A strange and wonderful peace swept over me while reading this book
597832
A strange and wonderful peace swept over me while reading this book, before I even made any changes to my daily madness. Truly identified with this book!!! Thank God for this! Highly recommend to all!
4003426
Liz is dead and in the beginning, it isn't very fun.

Elsewhere really surprised me.  This book was sitting on my bookshelf being unread until I was bored out of my skull and had nothing else to read but it.  I'm very happy to have had to chance to read this strangely amazing book.  Yes, it took a while to get used to the voice and at one point in time I wasn't quite sure where the plot was, but it was one of those books I just couldn't put down.

The book deals with acceptance, love, and the issue of moving on.  It's funny, sad, and a very different view point of Heaven than past books I've read.

Here's the deal:  Give Elsewhere I try.  It's one of those you'll either love or you'll hate.  But it's definitely worth a look.
3462918
After losing my mother to cancer and struggling with infertility for nearly 5 years, this book has given me a strange kind of comfort, I didn't expect when I started the book.
4270915
It is without exaggeration that I write that this book changed my life forever. There is no turning back. I read this book to my ailing mother way back in 2011 when it first came out. My mother would not let me stop reading. She was just as mesmerized by this book as I was. Every chapter in this book is beyond interesting. I strongly recommend the new readers to read the book cover to cover and not miss the prologue or the introduction. Every word has wisdom  embedded in it. I don't know about others, but this book came to me as God sent, as it not only gave me peace but gave my ailing parents immense peace and direction.
I recommend this book for not only the spiritual seekers but for everyone irrespective of their view on spirituality. It can be looked at as a travelogue too if they want to. For me personally, it was a book that I couldn't put down and each time I read it, I have come away with something new. It never grows old. I read the Autobiography of a Yogi by Yogananda much after I read this book, and personally for me, this book was far more moving and inspiring than Yogananda's book. Infact I have not yet finished that book .
I highly recommend people to read this book with an open mind. It has a lot of  incredulous events in there, but beyond that, the spiritual message that is weaved in this entire book is encouraging and magnificent. For me this was a spiritual book that I will carry with me where ever I go. It is that brilliant and comprehensible with simple use of the language. You can almost hear the author narrating the story to you. Very well written.
2773017
All books are not meant for everyone, but for me this was a real joy ride. My take away was to strive to enjoy life to its fullest even with all its craziness and sometimes disappointments.  Along the way if you look you will find beauty, warmth, kindness and compassion--you have to be willing to set aside your fears, losses, prejudices, etc. and the redemptive power of love will come through.  This book in an unusual way  encourages the reader to live life to the fullest and enjoy wine, books, food, friends along the way. Fun,lyrical and somewhat mystical book.
3051883
I found myself rereading passages for the wisdom we so often miss.  An unusual book which touched my heart from beginning to end.
977262
This book was recommended and I picked it up with ambivalence thinking, "I already have a spiritual path and Teacher.  Do I really want to invest my time in yet another story?"  Well, I am immensely glad I did.  Frazier's intention to share her experience and let her reader know that enlightenment is here now, available to the reader as well as herself was a gift to me.  Since reading the book I am aware of my own moments of Self Awareness and my faith is renewed.  Because Frazier has shared her inner life so beautifully and carefully, I recognize that I too can (and do!) live in this state of amazing grace.
3398265
I loved reading this book. I can't decide if it is more appropriate for a woman considering having a baby, or a mum, as it allows the reader to really reflect on their own birthing story/stories as the chapters unfold. It is a very special and intimate journey that Melinda and Glenn have shared. It is unsettling in all the right ways! I loved it
3330643
I picked up this book a few weeks ago with the intent to read it as soon as my classes were over. It took a couple days but yesterday I finally had the chance to crack it open. I read it in a day. I spent the night trying to come up with the words that could sufficiently describe what I read and the emotions that siezed me while I sat for hours in my room completely enraptured by one of the greatest love stories I have ever read. I fear that even with all my hours of contemplation on what this review would hold, all my pondering would be inadequate in fully projecting to you the splendor held between both covers of Nuno. Influences of  authors like Neruda, and Marquez come to mind, within its proses full of love, despair, and hope, but interestingly it is authors Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama that are most reminiscent due to the wisdom and insight of life Carlos infuses within the story in a way that is both subtle and eye opening. There were times I felt I was reading a soundtrack to a movie, the words as notes undulating, taking me with it on a melodious journey from hope to despair to wonderment. It is as if the author has poured his soul, intact, beautifully, in a book and it is a gift to all of us. One we should treasure and one I will share most certainly with others, for it would be a great loss for a story so exquisitely written to ebb into obscurity.
347479
A wonderful experience and one that will stay with me forever. In moments of emotional upheaval, doubt, worry and general malaise, I turn to this book for a sense of peace and joy.
1989549
if i could only read one book for the rest of my life, it would be this one. it is miraculously beautiful, and it came to me at a time when i needed it most--a gift of love from life itself.
books on life and spirituality are my favorite kind--and i have read MANY, and practice a life of love, gratitude, and spirit. every word in this book resonates truth to me, and i would share it with anyone and everyone that felt drawn to it.
my heart spreads so wide in gratitude to Akemi G and her spirit guides for manifesting this in our world. thank you so much.
3970410
There are passages in the book that felt to me like a calm soothing bath.  I felt such peace with the characters. I didn't know till I finished the book that it was a true story.  More the pity Mr. Owita  is lost to the world.  The lesson I learned was to look with your heart in all things.
3592114
I went on a journey reading this book, wandered on unknown pathways looking for clear answers, frustrated at times with the smokescreen as I read and tried to piece it all together. Eventually I did. That was an exceptional moment.

This novella is quirky and quite unlike anything I have read for some time, I like quirky and unique things, and I liked this a lot.

Ariel meets a family that are also in the guesthouse he is now reluctantly having to stay in, now that his planned journey has gone off course, off the radar for the time being. They are more than a little strange.

"For a moment only the tinkle of ice and the popping of flame could be heard. When Ariel looked at Margot she was different. That moment held two views of her, like an old 3D postcard: hearty from one angle, suddenly fragile from another."

The writing is amazing in this novella, I was drawn in and swept away on a sea of words, painting a picture for me that was not clear for quite some time, indeed I as the reader was lost in the fog of confusion, not uncomfortable there however, intrigued, I was very keen to know what came next. What did come next made me gasp.

So terribly hard to outline this book in more detail without spoiling it for all those that are yet to read it. But it had so many wonderful elements going for it. Atmospheric, slightly creepy, and really rather clever. Words are failing me for this review.

Ariel is trying to make sense of all that is going on around him, using his very logical brain, his scientific brain, as he pieces together his impressions of the family he is stuck in the guesthouse with. Strange things happen, things don't make sense, nothing is quite as it seems.

I am quite surprised at some of the low ratings and reviews of this novella, based on reading those before I began I had low expectations but was hugely delighted that I did indeed see what this book I believe intends to be, what the author is wanting us to feel and experience. I got it.

Sometimes a book, even a short book such as this one can transport you into another time and place, another reality, a pure escapists pleasure. This one took me there. Tremendous.
4299061
When you read this book you are experiencing a living miracle!

From my earliest memories I have sought to understand and find resolution to the perpetual pain and suffering of human beings and all living life forms on this planet.  I could not understand how or why anyone would want to deliberately harm another?  And, I have felt immeasurable guilt and confusion at the pain that I have inadvertently caused to others.  Soul searching, the breadth and scope of the suffering on earth has proven to be far too much for me to comprehend and I have often felt helpless & hopeless.  No more.

This book has lifted the veil of confusion from my eyes and opened my heart to a place of truth.  I now can choose to live from a place of knowing, secure in the love and guidance of divine grace.

Blessings to all who read this book.  May your hearts be opened to the truth of who you are.
1289952
Book of Shadows struck a spark in the deepest part of my soul. Although having been raised religious, even to the point of becoming a minister, by the time I entered my early 60s I had lain most of it aside, having become totally disillusioned with religion. What was left over however was the certain knowledge that religion and spirituality, while sharing some commonality, are two completely different paths and the search for that fulfillment finally led me to look at Wicca. I have read extensively over the past few years but none of the authors touched my soul in the way that this story did; the story of how this agnostic professional woman found the same path that I had come to - but from a completely different direction. I could not put this book down without reading it all. It struck such a chord within my soul that I could not stand the absence of this womans story any longer, so I picked it up again. I am now reading it for the second time, taking my time and savoring it, and I am finding things that I never noticed before, things that are speaking to me in a way that is totally new and wonderful. In the same way that she offered thankfulness for friendship and trust at her very first circle, I offer thankfulness for Phyllis and her story. I cannot recommend this book enough. I wish it were required reading for all initiates and seekers. It really is that good.
2770450
I admit, this story was rather difficult to begin.  It seemed that the book was going to revolve around religion much more than I would have liked.  Thankfully, this was not the case.  Once the story of Ize got going, I began to enjoy reading about him.  One particular quote really moved me because of how much I can relate to it; "I wondered if I'd ever discover where I belonged in this world.  Wandering the hills to figure out a problem is one thing, but wandering the earth looking for a home is another."  Though my life is not nearly as trying as Isaac's was, I can relate to the feeling of not knowing where you fit in or belong.  I am also prone to taking long walks to contemplate the way that I am and why I feel so different from all of the people around me.  Wandering and wondering if there is a place somewhere where other people feel like I do is a favorite past time of mine.  Reading about how Isaac felt that he didn't have a certain place where he completely belonged both hit home for me and comforted me.  It made me remember that I am not the only one who feels that way.  The end of the story was immensely comforting and satisfying because Ize did find his place in the world with the people that he loved most and they were what kept him happy and satisfied and away from the bottle.  This book is a wonderfully written story about growing up, overcoming the painful past, and reinventing the future.  Full of wit, love, motivation, obstacles, and above all humanity, this book has earned its place amongst the shelves of my favorite reads.
2604019
When I first began to read Finding Faith in the Dark, I was simply intrigued by the title which caused me to read the book. However, nothing could have prepared me for the transformation that would occur afterwards. You see I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the Author Laurie Short i n a traditional setting but through reading her work it feels as if we have known eachother for ever at least in spirit. Finding Faith in the Dark was a comfort to my Soul that I was unaware was needed. The words on the pagers of this beautifully written book nourished my mind, body, soul and spirit. It spoke to the part of me that was hidden without a voice and its words gave voice to an otherwise silent thought (if that makes sense). Finding Faith in the Dark stretched me in ways that I did not dream possible. It challenged me to go deeper in my thinking, about what my purpose in this life is. It gave peace to an otherwise chaotic time in my Life. Reading Finding Faith in the Dark provided me with a deeper and more meaningful walk with the almighty and for that I want to say Thank You Laurie Short for being so candid in allowing God to use you such as He has in Finding Faith in the Dark. My heart is overjoyed.