I've practically underlined the whole book, it contains so much wisdom and excellent advice! I want to highly recommend it to anyone who has suffered a painful childhood. It fills you with hope and gives you the courage to look at the garbage from your past, toss it out and get on with your life.
To quote part of the Publisher's Weekly blurb on the back of the book, "Like a lullaby, this gentle book soothes the spirit, reaching out to the inner child and reassuring the wounded adult..."
Although I had never stopped believing in God, I never truly felt a spiritual connection with Him. In fact, I didn't feel a true connection to anyone, even my spouse or closest friends. I felt so alone.....
Outwardly, I am a competent, intelligent and talented person. I make friends easily and people seem to like me ... Yet inside I have felt like an emotional mess and eventually my emotional/psychological problems play out and cause ruptures in my career and relationships ....furthering my belief that I am destined to have an unhappy life. I have taken anti-depressants, herbs & vitamins, and tried acupuncture. I have read numberous self-help books and been to several therapists. I have spent time in hospitalized psychiatric care.
Yes, these things have helped me, but I kept struggling with the same issues and problems over and over. I thought I was "Different"... my case was so horrible, so complex, so confusing, no one could ever really understand the real me. Therapy seemed often to increase my pain, in trying to understand the "why" and uncover the source of every painful thing that ever happened and explain or blame every emotion on childhood ... I wasn't solving the problems of today. I wasn't learning how to cope.
Muller address these very issue with such great insight and compassion! I read the entire book in two evenings, but plan on going back and re-reading and practicing the meditations. So many times in reading this I felt a revelation into my heart -- that some one understood me, my pain, and was offering hope for healing!
There are no big miracles in this book, no promises that you will never feel pain again, but it is an incredibly sensitive look inside the behaviors we learn in childhood. I hope to find a therapist who will use this book with me to continue my healing. And I plan on buying a copy for each of my siblings as well. This book, along with Feeling Good by David Burns are a great place to start making permenant changes and heal the suffering. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Thank-you Wayne Muller. Blessings to all children of God in your journey to healing.