Friday 12 March 2010

Book ~ "Transformation Soup" (2000) SARK

From Amazon.com ~ Since the early 1990s, SARK's playful, sympathetic style has made her an immensely popular author of self-help and creativity books. Like her past works, this vividly illustrated guide speaks to the reader's "inner child," aiming to free the imperfect, fearful, sad, funny and creative aspects that adults usually hide. This time SARK addresses the process of healing, inquiring, "What Hurts?" and gently leading readers to places (gardens, Zen retreat centers, bed) and activities (meditation, massage, creative expression) that promote recovery. With dark tales of her own experience of incest, and goofy ones including one about Rosie O'Donnell's chin hair, SARK's book reflects the "friendly disorder" of being human, covering a wide range of topics, from the trauma of broken relationships to body image and aging. Along with her heartfelt ruminations, SARK offers book referrals, transformation stories and a reference list of healers, including massage therapists, hairstylists, musicians and authors. In one fanciful section, she imagines the lessons a healing school might teach, including intuition, "non-competitive play," "accepting success" and "identifying patterns of self-defeat." All the while, she pushes readers toward their own creative expression through exercises such as "turning [inner] critics into allies" and marrying oneself. SARK's unpretentious effort illustrates her fundamental theme that "we are all swirling in the soup together" and that "whatever healing work we each do contributes to the healing of all of us."

A quick read ... I first read it in the summer of 2001.

It's a good reminder to not dwell on things, let them go and move on and experience life.
If people would tell the truth about what they are truly willing to do, there would be room for all of us to help each other in many more ways.

SARK

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