This powerful book is part autobiographical and part self-help. The author’s writing is rooted in her own healing from horrific trauma as described in the Introduction. It represents the classic “wounded healer” phenomenon and speaks to the strength of the human spirit to overcome adversity and then to use the wisdom gained in service to others.
The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 lays the foundation for healing by describing the value of breathwork. Part 2, which I found most helpful, delves into seven principles that constitute the framework for healing from within. These latter chapters are illustrated by case studies from the author’s counseling practice as well as practical exercises to experience one’s inner resources. I found the chapter on Joy particularly useful.
I read through this book for the purposes of this review and am now in the process of exploring each of the seven principles in depth. This is a keeper – a book worth taking the time to utilize its practices not just once but as a guide to return to as needed.
My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This review will be posted on Amazon upon publication.
i started and finished this book over the last couple days and very early on, it felt like something special.
there are so many “self help / wellness / healing / etc” books out there nowadays, and most of them are full of filler, replicate hollow scripts, skew towards ego/posturing, or live too much in the head; and lately, i’m almost totally turned off by the genre. this book was different.
this book sings with with mastery. most potently in the purity of millana’s transmission, which is easily half of the magic. having unfolded considerably in a way that is hard to describe over the last few years, it was comforting to find a familiarity with how we’ve both come to understand reality. i was struck by the powerful simplicity and sincerity of her language coupled with her humble clarity of insight around the ineffable. no easy feat. it is the type of book that is accessible enough to meet many people, but also carries layers of meaning that will uniquely meet the reader at their level of consciousness. most cannot do this— it is a gift. eckhart tolle’s “a new earth” is famously one such example. for me personally, she brought expanded understandings and nuance to familiar concepts more than once. i was activated, moved. once again, a gift.
it’s hard to fully explain what this book is, but in a way: it is an essentialized manual/philosophy for living that is not really a manual at all (once you internalize the essence of the message). millana has done people a huge service by making the types of insights seekers spend a lifetime searching for profoundly simple and approachable. from experience, it really is as easy and simple as it sounds; but to benefit, you’ll need to be radically open to such a reality existing while also being ready to do the work it requires to let the easy thing be easy.