Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self

I bought this book a couple of years ago, read it from cover to cover, then placed it in my bookshelf. I picked it up again this weekend and wondered why I put it on the shelf in the first place. I guess I was not ready.Warning to the people pleasers: it can wake you up.Sarah was not suggesting that women should abandon their families. In one story, a woman chose to work out the issues with her husband instead of engaging in an affair with what could have been her "soul-mate." In another story, a mother discovered her love of birds, which did not involve the abandonment of her children. In yet another story, a copywriter followed her husband around the world while writing biographies about various people.To those who believed she was condoning selfishness, what book WERE you reading?Sarah encourages enlightened self-interest. She does not give you step by step instructions, your authentic self is your own. She does encourage you to listen to that still small voice within, re-discover your hidden passions, have respect for yourselves. If you don't do it, something will happen and you will be forced to do it.If you have a charmed life, congratulations. You don't need this book. Continue to focus only on the happy-happy things.However, I think all of us will face disappointment and adversity at some time in our lives. To recognize our authentic selves will help us get through those tough times, whether we are married or single. No matter how old we are. Whether or not we have children.Is there no room in this world for sadness and despair? I can sense the bitter overtones too, however, I don't see it as a distraction. She is giving us the gift of sharing her experience with the world. I believe it helps others who have experienced setbacks in life to not feel alone.I don't see how a single woman can be discouraged getting married after reading SM. If anything, I believe she will acknowledge her gifts and know who she is. Instead of asking a man, "Aren't I worthy?," She can look him in the eye and say, "I am worthy." She will marry a man worthy of her respect instead spending her life with someone who treats her like day old Krispy Kreme doughnuts (I do understand, however, that for some people a doughnut is a doughnut, but I digress...)SM is not for everyone. I for one am inspired. It is helping me to find a balance between the needs of my soul and the needs of the world. For too long I've let other people's opinions determine who I was and how I felt about myself.I don't believe any book can satisfy everyone. If SM did not resonate with you, express your authentic self, but don't discourage others from reading it. Let them read the book themselves.

I found Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self very inspiring and very uplifting. She is not offering a cure-all, solve your problems type of information, Sarah Ban Breathnack is giving her listeners insights on soul searching, thinking about themselves and coming to terms by telling stories of other women who have questioned their role in life, questioned their feelings about home and family, as well as children, lovers, and friends. I found myself as I was listening to the tapes, say "that's how I feel!" After listening to her tapes I found I could say that my feelings about myself and others was real, was normal, was o.k. At 46 years old, I wanted to believe that my life has had meaning and has had a positive effect on others. Her stories re-affirmed what I already knew about myself, yet also made me take another look at myself and my life. I would recommend Something More to anyone who has felt overwhelmed by life and the obligations of being a woman. These tapes are a feel good, my life is alot better than I thought kind of listening.

I had already read Simple Abundance (SA) and found that very uplifting. I bought SA for my friends and mother. I just finished Something More and found it a wonderful book too. I was especially moved by SBB's section on the passing of the neighborhood child. Her writing seems so very personal and deeply moving to me. Each chapter and section gave me so much to think about. I loved it and would highly recommend it. Her writing has really changed my life for the better and for what it's worth my deepest thanks and gratitude go out to SBB for sharing the works with me. This book and SA really made a positive difference in my life.

This is one of a handful of books I've read that changed the way I look at myself -- and another on that short list is Simple Abundance which I'm working through for the 3rd time as I write "morning pages" daily. This is NOT a sequel to SA -- in lots of ways it doesn't seem to be written by the same Sarah -- but by a more mature, more worldly wise, more "evolved" one. Repeatedly in my reading of SM, Sarah brought me to tears--because she knows me--and made me see myself much more clearly, made me face some issues I've ignored for 50+ years--and helped me see a path ahead. The margins are crammed with my notes to Sarah, to myself, to my past. A person who thinks this is only a book about how bad most men are couldn't have read with a woman's heart. Is there bitterness? Yes--life has its bitter spots, too. But is there hope? Darned right. And if a reader doesn't see the "gratitude" and "joy" in the message of this one, I'm sad for that reader. It's not a "ruffles and lace" book at all. It's a no holds barred look at life--with lots of real-life examples, many of which aren't pretty. On page 59, she writes, "Could there be anything more important than living without regrets?" I think the whole book is about HOW to live without regrets.