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Be Your Own Fairy Tale: Unlock Your Future With Creative Exercises Inspired by Storytelling
In this practical and inspiring book, author Alison Davies shows how to use fairy tales to gain confidence, find romance, and discover your own personal yellow brick road. From Sleeping Beauty, symbol of transformation, to the 'rescuer' Prince Charming, to the scary, shapeshifting wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, the characters in these fabulous stories are embedded deep in our imagination and conjure up feelings that we can all identify with on some level. We can use fairy tales to understand what really makes us tick, to access our primal nature and rediscover the latent power within. They can help us to break bad habits, overcome obstacles and emerge from the chrysalis to make our mark in the world.
Working with fairy tales can be as easy as aligning to a character in a tale and then putting a positive spin on it. Sometimes the simple act of 'making it real', by living out the story in your mind, can change the way you think and behave. Davies offers a whole host of tips and practical exercises for working with the symbols, characters and storylines in fairy tales. These include storyboarding your own fairy tale to boost your creativity, devising a quest to build energy and confidence, identifying your inner hero to help with problem solving and learning how to be your own fairy godmother in order to bring the changes you want into your life!
Working with fairy tales can be as easy as aligning to a character in a tale and then putting a positive spin on it. Sometimes the simple act of 'making it real', by living out the story in your mind, can change the way you think and behave. Davies offers a whole host of tips and practical exercises for working with the symbols, characters and storylines in fairy tales. These include storyboarding your own fairy tale to boost your creativity, devising a quest to build energy and confidence, identifying your inner hero to help with problem solving and learning how to be your own fairy godmother in order to bring the changes you want into your life!
160 pages, Hardcover
First published October 13, 2015
7 people are currently reading
489 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 26, 2016
Copy received through NetGalley.
I LOVE this book. The ideas it presents are so wonderful, so creative, and helpful too. I thoroughly enjoyed the exercises it has to offer, found them quirky and so easy to do. The style of the author is wonderful. She explains well, it's so easy to understand.
The concept of imagination being able to help you in everyday life sounds a bit odd at the beginning, but once you start reading, everything starts making sense.
I LOVE this book. The ideas it presents are so wonderful, so creative, and helpful too. I thoroughly enjoyed the exercises it has to offer, found them quirky and so easy to do. The style of the author is wonderful. She explains well, it's so easy to understand.
The concept of imagination being able to help you in everyday life sounds a bit odd at the beginning, but once you start reading, everything starts making sense.
July 1, 2015
This is an interesting little book and it is a good one to read if you can't make sense of your life, if you keep making the same mistakes or just feel you're stuck in a rut with no way out. Its theme is analysing fairy tales and applying them to your own life to help you understand what is going on and to make changes. It includes visualisation exercises and the use of story boards.
Some people might not realise that fairy tales can help you understand your own life but this book shows how they deal with universal themes and archetypal human characters such as the wicked witch, the gentle giant and the beautiful princess. Beauty and the Beast for example is particularly relevant to modern culture with its focus on youth and beauty. The Little Mermaid shows how if you change yourself to fit what you believe another person wants then you risk losing yourself.
Fairy tales have lasted so long because they have something to people down the ages and they can help us see where we are going wrong and making ourselves unhappy. Even if you are sceptical of the use of fairy tales in unravelling modern problems, try this book. It will take you a couple of hours to read and just might change your life for the better. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.
Some people might not realise that fairy tales can help you understand your own life but this book shows how they deal with universal themes and archetypal human characters such as the wicked witch, the gentle giant and the beautiful princess. Beauty and the Beast for example is particularly relevant to modern culture with its focus on youth and beauty. The Little Mermaid shows how if you change yourself to fit what you believe another person wants then you risk losing yourself.
Fairy tales have lasted so long because they have something to people down the ages and they can help us see where we are going wrong and making ourselves unhappy. Even if you are sceptical of the use of fairy tales in unravelling modern problems, try this book. It will take you a couple of hours to read and just might change your life for the better. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.
March 25, 2017
I really enjoyed this book.
September 22, 2015
I liked the idea behind this book. I am someone that can connect to stories and take away things from stories that i try to apply to my own life to change it to something better or more positive. To the idea that an entire book was based on the idea to showcase known stories -or fairy tales- and give a new prospective on how to apply some of the messages that fairy tales to real life sounded interesting to me.
And all in all this book do that... to some extent at least.
This book -for me personally- had to much interpretation of what fairy tales could mean and what massages they could send and what kind of tricks and tips could be taken away from them. More then half this book is basically re-tellings of fairytale. Which is fine, if you want to learn more about them. But honestly i would have preferred more of an actual idea on how to accomplish changes in your life instead of re-reading all the stories that i already knew.
But if you really love fairytales and love the idea of learning more about them and what meanings they could have, this book is definitely for you!
The tips and tricks to get that "Positive life change" that this book promises is also okay. Sometimes they are pretty good such as "Stretch your comfort zone. Every week do one small thing that makes you feel slightly unnerved..." which i personally found really good. Because if you try to do new things and change something in you life, you can't just jump and do a huge thing that scares you right away. At least i can't. So working towards a bigger scary change, by taking smaller and a not as hugely scary steps towards the actual goal sounds like a fantastic idea to me. And there are quite a few realistic and good ideas like that in the book.
There were also tips that started out good and then ended up a bit... crazy for my taste. Such as the tip for working against your phonbias as for example of a wolf by "learning more about wolves" (which i found pretty good actually since if you do know more about what you are afraid of and earn more about it maybe you learn that it is not really as scary as you thought) and "Howl!". Excuse me? I am surely know going to sit there and howl like a wolf. Because for one that would make me feel like a crazy person and then there is the fact that i don't think that that would help me in any way or form to actually work against a fear. But maybe that is just me.
I also found the idea to "carry a piece of rose quartz... this gently, loving stone will open your heart and allow love to flow freely into your life" a bit stupid. I do not believe that a piece of stone can actually influence my life in that way. But those are personal believes and ideas and maybe there are actually people that would do it and find what they are looking for.
So i do appreciated that the book covered a wider range of ideas and tricks and tips to get where you want to be in life then some other books.
All in all this book is okay.
If you love Fairytales this book is definitely something that you should try and see if you like it.
If you are like me and find that overall Fairytales are okay but are actually looking for a book that might give you an idea how to get a more positive outlook in life or just generally move on from a difficult situation, i don't think this is the right book for you.
And all in all this book do that... to some extent at least.
This book -for me personally- had to much interpretation of what fairy tales could mean and what massages they could send and what kind of tricks and tips could be taken away from them. More then half this book is basically re-tellings of fairytale. Which is fine, if you want to learn more about them. But honestly i would have preferred more of an actual idea on how to accomplish changes in your life instead of re-reading all the stories that i already knew.
But if you really love fairytales and love the idea of learning more about them and what meanings they could have, this book is definitely for you!
The tips and tricks to get that "Positive life change" that this book promises is also okay. Sometimes they are pretty good such as "Stretch your comfort zone. Every week do one small thing that makes you feel slightly unnerved..." which i personally found really good. Because if you try to do new things and change something in you life, you can't just jump and do a huge thing that scares you right away. At least i can't. So working towards a bigger scary change, by taking smaller and a not as hugely scary steps towards the actual goal sounds like a fantastic idea to me. And there are quite a few realistic and good ideas like that in the book.
There were also tips that started out good and then ended up a bit... crazy for my taste. Such as the tip for working against your phonbias as for example of a wolf by "learning more about wolves" (which i found pretty good actually since if you do know more about what you are afraid of and earn more about it maybe you learn that it is not really as scary as you thought) and "Howl!". Excuse me? I am surely know going to sit there and howl like a wolf. Because for one that would make me feel like a crazy person and then there is the fact that i don't think that that would help me in any way or form to actually work against a fear. But maybe that is just me.
I also found the idea to "carry a piece of rose quartz... this gently, loving stone will open your heart and allow love to flow freely into your life" a bit stupid. I do not believe that a piece of stone can actually influence my life in that way. But those are personal believes and ideas and maybe there are actually people that would do it and find what they are looking for.
So i do appreciated that the book covered a wider range of ideas and tricks and tips to get where you want to be in life then some other books.
All in all this book is okay.
If you love Fairytales this book is definitely something that you should try and see if you like it.
If you are like me and find that overall Fairytales are okay but are actually looking for a book that might give you an idea how to get a more positive outlook in life or just generally move on from a difficult situation, i don't think this is the right book for you.
October 16, 2024
No tengo claro que pensaba que era este libro, posiblemente algún tema de superación personal, pero en realidad se volvió algo acerca de cómo escribir.
Publicado originalmente en 2015, te invita a tomar los arquetipos de los cuentos de hadas e intentar narrar tu propia vida con ellos. Una vez que narras un espacio de tu día, te propone hacer el ejercicio de explorar los motivos del lobo (je). Si elegiste poner un lobo, un ogro o algún otra creativa en tu cuento… por qué, cuál es la otra cara de este arquetipo, qué representa.
En si es un libro acerca de escribir. De escribir de tu propia vida y torcer la historia para que, en vez de una mala experiencia, tengas una fábula personal.
Aboga por el poder de las palabras y te invita a que lo uses para beneficio propio.
Publicado originalmente en 2015, te invita a tomar los arquetipos de los cuentos de hadas e intentar narrar tu propia vida con ellos. Una vez que narras un espacio de tu día, te propone hacer el ejercicio de explorar los motivos del lobo (je). Si elegiste poner un lobo, un ogro o algún otra creativa en tu cuento… por qué, cuál es la otra cara de este arquetipo, qué representa.
En si es un libro acerca de escribir. De escribir de tu propia vida y torcer la historia para que, en vez de una mala experiencia, tengas una fábula personal.
Aboga por el poder de las palabras y te invita a que lo uses para beneficio propio.
December 19, 2024
What a physically gorgeous book! It's full of great ideas, too. Unfortunately, I've already read the much heavier books she references here, and I've been writing for years and studied it at degree level. I'm also big on fairy tales and mythology. So there wasn't a single new thing in here, for me, but I still enjoyed it and can see it being a great introduction for people less familiar with these subjects.
I've tried to rate the book objectively, with the above in mind. I knocked a star off because it was a tad superficial and could have gone into more depth, not just about fairy tales but about how to write. I think beginners (who seem to be the target audience) could use quite a bit more guidance than this book gives. Still, it's a lovely thing to have in my collection.
I've tried to rate the book objectively, with the above in mind. I knocked a star off because it was a tad superficial and could have gone into more depth, not just about fairy tales but about how to write. I think beginners (who seem to be the target audience) could use quite a bit more guidance than this book gives. Still, it's a lovely thing to have in my collection.
January 3, 2018
This had some really interesting ideas in it. I actually found myself using the three scenarios idea quite a lot after reading that chapter. I definitely suggest this book to anyone who is obsessed with fairy tales like I am.
June 23, 2022
It was an interesting and enjoyable read. How to re-think your story line and change it into a positive for positive life change.
December 26, 2022
"Always hope for a happy ending."
December 26, 2015
This is a well written book, offering a variety of thoughts on the power of fairy tales as teachers and guides for facing life's challenges and changes. The book includes a series of suggested exercises, intended to help readers apply some of the lessons of the stories. Some of these seemed to me to be too firmly focused on (e.g.) goal setting, rather than inviting creativity and free expression, but I'm sure they will resonate with some. I'm not sure that I agree with all of the author's views on what each story teaches either, but of course there are differing interpretations on most traditional tales. An enjoyable book with a practical focus.
March 13, 2016
If you need a hug, this is a good place to start. A non-fictional book that allows you to see fairy tales in an useful way, each chapter contains tips and tricks to write your own fairy tale or simply see your life in a new, magical way.
Fav quote:
When we re-introduce fairy tales into our life we instantly re-connect. It’s like going home.
Each chapter starts with a picture that make you smile like this:
Fav quote:
When we re-introduce fairy tales into our life we instantly re-connect. It’s like going home.
Each chapter starts with a picture that make you smile like this:
September 24, 2015
I loved the whimsy in this book.
I've never out-grown fairy tales, so I thought this was a really ingenious way to look at your life. I suspect I'm in dream-land, with my head in the clouds (nose in a book even up there), most of the time.
Creative and not overly trite or simplistic. Wroth an open mind, world leaders could learn a lot from this idea.
Advanced Reader's Copy provided through Netgalley.
I've never out-grown fairy tales, so I thought this was a really ingenious way to look at your life. I suspect I'm in dream-land, with my head in the clouds (nose in a book even up there), most of the time.
Creative and not overly trite or simplistic. Wroth an open mind, world leaders could learn a lot from this idea.
Advanced Reader's Copy provided through Netgalley.
October 26, 2015
I won this copy in a Goodreads giveaway so I had no idea what to expect.
This was a nice little read. It was interesting to see how some of the ways that you can approach life are similar to fairy tales that have been told throughout the ages.
Some of the exercises were interesting in that they would teach you to almost visualize the way you wish your path in life to be.
Basically it is similar to The Secret fairy tale style. Visualize it and you make it happen..Happily Ever After.
This was a nice little read. It was interesting to see how some of the ways that you can approach life are similar to fairy tales that have been told throughout the ages.
Some of the exercises were interesting in that they would teach you to almost visualize the way you wish your path in life to be.
Basically it is similar to The Secret fairy tale style. Visualize it and you make it happen..Happily Ever After.
March 10, 2016
I received this book for free from Goodreads for a fair review. It is a really pretty book, like literally. Lots of pretty illustrations and bright colors. Very well made, too. The ideas presented are very creative. It's a short, enjoyable read. It helped me through a journey of self-discovery and I have always been fascinated with fairy tales and folk lore. This is a great way to learn more about how to incorporate creativity into your everyday life.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews