THE ROOTED RENEGADE

Leadership and executive coach Arnold offers heart-centered advice for creating a purposeful life.

The author recounts a career journey that included earning a law doctorate from Northeastern University in 2004, working with the U.S. Department of Education as a presidential management fellow, and choosing to be a full-time, stay-at-home parent. This depth of her experience shows in her self-help book, which relates her approach to building a life of meaning. Arnold aims to help her own clients realize their potential and offers some insights into her process. The concept of peace is at the core of her method: “internal peace,” situated in the body; “existential peace,” defined by one’s gifts, values, and purpose; and “relational peace,” which is attained through creating connections with oneself and others. She addresses each category in separate sections, further broken down into chapters, each including exercises and synopses of salient points. (Arnold suggests that the best way to use her book is to move mindfully from start to finish, but the summaries suggest that she probably knows that at least a few readers won’t follow that advice.) The first third of the book is dedicated to paying attention to one’s body, developing somatic techniques for learning from physical unease, and using movement to avoid experiencing self-defeating emotional states. In the section on cultivating existential peace, Arnold effectively encourages readers to let their knowledge of their own mortality help to clarify what they want for themselves, to learn from failure, and to make confident decisions in challenging situations—all of which are essential to developing good relationships with others. While aficionados of self-help literature will understand that Arnold is building on the work of other writers, her lessons on the usefulness of reflecting on one’s impending death are unusual in a book directed at leaders (and would-be leaders). The author also acknowledges that achieving success isn’t a purely personal matter but, rather, one that’s circumscribed by systemic barriers like sexism, racism, and antigay sentiment, which is also a notable approach.

A wide-ranging and impressively holistic approach to achieving personal and professional success.