It Takes Only One

by M.J. Harden

It Takes Only One is an allegorical tale of a young spirit, a baby with no name, no gender, no obvious race, no particular nationality—just humanity—a literary “Everyman” on a hero’s journey into self knowledge. Our Baby Blue is a clear and empty slate who meets characters beloved the world over who teach Baby that “It Takes Only One” to do the job you are born to do.

Legendary and mythological characters who share their wisdom include redwood trees, Scottish witches, moon goddesses, elephants, Quan Yin, Alice and the Wonderland characters, the Greek Oracle at Delphi, the Arthurian legend Fisher King and more.

This adventure into truth and wisdom becomes an odyssey of discovery: how to save the world (and yourself) as only you can.

134 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2016

About the author

After traveling the globe for years, mj settled on Maui where she wrote a Maui travel guide that won Hawaii’s “Best New Guidebook” award. She also published a feature magazine for Maui residents and created an art magazine for Maui's arts 'n cultural center, and she wrote a monthly magazine for Maui's hospital.

Her book of interviews with culturally important Hawaiian elders, “Voices of Wisdom Hawaiian Elders Speak,” won a first-place national IPPY award, and, subsequently, mj was asked to write a documentary on Hawaiian history and culture for the opening of the Smithsonian's new American Indian Museum.

Besides writing, mj owned two eco tour companies: Hike Maui and Rappel Maui; both guide adventurous visitors deep into Maui's wilderness. Nature, writing, literature and animals are her passions.

During the time that mj ran her adventure businesses, her book "It Takes Only One" was percolating and brewing from imagination into reality. Being daily in nature inspired the process.

Click here to learn more about mj and her writing: www.mjhardenbooks.com

Reviews

[Jill Engledow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, quirky little book with some deep thoughts in it. A "blue baby" takes a trip through time and space to learn spiritual truths from a variety of cultures and beliefs--kind of a survey course! I've never read anything quite like this, very original and well-written. The author says she's mostly a nonfiction journalist type, so after each chapter of the baby's adventures, there are very interesting footnotes about ideas and characters the baby encountered. Recommended!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've read in years! This book came into my life at a time when I was working 60-80/hrs week and feeling like I needed an escape. The journey, the characters, and messages in this book brought me to another place and time. It was such a fun book to read. I've already read it twice and I can guarantee I'll be reading it again soon. Highly recommend.

[Filipa de Oliveira · Rating 3 out of 5]

In “It Takes Only One”, written by MJ Harden, we follow Blue Baby in an adventure around the world, meeting several well-known characters, each with a small piece of wisdom to offer. Blue Baby is an “Everyman”, a character with which any reader can identify with. Blue Baby is an innocent child that does not know who he or she is (Blue Baby has no gender, no name, no nationality) and therefore can be anyone.

I compare “It Takes Only One” to “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Such as the Little Prince, Blue Baby travels and meets several people that always teach him something knew. In a way, it is a coming-of-age story as Blue Baby soon learns that each person has a job in this world and that he alone can make a difference. MJ Harden borrows famous characters from myths and literature such as Pippi Longstocking, Huckleberry Finn and Alice from “Alice in Wonderland” to aid Blue Baby as he/she discovers him/herself which provides a sense of familiarity to the reader.

However, that were also many characters I had never heard off such as Quan Yin, Quetzalcoatl or Hanuman. With “It Takes Only One” I managed to get a glimpse of other cultures and their myths as a footnote was present at the end of each chapter explaining the origin of each character in the previous text. Nevertheless, this meant that I spent most of the chapter completely confused of what was going on and only made sense of things in the end. I thing that this information should somehow be present in the narrative itself as stopping between each chapter to read a few pages of definitions and facts broke the fluidity of the story. This made reading a bit tiresome and often made me put the book down and do something else. Also, when characters such as Alice and Huck were present, the text was written to imitate the literary works from which they were borrowed. This meant that there were various writing styles present in a single book, making it a bit confusing. Additionally, there were so many different characters present that sometimes I felt some of them gave no wisdom at all or just repeated things others had said. It is often heard that less is more and I believe that this book would have benefitted from fewer characters with bigger roles.

Overall, “It Takes Only One” is a collection of stories and myths put together to divulge strong, valuable messages. “For every one there is a reason”, “No cliff is so tall that it cannot be scaled”, “T’is yer life to forge”, “Never ever say you’re small” and “Only you can do your job” are some of the lessons present in this book but the most important one, as the title itself suggests, is that one person can make a big difference. Change always has to start with someone, why not you?

[Maria Menduni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It Takes Only One is a short, but deep, motivational, allegorical tale of self-discovery that ultimately leads to the understanding of something bigger. We're all represented, as humanity, by a neutral spirit that goes through his/our journey and learns with the help of numerous characters whose teachings come together at the very end, which is actually a beginning.

I found that it wasn't the easiest tale to follow for somebody whose first language is not English, but overall I ended up enjoying it a lot. It was honestly so uplifting and filled with wisdom.

I wonder if maybe it would have worked better with notes at the beginning of each chapter instead of discovering everything at the end?

[Karen Puma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved MJ Harden's It Takes Only One. It is a brilliant, creative piece, that is beautifully illustrated. It takes a little blue baby through numerous adventures, which show MJ vast knowledge and expertise. It is so clever and unique, whimical and intellegent

[J.R. Sedivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It Takes Only One is a fascinating short story that will engage your imagination on a number of levels. On the surface it has a fairy tale type feel and draws upon many historical stories and myths in an effective way. This aspect will make the book enjoyable for the casual reader. Below the surface there are symbolic meanings and allusions which will hold the attention of the more in-depth reader. Also, It Takes Only One is broken up into nice bite sized chapters - each chapter has the ability to stand alone as its own story while at the same time contributing to the overall tale. This makes the book easy to read at various times throughout the day if you would like a fun diversion from other activities.

One unique aspect I really appreciated was that at the end of each chapter the author discusses her rationale behind using certain elements within each specific chapter’s plotline. This really helps clarify for some of the more obscure references, while at the same time allowing for the reader to revisit each chapter with a fresh perspective. I found many of the notes to be of great interest which in turn contributed to the overall experience.

It Takes Only One is an enjoyable book for both the casual and spiritual reader alike. The adventurous plot provides a fun diversion while at the same time providing some very insightful spiritual lessons.

[Réal Laplaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

IT TAKES ONLY ONE by M.J. Harden, is a thought-provoking and intensely insightful read. Without spoiling the story, we follow, in an allegorical or symbolic sense, the journey of a young unborn, as they are spirited from one land or place or locale, to another, meeting with sages, animals personified as enlightened ones, witches and oracles, on and on, in a search for the ultimate wisdom about life and existence. It is beautifully written, the prose almost sings to you. One encounters bits and pieces of wonderful wisdom along the way, such lines as: “Never do without daring, never ask without caring. There’s a motto to live by.” “We lock ourselves into our roles and forget who we truly are. Always playing a part, often as very bad actors.” “Our job is to keep it light. Keep it bright. Show the way to those who’re right.” The author provides historical explanations and references, and excellent memos about characters and associations to cultural beliefs, icons and gods. It is a pleasant and easy read, one which leaves you feeling better, more enlightened somehow, and certainly with a sense of wonder about the bigger picture. The thread of the story at the beginning might seem confusing to the reader, but once you grasp onto it, the rest of the read is smooth. Recommended for the reader who savors insightful and thoughtful books.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

The historical ones were my favorites.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written 20 different words of wisdom, historical events (genres, prose type, poems) book. They were all very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great educational movie, animated cartoon, or better yet a mini TV series. A very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Goodreads; Making Connections; Aka Press; Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[251 Things To Do · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational words, riddles, and meaningful lyrics on life. This will get you thinking. One of the best books I have read in awhile.

A series of short fables, that remind me of the ancient traditional indigenous teachings on life. The ones that we seem to have forgotten, especially respect for one self and for all living things.

My favorite was Wounds and Wonders. After each short story, the author provides a series of footnotes that delve deeper into the story, explaining some of the pieces in detail. I loved that.

Blending pop culture, with ancient history, legends, this book brings light on life and will surely light the fire within you.

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book just wasn't my cup of tea. I kept wanting to stop reading it and read something else instead. The only thing I found interesting was the references to many other books like the wonderland characters, Pippi Longstocking, Shakespeare, OZ characters and many other books.

[Julie Failla Earhart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not sure why I’m writing a review, other than I told MJ Hardin. I read her novel, It Takes Only One. It’s too esoteric for me. Thankfully, it’s a short work at 130 pages. However, I did like the author’s footnotes; they were interesting but didn’t offer insight to the story.

This abstruse story centers on a newborn baby. It has no gender, no name, no nationality. It seems that in the first chapter the baby has turned blue (hence the character’s identifier, Baby Blue) from not being able to breath. The parents are terrified. The baby then goes on some sort of journey through what may be heaven. I’m not sure.

There are 20 chapters, an introduction (which didn’t clarify things) and a Last Chapter that were all mercifully short.

It Takes Only One receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.