My Year of Living Mindfully

by Shannon Harvey

Overwhelmed with insomnia and an incurable autoimmune disease, Shannon Harvey needed to make a change. But while the award-winning health journalist found plenty of recommendations on diet, sleep and exercise, when she looked for the equivalent of a 30-minute workout for her mental wellbeing, there was nothing.

Also worried for the future mental health of her kids, who were growing up amidst critical levels of stress, anxiety, depression and addiction, Shannon enlisted a team of scientists to put meditation to the test. Could learning to quiet our busy minds be the simple solution the world so desperately needs?

During her year of living mindfully Shannon is poked, prodded, scanned and screened. After a 30,000 kilometre journey from Australia to the bright lights of Manhattan and the dusty refugee camps of the Middle East - interviewing the world's leading mindfulness experts along the way - what begins as a quest for answers transforms into a life-changing experience.

From the director of the internationally acclaimed documentary of the same name, MY YEAR OF LIVING MINDFULLY is filled with compelling stories, groundbreaking science, and unexpected insights that go to the heart of what it means to be human in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2020

About the author

Shannon Harvey is the award winning director of two internationally acclaimed documentaries, The Connection: Mind Your Body and My Year of Living Mindfully. Her first book The Whole Health Life is about finding good health after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. As a journalist and filmmaker she spent many years working for leading news organisations such as the ABC and Fairfax. She’s the recipient of the National Press Club of Australia’s “Health Journalist of The Year” award and now produces a popular blog and podcast, whilst balancing her health and being the mother of two adventurous boys.

Reviews

[Ann T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book thinking it was a memoir on living mindfully and hoping that the self-experiment would be more of a personal account of how her mindfulness progressed weekly/ monthly over the course of a year.

This book was well researched however I think (IMHO) the title would have been more apt as ‘ my year of investigating the effects of mindfulness’.

Shannon states she brings her journalistic mind to this experiment, personally I would have much preferred if she had literally lived her life as mindfully as possible for a year, with some daily meditation, minus the $30,000 price tag of tests, consultations etc to prove or disprove if mindfulness works.

From my humble experience I have experienced fabulous benefits from moderate, regular meditation and would encourage anyone who is curious to try meditating daily for a few months, journal your experience each day and then reflect from your first-hand observations, of which can be done anywhere for absolutely no cost.

[Bernard Milford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shannon's movie has been an important influence on my life. It came out just as I was developing an interest in meditation and it was like strapping a rocket to my waist. Following on from the movie, I read her blogs and have been following her advice about beginning a practice. The book is at least as good as the movie, as Shannon can go into more detail as to her experiences and the outcomes of her year-long (plus a few years now) experiment. Do both, and come on board

[Norrie Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shannon Harvey’s book is firmly rooted in evidence, supplemented by direct experience. She sets out to examine the science around mindfulness – even describing it as a “self experiment”. The method is not intended to have the legitimacy of a scientific trial, but her careful experimental design results in a credible assessment of the effects of mindfulness meditation on her body and mind.
It is pretty clear from Shannon’s summary of current research and from her own investigation that mindfulness is an important tool – not just for therapy, but for well-being. It is also clear that embarking on this journey is not for the faint hearted.
The value of this book is to deliver a highly readable analysis of our current state of knowledge and honest personal insights about the practicalities.
See full review at:
https://www.queenslandreviewerscollec...

[Sammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the humour Harvey brought to this, specifically the meditation journal entries narrating her thoughts during various meditation sessions. As someone who has read plenty on the benefits of meditation, but has so far been unsuccessful with the practice itself, I found her early entries in particular to be extremely relatable.

I really appreciated the way Harvey used her journalist skill set to dig deep into the science behind meditation and mindfulness, rooting her experiment in evidence based research and getting real experts with various opinions on the topic to weigh in. She was always careful not to go over the top in her claims of what mindfulness can accomplish due to the infinite amount of variables, but conveyed her personal experiences in as objective a way as possible, while also noting the importance of her own subjective experiences.

All in all, an enjoyable and inspiring read.

[Lyn Ambrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shannon Harvey is a health journalist who bases all her writing on scientific evidence. The book tells the story of her quest to discover whether her mental wellbeing could be improved by learning and practising "caring" mindfulness on a daily basis. Her one year journey is an interesting and at times, difficult one. As a young mother and wife she has no spare time at all but decides to fit in daily meditation and interview international scientists to put mindfulness to the test. This involves tens of thousands of kilometres of travel and even a silent retreat.

For Shannon it is a life changing experience. For the reader it opens many possibilities for improving one's levels of stress, anxiety, depression etc.

Shannon's sense of humour made reading this book so much easier. Her illustrations also assist in this regard as mindfulness based on scientific research could be a difficult subject to read about.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explores mindfulness, the potential benefits for physical and mental health, professional conduct, social interaction (and more), and discovering the scientific evidence to support this. Along with the film, I particularly enjoyed how Shannon delves beyond some of the preconceptions behind mindfulness, and attempt to present some objectivity though study, practice and results.

With today’s growing awareness of and demands for improving our mental and physical health, this book enabled me not only to find some answers, but also ask more questions about mindfulness and overall lifestyle choices.

Definitely an important read for today and tomorrow’s world.

[Mr Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long term meditation practitioner and mindfulness researcher, I really enjoyed this book! Shannon has done a superb job of distilling the nuiance and complexity of over 8000 scientific articles on mindfulness meditation (and broader literature) and weaving this into a deeply personal, relatable and accessible narrative. You'll be hard pressed to find a better overview of the diverse applications of mindfulness and its wide-reaching benefits for personal health and societal transformation. Even for those familiar with the practice and research such as myself, there is still much to learn from this book. Highly recommended!

[Faterider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watched her movie and was thrilled when I found out that she released a book based on the movie so that I could relive the insightful bits. Shannon Harvey combines compelling theoretical research with intriguing personal experiences to gift us suggestions on how we can live more mindfully and bolster our locus of control. I also enjoyed her account of the Middle Eastern refugees and how they were leveraging mindfulness practices as a form of rehabilitation; I felt that not only my worldview but also my scope for empathy had expanded.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've bought 3 copies of this book for my family! My Year of Living Mindfully is a wonderful book. Well written, researched and documented. Love the meditation journal pages, case studies, daily retreat notes, diagrams and illustrations which add so much variety to what could have been simply a book of facts. Shannon Harvey spent a year of ‘living mindfully’, travelling the world, being assessed and analysed by a team of top scientists who put the real benefits of meditation to the test.

[Books_inthe_Batcave · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be more about Shannon's experience & how it changed or effected her day to day life & the effect on her health. But was more about information found in medical journals, from doctors or those who teach mindful meditation. I already know the positive effects meditation can have, but was hoping to hear about someones personal journey, which this book is not. Honestly got nothing out of it.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book on mindfulness. Shannon Harvey a health journalist wanted a mental health ‘workout’ and explores in a year-long experiment if mindfulness might be the answer. Really appreciate books like this that are increasing our understanding of how mindfulness can improve well-being. More so because mindfulness is not the easiest of concepts to comprehend. An inspiring book for those building a mindfulness practice.

[Arne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was refreshing to hear such an honest and personal view on meditation.

My key take away is that it's great but not without risks. There are a few different approaches and each one has it's pros and cons...

Loved the telling of the conference where the sound died and one of the panelists used it as an exercise in meditation... Genius :)

[Laticia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such beautifully explained concepts, delving into the confusing world of meditation and science. I really enjoyed this book, it gave really good insight into the current evidence available for meditation as way to live a happier life!

[Charity Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. Shannon takes us on her journey of mindfulness and also brings in different theories and perspectives about what mindfulness is and how to do it, then shares what it is doing for her. So valuable. I want more copies so I can show it to as many friends as possible.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting combination of the personal and scientific point of view, easy to read style. No unexpected revelations though!

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting and Harvey's findings are not what I had expected them to be.

[Bradley McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only a Westerner could make something as simple as meditation so complicated.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole book is a good introduction to Mindfulness!

[Michelle Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting read and study on mindfulness. A great motivator to get me back into meditation.

[Ruth Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent companion to a meditation practice - or a beginners introduction.

[Carrie Bigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great analysis of different types of mindfulness. It was well researched and presented with lived experience of invisible disability.

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really easy read, highly recommend