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The Book of Help: A Memoir in Remedies
The Book of Help traces one woman’s life-long quest for love, connection, and peace of mind. A heartbreakingly vulnerable and tragically funny memoir-in-remedies, Megan Griswold’s narrative spans four decades and six continents –– from the glaciers of Patagonia and the psycho-tropics of Brazil, to academia, the Ivy League, and the study of Eastern medicine.
Megan was born into a family who enthusiastically embraced the offerings of New Age California culture –– at seven she asked Santa for her first mantra and by twelve she was taking weekend workshops on personal growth. But later, when her newly-wedded husband calls in the middle of the night to say he’s landed in jail, Megan must accept that her many certificates, degrees and licenses had not been the finish line she’d once imagined them to be, but instead the preliminary training for what would prove to be the wildest, most growth-insisting journey of her life.
Megan was born into a family who enthusiastically embraced the offerings of New Age California culture –– at seven she asked Santa for her first mantra and by twelve she was taking weekend workshops on personal growth. But later, when her newly-wedded husband calls in the middle of the night to say he’s landed in jail, Megan must accept that her many certificates, degrees and licenses had not been the finish line she’d once imagined them to be, but instead the preliminary training for what would prove to be the wildest, most growth-insisting journey of her life.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2019
803 people are currently reading
4076 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
March 10, 2019
Audiobook, narrated by the author:
Megan Griswold.
Megan is a kick. Her book begins in full swing action... with her zealous, spirited, tireless, energy. She’s a dynamo spitfire.
Once I stopped thinking “is this girl for real?” - I found her nutty book kinda brilliant.
I didn’t know what to make of Megan at first. A friend told me about this book, saying it would make a very fun book club pic. I agree: great data for some meaty and entertaining discussions.
Each chapter focuses on either a new- ‘new-age’ alternative - and/ or personal sharing about her family. Funny stories of her childhood days.
Megan is a self described professional soul searcher.
Ok?/!!! What ‘exactly’ did she mean?
After finishing 103 chapters of
every new-age topic under the sun - breakdowns of remedies she was seeking....
It became VERY CLEAR to me.....(plate over-flowing clear)....
that Megan Griswold ‘was’ a “self-described *professional* soul searcher”....
Ha...PhD - soul searcher-educated!!!
Megan was raised in California- educated in the east.
She sounds like a goofy-airhead adolescent -
but don’t kid yourself - Megan might be a little kooky...but she’s a bright conscientious woman.
She’s a Yale educated goofball who now lives in a Yurt.
I soon warmed to Megan. I couldn’t figure out if she was embarrassing or not. But I like her!!!
She’s funny and vulnerable. Parts are heartbreaking ... other parts are uplifting. One must set-aside how overwhelmingly ridiculous all this sounds. If you can do that - set aside your judgements - there are little diamonds in the rough.
Megan has danced on the wild side of alternative her ‘entire’ life.
Her parents sent her to ’est’... Earhart seminar training at age 12. She took the children’s training with 75 other kids. I know this work -
I knew exactly what Megan was describing during the fear process. If you don’t know what this is....
count your lucky stars!
Megan’s a trained acupuncturist, a trained Doula, shiatsu practitioner, yoga instructor, personal trainer, into wilderness medicine.... etc etc
Oh... and debut author!
I laughed at words Megan heard often in her family while growing up:
One was:
“Withheld Communication”.
Of course I understood. I too did the same work in the 70’s and 80’s. I was a paid staff member for ‘est’.
When Megan’s father fell off a ladder, her mother said, “well, your father had a withheld communication”.
Had he not- he wouldn’t have fallen! 😂🤣😆.
Lots of listening fun in here while folding laundry or cutting veggies.
Megan’s message:
“I’m ok...and you’re ok”.
Her last chapter was cute...
She said, “if you are still listening to this”....( it was impossible not to laugh because I was)....
she said.....
“whatever poem, invention, painting, cartoon, recipe, obsession, novel, or any other special idea you have......
The world is calling you...
so get going…we can’t wait to see it”.
This goofy- charming woman was a breath of fresh air -
Truthful -embarrassing- charming - real -raw- and a darn good storyteller.
Megan Griswold.
Megan is a kick. Her book begins in full swing action... with her zealous, spirited, tireless, energy. She’s a dynamo spitfire.
Once I stopped thinking “is this girl for real?” - I found her nutty book kinda brilliant.
I didn’t know what to make of Megan at first. A friend told me about this book, saying it would make a very fun book club pic. I agree: great data for some meaty and entertaining discussions.
Each chapter focuses on either a new- ‘new-age’ alternative - and/ or personal sharing about her family. Funny stories of her childhood days.
Megan is a self described professional soul searcher.
Ok?/!!! What ‘exactly’ did she mean?
After finishing 103 chapters of
every new-age topic under the sun - breakdowns of remedies she was seeking....
It became VERY CLEAR to me.....(plate over-flowing clear)....
that Megan Griswold ‘was’ a “self-described *professional* soul searcher”....
Ha...PhD - soul searcher-educated!!!
Megan was raised in California- educated in the east.
She sounds like a goofy-airhead adolescent -
but don’t kid yourself - Megan might be a little kooky...but she’s a bright conscientious woman.
She’s a Yale educated goofball who now lives in a Yurt.
I soon warmed to Megan. I couldn’t figure out if she was embarrassing or not. But I like her!!!
She’s funny and vulnerable. Parts are heartbreaking ... other parts are uplifting. One must set-aside how overwhelmingly ridiculous all this sounds. If you can do that - set aside your judgements - there are little diamonds in the rough.
Megan has danced on the wild side of alternative her ‘entire’ life.
Her parents sent her to ’est’... Earhart seminar training at age 12. She took the children’s training with 75 other kids. I know this work -
I knew exactly what Megan was describing during the fear process. If you don’t know what this is....
count your lucky stars!
Megan’s a trained acupuncturist, a trained Doula, shiatsu practitioner, yoga instructor, personal trainer, into wilderness medicine.... etc etc
Oh... and debut author!
I laughed at words Megan heard often in her family while growing up:
One was:
“Withheld Communication”.
Of course I understood. I too did the same work in the 70’s and 80’s. I was a paid staff member for ‘est’.
When Megan’s father fell off a ladder, her mother said, “well, your father had a withheld communication”.
Had he not- he wouldn’t have fallen! 😂🤣😆.
Lots of listening fun in here while folding laundry or cutting veggies.
Megan’s message:
“I’m ok...and you’re ok”.
Her last chapter was cute...
She said, “if you are still listening to this”....( it was impossible not to laugh because I was)....
she said.....
“whatever poem, invention, painting, cartoon, recipe, obsession, novel, or any other special idea you have......
The world is calling you...
so get going…we can’t wait to see it”.
This goofy- charming woman was a breath of fresh air -
Truthful -embarrassing- charming - real -raw- and a darn good storyteller.
Read
January 27, 2019Not rating it, since I am not finishing it. Just doesn't hold my interest.
January 18, 2019
The Book of Help: A Memoir in Remedies
I won this book on Goodreads and it’s certainly a different type of book. Megan grows up with a sort of semi-lapsed Christian Science father. The mother is curious and goes into different sorts of disciplines of enlightenment, shall we say. It’s par for the course for their Southern California New Agey life anyway. Meditation with a personal mantra, and EST Children’s Training, Colors Past-Life Reading, Transactional Analysis. Communication exercises, and more. So Megan is a natural searcher in life too, always looking for a connection. It was a natural part of her life growing up. When she’s married and there’s a major issue it’s the first thing she thinks to reach for. I thought it was interesting to see how she used various disciplines to work out how to handle the big problem that came up in her marriage. Rolfing really sounds a bit ‘out there’ to me and painful. Fascinating stuff though. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by author Megan Griswold, and Goodreads Win.
3.5 Stars of 5 Stars
Also on my BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
I won this book on Goodreads and it’s certainly a different type of book. Megan grows up with a sort of semi-lapsed Christian Science father. The mother is curious and goes into different sorts of disciplines of enlightenment, shall we say. It’s par for the course for their Southern California New Agey life anyway. Meditation with a personal mantra, and EST Children’s Training, Colors Past-Life Reading, Transactional Analysis. Communication exercises, and more. So Megan is a natural searcher in life too, always looking for a connection. It was a natural part of her life growing up. When she’s married and there’s a major issue it’s the first thing she thinks to reach for. I thought it was interesting to see how she used various disciplines to work out how to handle the big problem that came up in her marriage. Rolfing really sounds a bit ‘out there’ to me and painful. Fascinating stuff though. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by author Megan Griswold, and Goodreads Win.
3.5 Stars of 5 Stars
Also on my BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
October 2, 2018
Ok, I have to start off by saying I feel a little guilty for reviewing a memoir. I mean, how can I sit here and critique such a personal story? So I’m not going to give a typical review where I’m making suggestions on what could and should have been included and excluded, but rather I’m going to focus on how it made me feel.
'The Book of Help' by Megan Griswold made me feel less alone. I could relate to Megan’s yo-yo diets of various self-help techniques and the emotional rollercoaster they took her on. I found her story compelling, her honesty heart wrenching, and her perseverance and resilience inspiring. I found myself falling in love with her love stories, crying with her heart breaks, and asking those big spiritual questions when she herself was lacking the answers. My biggest take away from her story was that self-help techniques are never going to answer your questions or even give you the peace that you seek. All of these different methods lock you in the perception that you are not good enough, that you need to be fixed. As Megan herself pondered through all of her trials and tribulations, why can’t we just live with who we are? Perhaps all of us are broken, and all the different experiences we have are ways to initiate the repairs we seek externally when we really should be honouring thy self. Part of the healing process involves understanding what it is we most need and doing everything we can to align our lives with them. So will all of the fancy schmancy new age remedies out there such as meditation, acupuncture, therapy, and herbalism (just to name a few) meet these needs? I’m not so sure, and as Megan concluded, protection, nourishment, and comfort is all any of us really needs and that will look very different for each individual. So go out there, find your happiness, and live your life by your own terms. We can only be responsible for ourselves. We are not here to fix everyone and everything, because what seems broken, is actually falling into place.
'The Book of Help' by Megan Griswold made me feel less alone. I could relate to Megan’s yo-yo diets of various self-help techniques and the emotional rollercoaster they took her on. I found her story compelling, her honesty heart wrenching, and her perseverance and resilience inspiring. I found myself falling in love with her love stories, crying with her heart breaks, and asking those big spiritual questions when she herself was lacking the answers. My biggest take away from her story was that self-help techniques are never going to answer your questions or even give you the peace that you seek. All of these different methods lock you in the perception that you are not good enough, that you need to be fixed. As Megan herself pondered through all of her trials and tribulations, why can’t we just live with who we are? Perhaps all of us are broken, and all the different experiences we have are ways to initiate the repairs we seek externally when we really should be honouring thy self. Part of the healing process involves understanding what it is we most need and doing everything we can to align our lives with them. So will all of the fancy schmancy new age remedies out there such as meditation, acupuncture, therapy, and herbalism (just to name a few) meet these needs? I’m not so sure, and as Megan concluded, protection, nourishment, and comfort is all any of us really needs and that will look very different for each individual. So go out there, find your happiness, and live your life by your own terms. We can only be responsible for ourselves. We are not here to fix everyone and everything, because what seems broken, is actually falling into place.
June 26, 2019
I went back and forth between mildly enjoying and really disliking this book. It was tough to get into, I think mainly because of the format that it's written in. It's divided up into chapters based on what self-help topic the author was into at that time of her life and each chapter begins with a quick assessment of where her life's at at the moment. This includes quick facts such as relationship status, location, cost of the self-help nonsense she's currently into, and humiliation factor of aforementioned nonsense. The book begins in her childhood and those chapters in particular were tough to get into because they were very short and I was still not used to her style of writing. Once you get used to it through, the story itself isn't too bad.
It seems a little cruel but the most interesting part of the book was when she started having issues with her husband due to his infidelity. I personally thought she was a little too focused on the fact that the woman he got caught with was a sex worker (if I remember correctly she called her a paid whore or something of that nature) but if you can get past the anti-sex worker attitude it was interesting watching them try to move past it for years afterwards. I honestly felt for both her and her husband throughout the divorce process because it's clear that they both have such deep issues both within themselves and within their relationship and it caused them both an immense amount of pain.
Unfortunately, the thought that kept entering my mind the entire time I was reading this was, did this story really need to be written? In my mind, memoirs should kind of be reserved for people who have had particularly interesting lives. I don't think obsessively evaluating yourself in every self-help method known to man qualifies as interesting. I think the author could benefit from stepping outside of her own head and thinking about others wants and needs for a while. This may sound a bit harsh but I felt the author came off as incredibly narcissistic which made it kind of tough to focus on the quality of the actual story.
It seems a little cruel but the most interesting part of the book was when she started having issues with her husband due to his infidelity. I personally thought she was a little too focused on the fact that the woman he got caught with was a sex worker (if I remember correctly she called her a paid whore or something of that nature) but if you can get past the anti-sex worker attitude it was interesting watching them try to move past it for years afterwards. I honestly felt for both her and her husband throughout the divorce process because it's clear that they both have such deep issues both within themselves and within their relationship and it caused them both an immense amount of pain.
Unfortunately, the thought that kept entering my mind the entire time I was reading this was, did this story really need to be written? In my mind, memoirs should kind of be reserved for people who have had particularly interesting lives. I don't think obsessively evaluating yourself in every self-help method known to man qualifies as interesting. I think the author could benefit from stepping outside of her own head and thinking about others wants and needs for a while. This may sound a bit harsh but I felt the author came off as incredibly narcissistic which made it kind of tough to focus on the quality of the actual story.
June 13, 2022
I found this superficial and gimmicky, which I so wasn’t expecting from the deep thinker who gifted it to me. It was not without heart, and I admittedly got caught up in the romance as the clearest evidence of the author’s self-growth. But mostly I struggled to get through this. I even tried the audio, but returned it: the author was too hyper for me.
November 30, 2020
0.25 stars because oof. The book of help is right! Someone help this woman get over her narcissism and self-absorption! I guess it wasn’t abjectly horrible, there were a few things I enjoyed and learned from, but mostly I could not get over the privilege of this woman’s life and all the different things she could afford to try... so much time and money! I guess I appreciate not ever needing to try any of these things I mostly had no interest in/can’t afford. Also did not appreciate one single bit the racism coming from a white woman studying Chinese traditional medicine and acupuncture... at one point she wrote that she was “boiling Chinese herbs (aka stinking up the house)” Love when someone has palpable disdain for the culture they are appropriating.
October 21, 2018
This was an unusual book. Just as described in the summary, this book is an autobiography of sorts, told through the different self-improvement classes, seminars and events that the author participated in as a child and through her adulthood.
The most interesting part about it was how much she, and her friends and family, seem only to come to begin to understand themselves and their own behavior in spite of all of these classes that are specifically supposed to lead to such self-knowledge.
In some ways it reminded me a bit of Eat, Pray, Love—with a similar focus on the author changing the outside circumstances of her life in order to change her own internal experiences.
It was a quick read-difficult to put down; I so wanted to hear about the next thing she was going to try. I am not sure which specific type of readers would particularly enjoy this book, but I can definitely say that I did.
I received an advanced reading copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!
The most interesting part about it was how much she, and her friends and family, seem only to come to begin to understand themselves and their own behavior in spite of all of these classes that are specifically supposed to lead to such self-knowledge.
In some ways it reminded me a bit of Eat, Pray, Love—with a similar focus on the author changing the outside circumstances of her life in order to change her own internal experiences.
It was a quick read-difficult to put down; I so wanted to hear about the next thing she was going to try. I am not sure which specific type of readers would particularly enjoy this book, but I can definitely say that I did.
I received an advanced reading copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!
February 28, 2019
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down, but some days I had too. Met her on Monday; saw she was reading; title and description and memoir all called to me. Megan read at Vroman's in Pasadena, last Monday night, and I was enchanted; no matter how much pathos she shared, she wrapped it in a grin and ribbons of cogent wit tied up her package. She is adorable, gutsy, honest to the bone, wondrous, not afraid; plunges into things where others fear too; and she shares. She loves deeply and hard, and is loyal. She is an excellent writer, and she trots down the Trail of Spunk with elan.
Wow. I highly recommend this book. The cover art work is fabulous also. What a generous spirit she has
Wow. I highly recommend this book. The cover art work is fabulous also. What a generous spirit she has
September 20, 2019
I found this book kind of disjointed, and largely depressing. The cover sure is pretty, though!
October 19, 2018
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
'It’s said when doing anything, a nearly alchemical event happens right around the ten- thousand- hour mark- you become an expert of sorts. So I suppose, in an unintentional way, I will declare myself an expert searcher.'
There is no doubt in my mind that Megan Griswold is an expert in searching for remedies of body, mind, soul and heart. This isn’t your usual run of the mill self-help book eater, nor a woman suddenly entering some spiritual awakening. Megan was born to it, with parents who were Christian Scientists who called their practitioners for ‘treatments’, not doctors over their ailments. Her father David was born to the religion, her mother Joyce a ‘newbie’ and believer, attributing curing her ulcerative colitis to Christian Science. Little did they know their daughter would spend her life doing her own searching, spiritual and mental work. Not all things are transcendental, want to be holier than thou, the universe will test you! Test her it does, especially when it comes to her husband. Let’s not jump ahead, but then again she did attend the About Sex seminar at the age of 14, before she had even kissed a boy. Is it so surprising when she falls in love with Tim, her ‘well-meaning, well–mannered puzzle’? Someone she can probe, explore, dissect?
Is Megan stripped physically and emotionally digging through all the muck of her being sometimes? Sure. Does she ingest weird or toxic substances for spiritual practice? Well, do you consider gulping Hoasca risky? It’s tea, okay? Sure, she may purge her insides and as she says ‘imagine what it would be like to completely fall apart’ and there is your glimpse into the tea’s spiritual enlightening. She may be eager to try any religious/spiritual experience on for size but certainly Megan doesn’t ‘dabble’ in therapies, not like so many other people. She doesn’t half-ass anything!
This memoir isn’t all hilarity, in fact there are some very serious family and relationship issues here within. These are not the usual ‘wow my spouse leaves the toilet dispenser empty’ issues either, these are spiritual dilemmas. Her own father can sometimes downright infuriate the reader with his arrogant spiritual blindness. “If I don’t see it, it’s not real.” Oh, if only life were like that… There is a tenderness towards the end of the novel, everything that happens with her mother’s health. I felt myself getting weepy. Yes, Megan therapist shops, and is game for any spiritual practice, training, self-help geared towards evolvement but truly it’s not just about getting to know herself. Somehow she comes away with a better understanding of those she loves. Maybe her search slows, but let’s face it, there will always be room for improvement.
It gets messy, and admittedly embarrassingly ugly but whether methods are tried and true or a complete fraud, she gives it her all and we get to ride her karmic bus as tourists. Add this to your memoir list, out 2019!
Publication Date: January 22, 2019
Crown Publishing
'It’s said when doing anything, a nearly alchemical event happens right around the ten- thousand- hour mark- you become an expert of sorts. So I suppose, in an unintentional way, I will declare myself an expert searcher.'
There is no doubt in my mind that Megan Griswold is an expert in searching for remedies of body, mind, soul and heart. This isn’t your usual run of the mill self-help book eater, nor a woman suddenly entering some spiritual awakening. Megan was born to it, with parents who were Christian Scientists who called their practitioners for ‘treatments’, not doctors over their ailments. Her father David was born to the religion, her mother Joyce a ‘newbie’ and believer, attributing curing her ulcerative colitis to Christian Science. Little did they know their daughter would spend her life doing her own searching, spiritual and mental work. Not all things are transcendental, want to be holier than thou, the universe will test you! Test her it does, especially when it comes to her husband. Let’s not jump ahead, but then again she did attend the About Sex seminar at the age of 14, before she had even kissed a boy. Is it so surprising when she falls in love with Tim, her ‘well-meaning, well–mannered puzzle’? Someone she can probe, explore, dissect?
Is Megan stripped physically and emotionally digging through all the muck of her being sometimes? Sure. Does she ingest weird or toxic substances for spiritual practice? Well, do you consider gulping Hoasca risky? It’s tea, okay? Sure, she may purge her insides and as she says ‘imagine what it would be like to completely fall apart’ and there is your glimpse into the tea’s spiritual enlightening. She may be eager to try any religious/spiritual experience on for size but certainly Megan doesn’t ‘dabble’ in therapies, not like so many other people. She doesn’t half-ass anything!
This memoir isn’t all hilarity, in fact there are some very serious family and relationship issues here within. These are not the usual ‘wow my spouse leaves the toilet dispenser empty’ issues either, these are spiritual dilemmas. Her own father can sometimes downright infuriate the reader with his arrogant spiritual blindness. “If I don’t see it, it’s not real.” Oh, if only life were like that… There is a tenderness towards the end of the novel, everything that happens with her mother’s health. I felt myself getting weepy. Yes, Megan therapist shops, and is game for any spiritual practice, training, self-help geared towards evolvement but truly it’s not just about getting to know herself. Somehow she comes away with a better understanding of those she loves. Maybe her search slows, but let’s face it, there will always be room for improvement.
It gets messy, and admittedly embarrassingly ugly but whether methods are tried and true or a complete fraud, she gives it her all and we get to ride her karmic bus as tourists. Add this to your memoir list, out 2019!
Publication Date: January 22, 2019
Crown Publishing
February 28, 2019
A Fluid Life and an Open, Honest, Hurt Heart
http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/201...
"New Age," Self-Help, traditional, meditation: you name it, she's probably tried it.
A post about a memoir is often, maybe always, going to seem like a judgement on the life described as much as it is about the writing, editing or design of the book. And, so, this one resonated with me — I think most everyone has been betrayed by someone they love, endured difficult familial issues, and/or sought out different ways of understanding themselves will find something relevant here.
It’s also funny with sections of irony so hard-edged and heart-breaking, but told with a sense of rear-view mirror humor that somehow makes it easier to bear. I went through a self-development phase and spent several years contemplating my navel. But, I admired how seriously Megan was in her quest.
In light off what her most difficult situations were, I think the programs pushed her towards acceptance and coping with things over which she had no control. That took time and a lot of thinking.
Megan’s family were instrumental in self-examination born of Christian Science but after leaving the religion. You can take the way Christian Science practitioners on problems in a contemplative way as Megan describes their approach. She talks about overhearing her parents “discussing” things. And how she asked for a mantra when she was a young child. Partly she was motivated by wanting to be with her parents and bask in their attention. Her participation in the many programs and self-development/help books set up an approach to life and its issues. Sometimes she learned something, sometimes it helped, and sometimes it made things worse.
Megan is devoted to family and education as she searches for love and an occupation. She is no slouch and I really admired her serious survival skills. One thing her psycho-spritual quest did was create a fluidity in her living spaces and occupation. She is compassionate and works hard at her life and attitude. And, it affected how she handles hard situations. And, at the end she is not developing or improving, but she has a handle on it and a sense of what matters to her.
And as the narrator she really sells her story. She is funny and vulnerable. All those workshops and expeditions gave her self-confidence and a great sense of humor. I also think she’s self-aware without rolling over other people. This is not a self-help book, it’s a book about one woman’s quest to find meaning in and understand life. I enjoyed it and found Megan’s story relevant.
http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/201...
"New Age," Self-Help, traditional, meditation: you name it, she's probably tried it.
A post about a memoir is often, maybe always, going to seem like a judgement on the life described as much as it is about the writing, editing or design of the book. And, so, this one resonated with me — I think most everyone has been betrayed by someone they love, endured difficult familial issues, and/or sought out different ways of understanding themselves will find something relevant here.
It’s also funny with sections of irony so hard-edged and heart-breaking, but told with a sense of rear-view mirror humor that somehow makes it easier to bear. I went through a self-development phase and spent several years contemplating my navel. But, I admired how seriously Megan was in her quest.
In light off what her most difficult situations were, I think the programs pushed her towards acceptance and coping with things over which she had no control. That took time and a lot of thinking.
Megan’s family were instrumental in self-examination born of Christian Science but after leaving the religion. You can take the way Christian Science practitioners on problems in a contemplative way as Megan describes their approach. She talks about overhearing her parents “discussing” things. And how she asked for a mantra when she was a young child. Partly she was motivated by wanting to be with her parents and bask in their attention. Her participation in the many programs and self-development/help books set up an approach to life and its issues. Sometimes she learned something, sometimes it helped, and sometimes it made things worse.
Megan is devoted to family and education as she searches for love and an occupation. She is no slouch and I really admired her serious survival skills. One thing her psycho-spritual quest did was create a fluidity in her living spaces and occupation. She is compassionate and works hard at her life and attitude. And, it affected how she handles hard situations. And, at the end she is not developing or improving, but she has a handle on it and a sense of what matters to her.
And as the narrator she really sells her story. She is funny and vulnerable. All those workshops and expeditions gave her self-confidence and a great sense of humor. I also think she’s self-aware without rolling over other people. This is not a self-help book, it’s a book about one woman’s quest to find meaning in and understand life. I enjoyed it and found Megan’s story relevant.
Read
August 5, 2020I mostly skimmed this one when I realized after 50 pages the style, voice, and writing were very much not going to connect with me. It wasn't what I thought it would be. I'd hoped for some more actual insight into the practices but there was very little of that. Stalking God: From Laughing Yoga to Burning Man, My Unorthodox Search for Something to Believe In did it better.
August 18, 2019
This was a very interesting memoir. I loved the set-up, how each chapter was a different self-help technique that the author was trying; There were a lot that I had never heard of that were interesting. Megan's family dynamic was interesting and SO different from what I grew up with. I was fascinated. It was funny but also heartfelt and thought provoking. Really enjoyed this. This books will count for my NEWTs 2019 for an O in Herbology (still need to read my E!) for a "book with a flower on the cover".
July 4, 2019
I could not get myself to finish the last 50 pages of the book.
The style of writing captivated me from the beginning. But as I kept reading my interest waned.
What I hoped would be an account of transformation, growth and even awakening turned out to be just a chain of miserable experiences of an ordinary person (Maybe I missed something in those last pages, however, I doubt it).
The ever negative and judgmental recollection of events and people is repulsive.
A quote that pretty much sums up the book and the author pretty well in my opinion:
"And anyway, the only people I know who really live in the now - let alone teach it - are two year olds, a couple of monks and an elder with Alzheimers."
No wonder the author doesn't know such people and, moreover, has such a hostile opinion of them. You attract people of the same frequency, same vibe. Looking down on people who learned to live in the now with jealousy.
Also a word about "spiritual seeking".
The reviews on the back of my copy all mention "the search". For example,
"Not even Buddha was as determined as Griswold to find inner peace.".
No he wasn't. You don't find inner peace. You always have and had it within you and no matter how many useless seminars or readings you attend, you will not "find" said peace in external sources.
2/5 (extra star for getting my hopes up)
The style of writing captivated me from the beginning. But as I kept reading my interest waned.
What I hoped would be an account of transformation, growth and even awakening turned out to be just a chain of miserable experiences of an ordinary person (Maybe I missed something in those last pages, however, I doubt it).
The ever negative and judgmental recollection of events and people is repulsive.
A quote that pretty much sums up the book and the author pretty well in my opinion:
"And anyway, the only people I know who really live in the now - let alone teach it - are two year olds, a couple of monks and an elder with Alzheimers."
No wonder the author doesn't know such people and, moreover, has such a hostile opinion of them. You attract people of the same frequency, same vibe. Looking down on people who learned to live in the now with jealousy.
Also a word about "spiritual seeking".
The reviews on the back of my copy all mention "the search". For example,
"Not even Buddha was as determined as Griswold to find inner peace.".
No he wasn't. You don't find inner peace. You always have and had it within you and no matter how many useless seminars or readings you attend, you will not "find" said peace in external sources.
2/5 (extra star for getting my hopes up)
March 2, 2019
Copying a recommendation for this book I made in a group:
I just devoured Megan Griswold's The Book of Help / a memoir in remedies. It's her story told in short sections, each one relating to the myriad of self-help, self-actualization methods she and her family tried from the 60s on. I generally don't read non-fiction as quickly as I read fiction, but this book just carried me along.
I think it's because I could relate - while my family was not as involved with so many things, my parents were Christian Scientists (as were Griswold's), but quite liberal, e.g. doctors were called on as well as CS practitioners. And I have dabbled in many of the remedies she embraced.
In any case, the seeking of enlightenment and healing doesn't overshadow the memoir, but makes a unique framework for its unfolding.
I just devoured Megan Griswold's The Book of Help / a memoir in remedies. It's her story told in short sections, each one relating to the myriad of self-help, self-actualization methods she and her family tried from the 60s on. I generally don't read non-fiction as quickly as I read fiction, but this book just carried me along.
I think it's because I could relate - while my family was not as involved with so many things, my parents were Christian Scientists (as were Griswold's), but quite liberal, e.g. doctors were called on as well as CS practitioners. And I have dabbled in many of the remedies she embraced.
In any case, the seeking of enlightenment and healing doesn't overshadow the memoir, but makes a unique framework for its unfolding.
June 18, 2024
This book of Help & Remedies had me rolling down laughing and other times pillow crying. It is a true story of a woman (Megan) who tries every self-help thing imaginable to help herself navigate this thing called life. Who doesn't want help? She even writes down everything she ever tried. Out of all of her navigation system, I tried 32 of hers and plenty more of my own. I laughed straight up until Fucking Tim... I'm glad she could find peace with Tim I did not, I think I'm going to buy a voodoo doll and stick pins in his penis about 100 times or more. Make a black magic curse on him for Megan. I don't have to forgive him. I have my reason's.
When it came to Megan and her mother, it struck a cord that hummed in my chest like a violin aching as the strings were being played my heart hurt. It also made me want to trace my daughters face with my fingers so when I'm gone she will know. I loved her. I made that face, I traced every line.
I loved this book and I'm going to buy one for everyone I know who needs to know that no matter what help yourself. Make a list of what works and what doesn't for emergencies. Because believe me everyone is gonna need a little help along the way navigating ourselves and life.
When it came to Megan and her mother, it struck a cord that hummed in my chest like a violin aching as the strings were being played my heart hurt. It also made me want to trace my daughters face with my fingers so when I'm gone she will know. I loved her. I made that face, I traced every line.
I loved this book and I'm going to buy one for everyone I know who needs to know that no matter what help yourself. Make a list of what works and what doesn't for emergencies. Because believe me everyone is gonna need a little help along the way navigating ourselves and life.
January 31, 2019
I loved this book and could not stop reading. I love the format, the story telling, the vulnerability, the growth, the everything.
June 28, 2019
Wow. I don't think I've ever sobbed more when reading a book in my whole life. Newly 30, struggling with the complete inability to give in and trust a partner enough to move for them, to fully commit and jump in... I was touched by this book over and over and over. It was absolutely painful, but absolutely worth it and it both comforted and saddened me to read someone's pain with such detail. I am trying to take all the lessons she shared and all of the hardships she faced with me in my future to remember. I am somehow both destroyed and made brighter by this book.
"Protection. Nourishment. Comfort. In the end, it's not that complicated."
"Protection. Nourishment. Comfort. In the end, it's not that complicated."
September 6, 2019
Pretty much loved everything about this one. The way it started with the long list, and how I got to the first chapter and thought “ohhhh that’s how this book is going!”. Starting each chapter with the short bits of info. Short bites that were each chapter. All leading up to the last chapter which was the perfect end to the book. I don’t know what else to say about this one except I wasn’t sure what I was in for when it started, but the journey was interesting and you’ll learn about many forms of help!
September 12, 2019
Not a review...more a reflection.
I liked this book AND I found so much of myself in it, that I didn't like this book. Or rather, it has given me a lot to think about, as well as, the sense that I am not alone, and its reassuring in a sad way. This is not a review obviously. Way too self-centered to be a review of the book. It called to me. I answered. Now I have to decide what to do with the message.
Ok, this part is more like a review-review. I admired the author's courage to be vulnerable, sharing very intimate and painful experiences of her life. I ached for her through many of her relationships, starting with those of her's as a young girl. I am reminded of a poem by Philip Larkin called "This Be The Verse". The first line is, "They f*ck you up, your mum and dad." I was alternately impressed and frustrated by the Eat-Pray-Love-style endless quest to find what was going on inside (and the amount of resources available to do so) but can definitely relate, so perhaps that was more my own overlay of embarrassment in reflecting on my past. At any rate, I hope this book makes its readers reflect, contemplate, and wander down a few roads of their own.
I liked this book AND I found so much of myself in it, that I didn't like this book. Or rather, it has given me a lot to think about, as well as, the sense that I am not alone, and its reassuring in a sad way. This is not a review obviously. Way too self-centered to be a review of the book. It called to me. I answered. Now I have to decide what to do with the message.
Ok, this part is more like a review-review. I admired the author's courage to be vulnerable, sharing very intimate and painful experiences of her life. I ached for her through many of her relationships, starting with those of her's as a young girl. I am reminded of a poem by Philip Larkin called "This Be The Verse". The first line is, "They f*ck you up, your mum and dad." I was alternately impressed and frustrated by the Eat-Pray-Love-style endless quest to find what was going on inside (and the amount of resources available to do so) but can definitely relate, so perhaps that was more my own overlay of embarrassment in reflecting on my past. At any rate, I hope this book makes its readers reflect, contemplate, and wander down a few roads of their own.
January 19, 2019
Prepub (Jan 2019). Megan Griswold grew up embracing various religious and self help practices and tells a humorous/tragic journey of trying to find answers, peace, and love. While this is a memoir, I would almost consider it a self-help book. She learns and teaches the reader about the various practices and new age teachings that she learns. She has an amazing sarcastic voice which made this memoir extremely readable. There were so many great lines and quotes. Just the perfect book for anyone going through a hard time and needs a friend like Megan Griswold. Highly recommend.
January 19, 2019
Megan’s stories are a heart-filled workout for our capacity to wonder, empathize, giggle and reflect on our own life experiences. The only equipment needed to read her wonderful book is a box of tissues to help with eye popping anecdotes and the waterworks that arrive just in time for the release you didn’t know you needed. Megan’s pen is her wand into the depths of our hearts. Buy a copy for yourself. And another for your friends, because you won’t want to part with it when you’re done.
January 26, 2019
I admired the author's ability to maintain a balance of skepticism and open-mindedness of the various therapies she describes in the book. While I thought the structure of each chapter being based on a different self-help strategy was an interesting idea, in practice it made it a bit difficult to get back into the book after putting it down for a while. Overall, I thought it was an effective memoir with equal parts humor, self-deprecation, and emotional depth.
September 6, 2018
Interesting √
Kept Me Hooked While Going Through The Various Stories Megan Presented In The Book √
Light Reading √
Kept Me Hooked While Going Through The Various Stories Megan Presented In The Book √
Light Reading √
February 17, 2019
I won this book on Goodreads and I’m so happy I did. I enjoyed the journey and highly recommend the book.
February 7, 2021
Suddenly last summer, I was living in a pediatric ICU. I knew that I needed some kind of book to read and I knew that I wouldn’t know WHAT that book was until I found it. An amazing and beloved local bookseller let me in to browse — masked and by my desperate request, only — and I liked the font on the spine of “The Book of Help.”
Fast forward three days later. After I got through the book’s slow initial chapters, I was sitting in the ICU hallway at 3 a.m. cackling my way through chapter 11, then crying through later chapters about the enduring, unconventional, anchoring mother-daughter bond the author shares with her earnest, bookish, generous Christian-Scientist mother.
I loved the candor of this book. The author is brave enough to travel the backroads of isolated rural Chile by herself, yet insecure enough to “stalk” a fading lover and tell us all about it. Megan Griswold hurts like a broken warrior but writes like wizened friend preparing for her Second-City debut. Her book was a companion to me when I needed one most but was forced to be alone and awake many nights due to the pandemic and family circumstance.
Three months later I gifted this book to a brilliant and beloved friend grieving a terrible loss. She just texted me: “I loved ‘Book of Help.”
I’ll always be grateful to Megan Griswold for writing this book, and inviting anyone to do the same.
Fast forward three days later. After I got through the book’s slow initial chapters, I was sitting in the ICU hallway at 3 a.m. cackling my way through chapter 11, then crying through later chapters about the enduring, unconventional, anchoring mother-daughter bond the author shares with her earnest, bookish, generous Christian-Scientist mother.
I loved the candor of this book. The author is brave enough to travel the backroads of isolated rural Chile by herself, yet insecure enough to “stalk” a fading lover and tell us all about it. Megan Griswold hurts like a broken warrior but writes like wizened friend preparing for her Second-City debut. Her book was a companion to me when I needed one most but was forced to be alone and awake many nights due to the pandemic and family circumstance.
Three months later I gifted this book to a brilliant and beloved friend grieving a terrible loss. She just texted me: “I loved ‘Book of Help.”
I’ll always be grateful to Megan Griswold for writing this book, and inviting anyone to do the same.
May 3, 2021
Megan feels like a sister from another mister with her constant quest for knowledge and inner truth. However, sometimes we get so bent up on the next nugget of wisdom, the next solution, that we forget to enjoy the present. Megan inspired me to do, not just learn about doing. She makes me want to accept myself and trudge out bravely into new experiences.
This book is simultaneously uplifting and tragic. I reflected on my own life: failed relationships, emotional distances from loved ones, endless attempts at self-improvement. Learning to let go of Tim was especially poignant. I cried a bit on the plane, thinking about the brevity of life.
It was schoolgirlishly exciting to read about settings that are close to heart. I used to live near Estes Park and worked in Fort Collins by the Horsetooth Reservoir. I'm forcing one of my best friends (another self-help junkie from the FoCo area) to read this book.
This book also makes me miss my family back in Michigan, and the little pleasures of life. While living in the bayou during COVID, I've really missed a sense of community and human connection.
"I wonder whether the nature of the divine is to only get small vibrant tastes. Maybe the point is to savor it like one special chocolate wrapped in fine paper, rather than a box of them in bulk. Maybe it’s better this way—to leave one wanting more. A reminder that life, even in its full pageantry, can be gone in a flash."
This book is simultaneously uplifting and tragic. I reflected on my own life: failed relationships, emotional distances from loved ones, endless attempts at self-improvement. Learning to let go of Tim was especially poignant. I cried a bit on the plane, thinking about the brevity of life.
It was schoolgirlishly exciting to read about settings that are close to heart. I used to live near Estes Park and worked in Fort Collins by the Horsetooth Reservoir. I'm forcing one of my best friends (another self-help junkie from the FoCo area) to read this book.
This book also makes me miss my family back in Michigan, and the little pleasures of life. While living in the bayou during COVID, I've really missed a sense of community and human connection.
March 18, 2019
Real. Raw. Relatable.
Loved this memoir. Griswold is witty, self-aware, funny, and honest. She takes the reader along her journey of relationships with lovers, family, and friends as well as her expansive search into self-healing and growth. Her efforts are admirable and it was delightful to be able to tag along sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, and all the while appreciating how the book is a great reminder that none of us are in this alone.
Loved this memoir. Griswold is witty, self-aware, funny, and honest. She takes the reader along her journey of relationships with lovers, family, and friends as well as her expansive search into self-healing and growth. Her efforts are admirable and it was delightful to be able to tag along sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, and all the while appreciating how the book is a great reminder that none of us are in this alone.
July 6, 2019
This is a book where you either really understand where the author is coming from and love it, or you may not enjoy it at all.... I LOVED IT! I really enjoyed the author's honesty and humor while writing about the ups and downs of her life (so far). I found myself inspired (and madly underlining) many words in this book that I will, undoubtedly, return to again and again. I feel like she may be my soul sister!
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