THE TENACIOUS PURSUIT OF PEACE

MacRae offers a combination of self-help guide and memoir reflecting on her path to success.

The author, the CEO and founder of both Homepro Toolbox and the Legacy Leadership Institute, offers a self-help guide full of the wisdom she has gained throughout her years as both an independent entrepreneur and corporate executive (as well as an intimate partner and mother). The book’s structure slowly emerges, amidst life-lessons and personal anecdotes, as MacRae takes readers from her boarding school youth to her present as a successful businessperson, sharing what she’s learned along the way. MacRae includes both delightful anecdotes—including a story about ending up at the “wrong” table at a company event and turning the faux-pas into an opportunity—and painful memories, including an account of what she only retroactively realized was a sexual assault. The author’s approach to self-help occasionally feels a bit one-size-fits-all; MacRae’s emphasis on personal choice, for example, might not allow for considerations of the privilege (or lack thereof) that can affect the agency to make these choices. The author touches on familiar concepts like the myth of having it all (which turns out to be not enough) and forgiveness (“There is something almost magical that happens when we embrace forgiveness. When we forgive, it is not the other who is healed, it is us. And when we are both the forgiven and the forgiver, the impact is compounded exponentially”). The most original and engaging material in the book develops the idea of “Lighting Rod Moments,” which, MacRae writes, “are the events in our life that strike us to the core and have a deep and lasting impact on us.” These events can be obvious traumas, but can also be smaller things that, superficially, might not seem so important. In explicating the concept, the author provides important guidance for healing from past experiences, using examples from her own life.

A real-life narrative that moves beyond conventional wisdom to provide some unique insights.