Debbianne DeRose

This review was originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings on November 21, 2012.

Let me start out by saying that this book is absolutely fantastic. It's funny, full of information, and the authors' wit and personality permeate this entire book and will make you laugh out loud.

When I first saw this book, I immediately knew I wanted to read it. The title grabbed me first, it's just catchy, and makes you wonder. Then there's the cover. It's got awesome shades of purple-ish blue and stars on it, two of my favorites. So, when Debbianne DeRose emailed me to ask if I would review this book I immediately said yes. I'm so very glad I did!

One of the big focuses of this book is the authors' experiences with a lot of different approaches to energy work and self healing. To some, this might sound like it would be drab or boring or out there, but I promise you, it's not. (Well, some of it is a little out there, but it all depends on your personal beliefs.) There's a little bit of everything. It gives you a wide scope of a lot of different energy working techniques and self improvement information.

That's one of the things that I immediately loved about this book.Yes, there is a lot of information, but it's told with a lot of humor and real life experience mixed in, so it's not drab, or dry. It's all explored in a fun way, and not overly technical. The different methodologies are explained through the author relating her own experiences with each of these different energy/healing techniques, rather than only presenting the technical aspects of it which can really bog down a book. I personally really enjoy books that are written in this more lighthearted way because they are easier to relate to, they feel really natural.

The other thing that I enjoyed is that the author is not out to proselytize anyone. She's only trying to explain how these different modalities can work (or in some cases not work) She doesn't take any of these extremely seriously and is very open minded I didn't sense any particular bias or preference for a certain methodology, they are all given equal time, though, as anyone would, you can tell there are certain methods she prefers over others. You can tell that right off the bat being that the name of the 2nd chapter is "One Way Ticket To Woo-landia" The play on words lies on the fact that a lot of people call energy healing/energy work "woo-woo stuff" or "new agey" ( I'm adopting the same stance as the author here and pointing out that I'm NOT trying to use the term "woo-woo" in any way that could be construed as offensive, rather just as a generalization that other people sometimes use in regards to this subject matter.)

These kinds of witty plays on words and humor are sprinkled throughout the book. For example,
"Clairvoyance literally means "clear-seeing," which might imply that any optician's office would qualify as a clairvoyant training center. But since modern society, for the most part, has decided that auras are invisible or even imaginary, the "seeing" and the "see-ers" are largely relegated to the realm of weirdness at best, crackpotdom at worst." (DeRose, 13)
That's only a tiny snippet of the humor that you will find in this book.

There are several different techniques that are mentioned in this book. The author tries her hand at learning to see auras, hypnotherapy, tarot readings, Matrix Energetics, EFT, and bending spoons, among many other things.

Some of these, I've encountered before in other readings, most recently I read about EFT when I read "Stop Eating Your Heart Out by Meryl Hershey Beck. There were a lot of the technical aspects of this technique in that book. Here in What I Did on My Midlife Crisis Vacation it was more about the experience with the technique itself.

In some ways I think that you may have to be more open minded/receptive to these techniques and modalities of energy work to fully appreciate the book and what the author is trying to show through exploring all of these. Even if you're not sure about any of the subject matter though, I promise that you will be able to appreciate it and laugh along. I found myself cracking up and smirking at sarcastic points all throughout the book. Ultimately you may even find a technique you want to try out.

With all the different perspectives and insights the author points out along the course of the book I know that there are certain things that I want to try for myself. This book really made me think about things in different ways. I'm still thinking about the topics discussed, days after reading the book.

One really neat thing that I wanted to point out is this: Have you ever heard someone say to a writer (or anyone) "You write the way that you talk?" I think the same is true of Debbianne DeRose. Even though I have only had email exchanges with her, she kept up the same "voice" within our exchanges and you can also hear it come through in the narration for the book trailer for What I Did On My Midlife Crisis Vacation" This fact makes the book feel all that more genuine, because you can really tell it is the author relating her experiences, not trying to put on a different "voice" to write in. Also, Debbianne was willing to discuss some questions I had after reading the book which really helped me to connect with it even more and think about some of the concepts I read about in new ways.

I'm still thinking about the issues in this book, even now, and this is definitely one I will be reading again.I learned a lot about myself and the kind of work I want to do to improve some situations in my life and this book definitely gives me plenty of options for working on these things. I'd recommend this for anyone who wants an open-minded look at energy work/energy healing.


*The author provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*… (meer)

As a woman who has been married for twenty years, I'm not quite the intended audience for How I Met the Man of My Dreams, but I agreed to review it anyway. It appealed to the hopeless romantic in me, and I had a certain degree of curiosity as to what the author had to share. Now that I've read it, I'd have to say that overall, I was pretty impressed with her advice. I think more single women who are looking for a man should read this book and take its messages to heart, because all too often, I see them making mistakes. I'm a big fan of the television show, The Bachelor, in large part, because I'm a student of human nature. It might sound weird to say, but it appeals to my inner psychology geek. The women on the show frequently make the dating mistakes I mentioned earlier, especially those who are trying to force a relationship that just isn't in the cards for them. Perhaps the producers of the show should hand out copies of Ms. DeRose's book to all the ladies who don't get roses. In all honesty, I'm not really joking here, but I digress.

Seriously though, many women try to force chemistry with a man based on wishful thinking or outright force a relationship that isn't truly working or what they're truly longing for, because they're afraid of being alone. Ultimately, this is probably going to be a recipe for disaster in the long-term. That's why I really like that the author councils women to face their fears and let go of relationships that aren't working, while believing that the right man is out there. However, the reader may need to work on herself first before she'll actually be ready for the Man of her Dreams, and this waiting period is preparing her for that eventuality. She simply needs to chill and be patient, as well as learn to be happy and content with herself as part of getting ready for that dream man, which I think is very sound advice.

What I liked most about the book was that even though I'm not in the target demographic, I found much food for thought that could be applied to daily life, not just MAN-hunting. Ms. DeRose talks a lot about adjusting our beliefs and clearing out old belief garbage that may be holding us back from our full potential. I also liked what she had to say about Reactance and Resistance. I'm admittedly guilty of both more often than I'd like to admit, and think I (and many other readers) could definitely benefit from reducing Reactance and Resistance in my life. I can't help thinking that I'd probably be a lot more content if I did, so that's something I hope to work on. I also gleaned a lot of wisdom from the sections on active appreciation vs. gratitude and thinking more positively. Even though I'm not currently seeking a man, being a list-maker, I could appreciate the advice on making a list of MAN-qulities or building your ideal Franken-MAN. It seems that making lists like this might be beneficial in other areas of life as well.

In addition to all the bits of wisdom I took away from this book, I really just simply enjoyed reading it. Ms. DeRose has a very easy-to-read writing style that is part straight-talking, part humor, and part empathy and compassion. Reading this book was kind of like sitting down with an old friend to discuss these things. Again, the hopeless romantic in me enjoyed reading about her personal love connection too. Now admittedly readers will probably have to be open to at least the idea of the metaphysical (or “woo-woo” as the author calls it) in order to fully appreciate this book. I consider myself to be a very open-minded and spiritual person, but there are still bits of the woo-woo that feel strange to me (I'm sure the author would say that my physical-mind is getting in the way:-)). In general though, I really liked the positivity and feel-good nature of this book. I may not be looking for a man, but I came away from reading it feeling inspired to make some changes in my life and my thinking.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

I really enjoyed this book. The way Debbianne DeRose puts her words together makes the story flow well and consequently easy to read.The writing is humorous and the whole book feels lighthearted. I enjoyed the imaging the author offered. I am interested in alternative options to view the world so I was very happy to read about Debbieanne's experiences. If you are a person with strong religious beliefs or feel confronted by alternative healings, meditation and the suchlike this is not the book for you. The author offers her experiences in a factual way and her opinions that leaves open that there are many perspectives which is ok. I look forward to future works by Ms DeRose.… (meer)