A real affirmation for all of us "quiet" people
591884
I highly recommend this book for all introverts and those who live with them, i.e. everyone.  It has wonderful insights into what it is like to live as an introvert in an extrovert society and does a lot to affirm the value of introverts.  I always knew this was just the way I am and now I know that's OK.  (Alright, I knew that before, but this book does a lot to affirm that!)
1670204
{{sigh}} this book was very refreshing to me.  Again, this author was very transparent (which I love because there are none of us perfect).  He shared his flows and how he is often attacked through his chatterbox (we all have one).  I felt very encouraged by this book and feel that it is a resource that I can offer to those who are struggling to hear God over all the junk in our minds.  You know it is one thing for me to tell someone who is struggling to get into the word of God, make His voice louder can only be done by putting His word in your mind and heart, but it is another when a great author of some book tells them.  :)

I would recommend this to anyone (including those who feel they have a grip on the faith) to open and be encouraged.  I still have a tendency to let the enemy tell me lies.  Sometimes I start to believe them.  This book just made me feel BOLDER to fight the enemy of darkness.

At the end there is a great set of discussion questions that you can use for a small group.
4050527
I have never felt less alone than I do after completing this book. I feel like I've just read the words I have been looking for for years but have never been able to articulate. John Green here gives a voice to millions who feel voiceless. One of the hardest parts of mental illness is the alienation of the suffering, people around you can see the effects of the illness but you can't explain what it is like to be inside of it, trapped inside your own head with this terrifying thing. This book was necessary and most importantly, uplifting. It ends with an uplifting, hopeful message for those with mental illness while still regarding the truth of the fact that these are often lifelong conditions. Some people may get more out of this book than others, but if you or someone in your life is affected by some form of mental illness this is a must-read.
990859
I have always been logical and practical person.  Even in my professional life, I rely on carefully developed methodologies, processes, best practices and plans.  But when it comes to my personal life and people I am emotionally connected to, I always had uncunny feeling that I knew when people around me are sincerely well meaning and caring and when they are being opportunistic and potentially dangerous and vindictive towards me.

For the last several months, I have been denying my "gut" feeling that I was being deceived by people I trusted.  I simply did not want to accept that I was being taken advantage of and that people I felt I can entrust my life to were being influenced by individuals who not only did not want me around, but wanted to make a pre-emptive strike and secure their own best interests in place even if it meant placing emotional burden and hardship on the people they supposedly were trying to protect.  Finally, my subsonscious got too fragile and vulnerable and I started feeling both emotionally and physically sick.  Like everything else in life, it only took one act and gesture to bring me to the breaking point when I knew that I had to save myself.  I retrieved and started seeking my quiet times of peace and reflection when I could examine words, actions, little clues and situations, I choose to ignore or supress for too long.  My intuition was telling me that I was putting myself in danger and had to sever certain relationships in order to regain my balance again.  My logical self (ego) wanted a proof.  Let's just say, in order to get my proof I resorted to methods I never used before (and I am not particularly proud of) because at this point, for me personally, the situation was no longer about re-establishing lost relationships with people who (I felt) were no longer trustworthy, but it was about acknowledging that I have a very strong sixth sense that I should never ignore for the rest of my life.  I got my proof that was powerful manifestation - and it gave me mixed feelings.

If I had a choice, I would be happier if I have not found the truth that would help me dismiss my nagging notions of being deceived by people close to me.  But proof was there, weeks after I had a feeling that I was being lied to.  It was a typical "Catch 22" feeling.  In spite of deep personal hurt, I have realized that I shall never dismiss my intution and I know that going forward I will not longer need a proof in order to justify my intuition.  Just a gut feeling will be good enough proof for me.  This book helped me understand how I can best nurture the gift I have that I wish no longer to ignore.  I am sure that going forward it will help me extract myself from people and situations that are detremental to my emotional and physicall well being and my overall happiness.
3982743
"The Happy Introvert" is the Friendliest Book I Have Ever Read.

I feel I've made a new friend and the friend is me. I thought I knew who I was but I was being overly influenced by this extraverted culture we're a part of. This book helped me appreciate the positive sides of myself more by pointing out the many potentials we introverts have. And I thank the book for explaining the neurological basis for introversion and extraversion in a clear and interesting way. I've already used some of her suggestions and found them to be very practical.

I had a lot of misconceptions about this subject before I read

"The Happy Introvert." The clever cartoons hit the nail on the head. I can't wait for her next book.
4056869
I love this book! I first listened to the audio version, and now have ordered it in print.  I'm sure all of the other reviews have more than covered the synopsis of the contents, so I'm not going to cover the same territory again.  I will just say that this book explains more about me to myself than any other "personality analysis system" from Freud to astrology ever has.  To think that all along I just thought I was weird for playing the extrovert when I had to, and despite being dubbed a leader and pushed into extrovert leadership roles from an early age, I always knew all I really wanted was to get by myself and be surrounded by peace and quiet. Turns out I'm not weird after all (well, not in this way at least), and am, in fact, in very good company.  This book explains it all---what an enlightening and major contribution to understanding ourselves and those around us, despite the way we and they often "seem."
2289764
Peace and quiet.  Time to hear yourself think.  No need for a clock.  All things that sound pretty wonderful to me, and that are found in this lovely book.  Neil Ansell spent five years in PenlanCottage in Wales, an extremely isolated location where you won't hear your neighbors argue or their car alarm going off.  Instead, bird song and silence....bliss.

Let me say immediately that this book is not for everyone.  There's no car chases, not really any suspense (unless you count the search for where mother Mandarin duck laid her eggs), and no wild characters (except for the hares that speed through occasionally).  But, for those of us who crave a little calm, this book is relaxing and appealing.

Ansell is a journalist, and he craves isolation as well.  He's also precise in describing, for the most part, the types of birds that frequent the area and their breeding habits, even conducting a survey of species and totals.

A few of the birds I didn't recognize by their UK names, so I had to Google them for pictures.  All of his descriptions of their stealth and means of throwing off predators is fascinating.  Lots of facts are sprinkled in, such as how bats can live thirty years and return to their roosts the entire time.

Yet the book isn't just about what he sees outside the decrepit cottage, but what he sees inside himself.  After a health scare, he observes:

"What remains if you peel away all those things that help you think you know who you are?  If one by one you strip away your cultural choices, the validation you get from the company of your peer group, the tools you use for communication?  Then what is left behind?  If you had asked me that three or four years earlier, when I was just arriving at Penlan, I imagine that I would have guessed:  your true self.  But I soon found that in fact I rapidly became less and less self-aware;  my attention was elsewhere, on the outside.  And now that circumstances had forced me to look inward once again, it was to discover that there was perhaps no fixed self to find.  So what was there instead?  Now, more than ever, I had the sense that my life was no so very different from that of the birds fluttering on my bird-feeder, as though a boundary between us had been broken" (188).

I think this would be an amazing audiobook (Martin Shaw or Alan Rickman on the voice, please!) because the subject matter is soothing.  When I went through a recent health scare, often it was suggested I use visualization to relax, especially during a few procedures that were without anesthetic.  The nurses all said, "picture a long, sandy beach at sunset....".  Nope, in the future I'll picture a rainy cottage with a wild-eyed rabbit perched on the back step and through the fog, a tree covered with yellow birds.
4071448
This book affirms to us all...have a positive outlook on the world, and the world will have a positive outlook on you!  The Secret is written in a wonderful format that does not require a "front to back cover" reading style.  There is no beginning or end.  Just pick it up, open it anywhere, and  read a few words to improve your mood, give you hope and inspiration, or just affirm what you already know! I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!
1127219
Introverts -- stand up and unite!! If you are an introvert, you know that will never happen. But this book is for you and is a special gift to our introverted hearts. Yes, we are different than what the world rewards, but we are all ok and blessed, just the way we are.  A must read if you are an Introvert or if you are friends with one.
2490552
amazing book, very clear-headed wisdom backed by sound research, wish I would have read this when I was raising my two introverted-sons and when I was teaching in public school. the world is filled with lots of loud, self-promoting people, we miss much when we ignore or do not embrace the introverts. the author clearly explained the difference between "shy" and introvert, a definition we all should memorize.
1778205
As a recovering "Me-aholic", I found THEM to provide a lot of hope to those of us learning how to let go of our social insecurities by speaking less and listening more. Every person is a house with various ways to enter.  Too often, the "ME" in me, just looks for a superficial door rather than a pinhole ray of light that will lead to a gold mine one could never have imagined. John Certalic's autobiography is interwoven into significant life lessons of how to truly care for others by taking time.....time to listen, at times asking simple questions, other times remaining quiet, and just being there for someone. Oh how good it feels to be honored by others, but oh how much better it is to honor others.  This isn't rocket science, but does take work to truly honor others in the smallest ways that make the biggest impact.  I happened to be reading THEM while at a professional conference and took the opportunity to apply the principles in my interactions with colleagues.  Listening more and asking engaging "caring" questions did wonders!  Thank you John Certalic for caring enough to write "THEM: the Richer Life Found in Caring for Others"
113110
Just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the work you are doing. Your website and writings are fabulous. I have never felt so at peace. For most of my life I have walked around with a void in me, a hole I was unable to fill. I did not know what this was, just an emptiness inside and no matter what I did, I was unable to feel fulfilled. Someone I do not know very well sent me the link to The Book of Life (it most certainly was divinely guided to me to read now). I have not been the same since. Instead of a void, I now feel a FULLNESS. Things are different, clearer... It was everything I believed, laid out for me in a way that made sense, put to order my random thoughts about life. It just made me feel so good!
3030856
I cannot even count the number of times I get tired of seeing the same rhetorical trite memes plaguing Facebook.  People attempt to be innovative by posting inspirational quotes that we have all seen before, but they use different fonts and/or quirky designs in an effort to give them some zest.  Enough already.  That is why it is so refreshing to see a book like this one full of original thoughts.

"Now Think on That!  A Collection of Thoughts for Positive Daily Living! Volume I" is that beacon of motivation that comes along just in time.  These are genuine affirmations that we can all relate to as we struggle with this thing called life.  If this book doesn't change your life, it will at least make it a little brighter.  And if you are anything like me then you will be eagerly awaiting the future Volumes to come!
4415376
I love this book. I love each individual story of the lives of these unique individuals.  I am happy Andy, the author got to befriend them and experience  their lives of simplicity, gratitude and inner peace.  I learned a great deal that I am applying to my own life...Reading the book actually made me feel serene and thankful....Thanks Andy-well done!
4169973
This has been such a helpful book for me.  The moment I began to read it I could feel a wonderful calm spread over me.  This book speaks truth and wisdom, and it speaks it in accessible language.  As I remember my past life I can detect the presence of "sensitivity" and consider it less malevolent than the labels I gave myself at the time.  Dr. Blackstone's writing has been a godsend and I'm rereading it so as to have her more gentle words in my mind and heart.  For all of us out here who've never or rarely experienced truly belonging in our lives, this is a masterpiece!
Thank you!
4970202
I am sure I will not be the only person who feels this way, but: I feel as if this book was written just for me.

After many years of giving up certain aspects of myself to adapt to and/or care for those around me, and to meet the expectations of those in my milieu, in the past year I have been gradually creaking open the door to my real self, the self that has been basically shelved for a long time. Some of those sacrifices were good and positive; others were ill-conceived; in any case, somewhere along the line, I allowed my "self" to be altered, shaped, and changed according to external conditions and expectations. I am on a path now to reclaim my authentic self.

This book entered my life at just the right moment. My only conflict with the book is that it is so good and touches my soul so deeply that I am tempted to read page after page! I am resisting that temptation, because every page is so absolutely rich and deep that you literally could savor it, and meditate on each individual insight Sherrie Dillard shares, and follow the suggestions for reclaiming your authentic self, for a long time. One single essay (1-3 pages) in the book contains enough food for thought, meditation, journaling, and pondering for weeks. At least if you are someone like me who is 54 years old and has multiple years and layers to unravel to regain the core of my true self!

This is such a beautiful, poignant book. There is nothing fluffy about it, it is a meaty and well-written book, and yet it is also SO consoling to read. What can be more consoling than having someone out there-- even if we have never met-- who holds up for you that image of your real self, the one you thought you lost and maybe no one sees, but which is still within you? How comforting and inspiring to have that acknowledged. And to be offered gentle, simple ways to discover and reclaim that true self! And to own the truth that we not only have a right to be our true selves, but that is what the world needs from us as well.

Love, love, love this book.
3289801
I love the fact that someone is finally speaking out on introvert's behalf...I get really tired of all the loud-mouthed horses rears in the world that think just because someone isn't jabbering back they must not have anything to say (Or even worse those that keep telling every one to become extroverts).  Sometimes tis far more efficient to shut up and listen to the world around you than always acting like a pack of dogs seeing just who can bark loudest and longest!!! Thanks a million Mrs. Cain!!!