The Little Book of Awakening: 52 Weekly Selections

by Mark Nepo

Weekly wisdom from the New York Times bestseller, The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo.

The Book of Awakening has become a modern classic, a spiritual guide for living in hard times and good times that speaks to the hearts of hundreds of thousands of readers. Now, this spiritual favorite, chosen as one of Oprah Winfrey's favorite things, is available in a special pocket-sized paperback edition.

The Little Book of Awakening takes some of the very best wisdom from The Book of Awakening and distills it into a set of weekly readings. Each week explores a theme, such as abundance, awareness, blessing, interdependence, presence, opportunity, being heard, being real, and facing our suffering. Award-winning author Mark Nepo writes about spirit and friendship, urging readers to stay vital and in love with life, no matter the hardships. Encompassing many traditions and voices, his words offer insight on pain, wonder, and love.

The Little Book of Awakening is the ideal inspirational gift for any occasion.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Self Help

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Mark Nepo is a poet and spiritual teacher whose work explores inner transformation and the courage to stay open to life. Known for the bestselling The Book of Awakening, he has written more than twenty books and created numerous audio projects that invite readers to reflect, heal, and deepen their relationships. A cancer survivor, he often describes his illness as a turning point that shaped his understanding of presence and vulnerability. After many years teaching literature and poetry, he devoted himself to writing and guiding others through workshops and retreats. His reflections have been featured widely, including on Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday, and he continues to write about living with authenticity and attention.

Reviews

[Jodi Hartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little spiritual book of awakening - 52 passages for 52 weeks in a year. The author has some short story for each week along with questions to ponder, most including mediation and reflection.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book there are 52 little readings that help you get thinking about your life. I spent about 18 months reading it, at moments when I was having trouble relaxing, or concentrating, or just tired but needed a little reading to get ready to sleep. It's good, not great.

[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Nepotism gets the the heart of what we really need to hear. He does so quickly beautifully and with a seemingly effortless simplicity and clarity that brings comfort and strength. Highly, highly recommended.

[David Craighead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

This is a good book for people to have when you need an awakening of your soul. It was an a great read. Mark Nepo is a great writer.

[Bibliophile Bliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this is a short book, I didn't fly through it in a day or two. It's divided into 52 weekly reflections and I found myself reading a few at a time and then taking a break to sit with the thoughts before moving on.

The Little Book of Awakening is a collection of short reflections about life, self-discovery, healing and learning to find meaning in both the good and difficult moments. While some reflections connected with me more than others, quite a few of them made me stop and think. I especially liked how Mark Nepo uses simple stories, nature and everyday situations to talk about things like change, growth, fear and healing.

One thing that really stayed with me was the idea that sometimes we have to leave behind the person we used to be in order to grow. It sounds simple but it made me reflect on a few things in my own life.

What I enjoyed most was that this book never felt like it was trying to tell me how to live. It felt more like someone sharing their thoughts and experiences and letting me take from them what I needed.

Overall, this was a comforting read with a lot of thoughtful reminders tucked into its pages. It's the kind of book I can see myself picking up again whenever I need a little pause or a different perspective on things.

[Jina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for some good nuggets of wisdom... some passages stuck with me more than others.

"Just know, when everything is falling apart, that you are preparing the ground for something ripe that can't yet be seen, but which, in time, will be tasted."

“For often, we need to put dead things to rest, so that new life can grow. And further, the thing put to rest—whether it be a loved one, a dream, or a false way of seeing—becomes the fertilizer for the life about to form. As the well-used thing joins with the earth, the old love fertilizes the new; the broken dream fertilizes the dream yet conceived; the painful way of being that strapped us to the world fertilizes the freer inner stance about to unfold.”

"Only time can put the past in perspective, and only when the past is behind us, and not before us, can we truly be open enough and empty enough to truly feel what is about to happen."

[jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author throws a lot of spitballs at the wall and some of them stick.
Another metaphor: he is like a home run hitter who swings for the fences every time up at the plate. He hits many home runs but also strikes out a lot.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a quaint little book, a very humbling experience. Beautiful. 😘

[Heather Littlejohn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not retain 1 piece of information

[oogwayascends · Rating 3 out of 5]

This edition is quite a small book, but it's filled with wisdom and convenient to carry around.

Quite frequently, this book highlights embracing and loving our unique selves. Tips on how to achieve that via reflection can be useful, which I personally feel that it calms me down. This book uses mostly nature and animals to correlate to the value the author wants to convey.

Can be inspiring but some parts of the expression were a little confusing to me. Generally, the book is still understandable, and I gained quite a number of takeaways

[Elizabeth Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the first few chapters of "The Little Book of Awakening," slow and resisted reading any further. And then a curious thing happened. I remembered my same reaction to the book, "The Power of Now."
AHA! "The Little Book of Awakening," is good for me, and just what I need to read! Even though the short spiritual devotion/thought and meditation exercise is for the week., I read a chapter daily.
During this time, my teen son was at sleep away camp and not happy about it. No teen technology was allowed at camp, but parents could email campers, and emails were handed out daily.
Each morning, after reading a chapter in this book, I was inspired to include a thought or quote from Mark Nepo's book that had touched my soul, along with my own insights into my son's life.
When my son returned from camp, he was less anxious, and happy. He said he enjoyed the emails with (inserts) from Mark's book.
This book is easy to read, but some truths may take time to grasp. Is is meant to be enjoyed by adults, but can easily be adopted by parents to share a quick phrase or message in general for older children/or teens.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the things that caught my eye about this book was its simple physical/mental exercises at the end of each short meditation. The 52 meditations are meant to be done throughout the week and for some that repetition may bear fruit. I read them over 52 days and appreciated Nepo's references to learning from nature, e.g. regarding waves in the sea: wherever I am going is the same as where I am (112). And particularly appropriate in these times: as much as we want to be seen and known, it is the giving of attention that keeps us awake (155).

[Elora Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nepo has some very good thoughts to share in this book. Unfortunately - at least to me - he also has a penchant for questionably related metaphors and/or allegories that make it hard to understand what point he is trying to make.
Not my cup of tea ... but then I've never really been one for the parable approach. If that's your style however, you will probably enjoy this book!

[Rubina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately the book was as inspiring as expected. Could be Nepo's writing style is too poetic for me. Maybe reading the original Little Book of Awakening might provide better inspirational insights.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased the full version of this book.

[Blanche · Rating 4 out of 5]

library book. This is a pocket size gem! I will look into buying this for myself as there are many passages I would like to revisit over and over!

[Div Manickam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great reminder that we have one with the universe and that we can just be.

Thank you for your wisdom and for sharing your story.

[Amy Kirkeide · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet and thoughtful book of daily readings.