The lovely Taryn chose this month’s Self-Love Book Club read, Spirit Junkie. It was my second time reading this one and I was eager to dive into it, as Gabby’s writing had a profoundly positive influence on my life (I wrote a bit about that here). But this time around, I responded to the first few chapters with a lot of resistance. It’s not that I wasn’t agreeing with what she was saying, but I wasn’t connecting with the way she was saying it.
Spirit Junkie is Gabrielle Bernstein’s second book. It’s part memoir and part self-help book. She shares her story of being addicted to drugs and looking for happiness outside of herself, in jobs, relationships, and possessions. After hitting rock bottom, Gabby changed her life around by working through the principles of A Course in Miracles. She’s now a highly successful author, speaker, kundalini yoga instructor, and is regarded by many as a spiritual guru.
Through each chapter, Gabby shares part of her own story of reconnecting with “spirit” and creating a life of love and happiness. Every chapter closes with exercises and meditations to guide the reader on their own spiritual journey of choosing love.
In the end, I was happy to have reread Spirit Junkie. Although I don’t deeply connect with Gabby’s writing anymore (at times it feels too full of platitudes for me), I appreciate the reminders of how simple it is to be happy and full of love. It was the gentle nudge I needed to rekindle my own spiritual practice and to delve more deeply into ‘The Course.’
In March, Eric has selected Man’s Search for Meaning for us to read and for April, Nicole chose This I Know. I hope you’ll read along with us and join the Facebook group to keep up with the conversation.
Hugs & kisses,
Photograph by Dan Hallman.
I, too, found I wasn’t quite connecting with her writing. Although I did enjoy reading Spirit Junkie and have put her other books on my list of books to read, eventually.
Are you reading a course in miracles?
Spirit Junkie was the first book of hers I read and I really enjoyed it. The message of self-love was something I was majorly in need of at the time. I’ve since been trying to read her first book and I know exactly what you are saying about not being able to connect with it so well… it’s nice in the way that it felt like she was talking to you directly. But…a little too valley girl-ish or something?