KIRKUS REVIEW
In this debut memoir, Hanken turns to spiritual guides, meditation, coaches, and workshops in her quest to open her life to love.
After years of feeling isolated, alone, and restricted in her ability to express love, the author finally reached a crossroads. Through dream interpretation, spiritual practice, and self-analysis, she discovers that she could no longer please others at the expense of her true feelings. She endeavors to take a journey of healing, ends her marriage of more than 20 years, and begins to take real risks in connecting with others. She sets a goal of finding a true beloved and begins to listen to signs and messages that she receives from music, dreams, and teachers. Hanken’s memoir is honest, detailed, and emotional. She articulates her feelings in a way that many readers will find relatable, detailing her inner questions, doubts, and confusion about parenting, finding love, and belonging. The chronological text is organized into seasons, with each one focusing on a different, specific struggle. Through “Winter,” for example, the author learns to trust the “flow of love,” accepting when her expectations don’t work out and relinquishing the need for control that’s kept her life bridled. In one poignant moment, the author recounts, “I had learned to love myself enough to feel the anger.” When the book reaches the final chapter, “Spring,” Hanken has learned to fully accept herself and her surroundings, and she’s reached a satisfying resolution of trust, love, and openness. Overall, this is a succinct and satisfying work, as the author eschews insignificant details to instead focus on major life events, key shifts of consciousness, and turning points in her journey, and this sets this book apart from many other spiritual memoirs.
A gratifying account of one woman’s path to wisdom, love, and self-acceptance.