Shervin Hojat

I received this through the LibraryThing Member giveaway programme. The Author sent me a copy in return for a review (an edited copy of this review will also appear on Amazon). My copy arrived safely in the post with a nice note from the author, who had spent a fair bit on the postage. I was delighted with my first real book won on that programme.

But what is this book? I was enticed by the talk of a spiritual journey - and it certainly was that. Some reviewers have called this a self help book, and - particularly towards the end - it is certainly that too. But ultimately I feel this book is an intensely personal journey of the author, shared with the reader through a series of meditations.

In many ways this reminds me of the great journals of the 17th and 18th centuries - not in terms of how it is written, nor in scope - but in the desire to set down in print a record of one's life journey. As you read this book you travel with the author through a year or more of his life. You experience his grief and see his insights. The meditations on his father are deeply moving, and others - such as the one on forgiveness - are profound.

There is much talk of God, and the reader is left with the sense of a spiritual journey. But fundamentalists of any stripe will be frustrated that there is very little in the way of any kind of theology to disagree with. This is not a polemical book at all. It is a book to encourage self reflection and to just appreciate the author's self reflection.

Personally I do not hold with any of the ideas of shamanism, which form a large part of the latter part of the book (and perhaps suffuse the rest of the work). But ultimately that does not matter much, because the book does not attempt to convince you anything is true - it merely asks you to consider things. Time spent on self reflection is never wasted, so the advice of the book is timeless.

One criticism is the price of this book. Probably not something the author can control, but it is a little high in the UK at least. Probably something to do with importing copies in small numbers.… (meer)

I am not a frequent reader of self-help books, but I am interested in original takes on religion and how to make it work for me. I also love poetry. Therefore, the marrying of these two loves made me want to pick this book up despite my reservations. Where I was afraid of finding preachy, hokey exercises, I found a journey plotted out before me, one that promised to show me how to lessen the great amount of hurt I have suffered and show me how to get to what's next. In that respect, this book surprised me again and again, and I am grateful. The reptition throughout was like a rope to hold on to as I scaled the cliffs of myself.

What I disliked about the book is the minor spelling errors and what I felt to be an oveabundance of commas, which I found distracting. I would have also liked to see a conventional "about the author" blurb and a face to put with the warm soul.

Still, it was a good read. I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a bit of help along the way of life.… (meer)