pages. I just found some of the pages too be repetitive but worded differently at times but I still enjoyed the read. Great affirmations!🤍
3.5 stars

[Alex ☆]

hab das buch in einem zug liegenlassen in der hoffnung, dass jemand anderes mehr damit anfangen kann.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books iv ever read. Definitely up there with think and grow rich and other classics. Material is pure serenity and perfectly articulated.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. Somehow each page is exactly what I need to read . I start and end my day with a page and it always recenters me.

[Devon MacDougall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flew threw this and note tabbed nearly every single page. Highly recommend :~)