I found this book to be beautiful and inspiring
587708
I found this book to be beautiful and inspiring.  It is a deeply spiritual book with lovely and moving photography. It conveys a complicated all-encompassing truth is a way that anyone can understand. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!
616453
This is beautifully written and inspiring. I felt like I was looking directly into the life of the author. Whatever your situation in life, you'll be moved and inspired by this beautiful poetic book and it's message of hope.
2095255
I did not set out to make soap, but when I saw this beautiful book and  looked through it, I was very inspired to make soap.  Each soap is pictured  beautifully and she tells about the characteristics and benefits of each  specialty soap.  This is a good book for beginners, she explains each step  and there are color photo illustrations.  Her specialty soaps have a few  ingredients, not a lot of complicated ingredients that I have never heard  of.  I am also using other books that I got from the library.  I made my  first batch of a white basic soap from another book.  I was very pleased  that it turned out.  I followed Norma Coney's instructions for hand  milling.  I measured the amount of water that is called for but I did not  mix it into the soap.  I poured a little bit of it on the bottom of the  pan, added my soap and when the bottom of the pan got dry again I added  some more water.  I did this until all my soap was melted and I did not  necessarily use up all the water.  I was very pleased about the way may  soap turned out.  Her book is truly inspirational and beautifully done!
816947
This is one of the most beautiful and inspiring books I have ever read. Marilu Schmier's
writing comes from the heart and will touch and expand the hearts of all who read it. It is a multi-leveled story of a mother's love and faith, the challenges and unexpected joys of raising a differently-abled child, and a surprising and exciting glimpse of what is possible for us all to manifest in this life. Her writing is deceptively easy and accessible; the impact is long-lasting and life-changing.  I plan to give this book to everyone on my list this year.
2048773
This is a beautiful first book by Cherie Burbach.  It's heartfelt and honest, and reminds us to forge on when we are faced with grief, failure, and lost love.  I found the overall message inspiring, and particularly liked the spiritual "With Every Breath."

It is obvious this book is a collection from a turning point in the author's life.  Rather than coming off bleak or whiny, she provides an underlying powerful message that I found quite comforting.

I especially liked the poem "Read the Label" and could easily picture the story it told.  I gave this book to both my daughter and my mother and they both found poems they drew meaning from as well.
4046785
I honestly don't think I can find words that would be adequate enough to describe how beautiful and deeply stirring this book is. So I am going to stick to the facts of the book in the hopes that the picture those facts paint allows the book to unfold in front of you.
The book begins with Christie and her husband buying a 100 year old farm house in eastern PA in the hot month of August. The farm house and the month are important because the seasons and the house itself are the two main characters in the book.
Christie then goes on to tell the story of their first year at Maplehurst (doesn't that just make you want to name your house or rematch Anne of Avonlea?) through what the house and the grounds go through and look like each month.
But she also does more than that. She talks about where in the Christian liturgical calendar her and her family are in each month, and she makes just gorgeous parallels between these liturgical seasons, and the seasons of Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer.
In all of this she uses these characters of seasons and her home to talk about her own heart and soul as she explores the tensions inherit in faith. She explores the topics of grief, joy, and beauty, to name a few, and how she understands these deep themes through her life on the hill where her home resides.
I highly, highly recommend this book as a balm to the soul, as a gentle breeze to blow into your daily life, telling a gentle story of the grace of a slower life that finds it's ebb and flow in the seasons of Creation as well as Faith.
653114
Someone read an excerpt from this book at an Interfaith Service.  I was extremely moved by the reading and bought a copy for myself.  This is a book filled with beautiful images and thoughts.  It is both soothing and inspirational.  I am grateful to Ann Mortifee.
1905405
This is a great inspiring and personal book. Grace shines through the rhythm and message of his poetry as he paints a glorious picture of the struggle to find the divine within. His prose elicits a happy and hopeful feeling. I enjoyed the philosophy and wisdom; it gave me material to ponder. He presents an inner passion for life that is realistic yet spiritually elevating.
176001
This book is so very well written and inspiring.  I often finish books quickly, this one I savored as topics flowed smoothly from one to the next, the messages poignant and well explained.  Several times I thought to myself "I wish I had known this"...but the important thing is now I do.  I encourage everyone to read this book and breathe in the inspiration, to think about the messages the author shares.  This is a book I know I will read and review again and again.  It truly has inspired positive changes in my life.
3916913
Beautiful and inspiring book.  It could use some editing for syntax and grammar, but it's such a good story and message that this is not a great distraction.
1978349
This book is full of beauty. Ancient beads that hold stories and stories that hold pearls of everyday wisdom and delight are strung together artfully and lovingly. I am grateful to the author/artist for sharing with such vulnerability and no nonsense about her rather extraordinary life. I am grateful and moved by her encouragement in the practice of beholding our own lives as a series of sacred story beads, and how she laid out the simple structure for doing so. I loved her practice of praying with eggs and lemons and eggplants and her recognition that all of life is joined in the great prayer of praise. More than anything, this book is a reminder for me that the creation of beauty is always an act of prayer and is always, in a deep way, collaborative. I hope this author continues to write her memoir and that it will include some of her other art work.
2980038
greatest book I've ever read, beautiful and inspiring.
2433817
I found myself puting this book down to savor its beauty...though perhaps the writing is a bit "hit you over the head" I enjoyed its clarity AND obscurity. That we never understand what love is, and that  everyone can be afraid to beileve they are capable of love. I especially  liked that Stefano never forced Gabriella--he wanted to make himself happy,  and by doing so perhaps allowed her to be happy to.  Happiness is a gift we  give ourselves. Allowing ourselves to be happy is a key factor in this  book, and one that inspires the thoughtful reader to turn inside and find  out how to make their own happines..  I truly enjoyed this book.
3199032
Oh to live with other people  who appreciate beauty from the little things and to respect others  as God commands is inspiring to read.  I borrowed this book twice from the library and it was well worth the wait both times.
3481316
This is a beautiful book.  In fact, I was so inspired by it, I took the book apart, added additional quotes and words of wisdom I've collected over the years, and rebound it.  This book is already making a difference in my studio.
2299108
I'm not articulate enough to say how beautiful and inspiring was this heartfelt look into the lives of a couple embraced by and embracing an incredible challenge to live life with grace and courage. I can't recommend it highly enough.
2082670
I loved this book so much! I keep going back to it on a regular basis just to get inspired and not to forget to keep my life a bit more glamorous than before. The book inspired me to be positive, dream and invest some time and effort into my looks and my surrounding. I really recommend it to anyone looking for something inspiring to keep on their coffee table.