The Architecture of All Abundance: Creating a Successful Life in the Material World [Hardcover]

Lenedra J. Carroll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2001

The Architecture of All Abundance is a spiritual memoir tracing the path of Lenedra Carroll. The author was born in a village in Alaska, and from that childhood she brought with her independence and a connection to nature rare in those involved in the entertainment industry. The book weaves together stories from her childhood with stories about running an ethical business in the shark-infested world of recording studios and mass market celebrities. The book illustrates alternative methods of attaining prosperity, love, health, and a sense of purpose. The stories reveal how she has applied her own values to everything from a childhood case of frostbite to advising her daughter, singer/songwriter Jewel, to live in her van to free herself to pursue her artistic goals on her own terms.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Lenedra Carroll, the mother and manager of singer/songwriter Jewel, offers a memoir that speaks to her spiritual theories on creating abundance. The Architecture of All Abundance, her "rag to riches" life story, starts out when the author is a young girl growing up poor in a small Alaskan village and winds up with Carroll becoming a successful CEO of a global entertainment enterprise. More than a memoir, this is more accurately an inspirational book on how you too can build a fulfilling life that includes plenty of spirit and prosperity. Carroll emphasizes the timeless truths of spiritual abundance--ones that readers have probably heard before: listen to your soul's voice, ask the right questions, make time for stillness, own the fear instead of avoiding it, remember that generosity generates prosperity. Yet, like any effective teacher, Carroll has the ability to package these nuggets of wisdom with just the right anecdote or just the right phrasing so that it finally sinks in. It's not uncommon to find provocative passages such as, "We can all realize that while the fear is real, it is also true that what we fear is like a mirage rising off the heat of a projected or past pain." Although her structure of alternating poetry, personal stories, and spiritual advice makes the book slightly disjointed, Carroll's eloquence as a narrator ties it together. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

A gallery owner, glass artist and manager of her pop-star daughter Jewel's singing and movie career, Carroll explains how she achieved an abundant life and fulfilling career. Unfortunately, her fuzzy inspirational insights are better expressed elsewhere and take up far more space than her personal anecdotes, which, though few, are written with clarity and feeling. Carroll advocates practicing such spiritual principles as "courting stillness, committing to be creative, evoking our courage, asking better questions, challenging our context and remembering it as a dream" via meditation, quiet walks, time alone and so on. Creativity, Carroll suggests, lies in the ability to shift our "context," which she calls the defining factor of our lives. Moving into the realm of her daughter's career, Carroll relates how she helped 19-year-old Jewel focus her thoughts by continually asking her, "Is it time?" She emphasized that Jewel's career should develop organically, in tune with her psyche and creativity. Thus, instead of encouraging Jewel to begin with a demo tape, Carroll led her into a gig at a local coffeehouse, where she gained experience in front of an audience and was eventually heard by record industry representatives. Carroll stresses the power of all-encompassing "Love," which she calls the flower of the plant different from sexual love, the plant's seeds. Abruptly moving between concepts, Carroll's thoughts don't cohere, and the book is ultimately confusing. (Oct.)Forecast: Jewel's fans may find satisfying nuggets about their idol here, but little of this material will benefit the self-help audience. Nonetheless, a $50,000 marketing budget, a first serial in O, the Oprah Magazine, selection by One Spirit Book Club and promotion on Jewel's Web site will help sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (October 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577311892
• ISBN-13: 978-1577311898
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #692,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than a self-help book, March 28, 2002

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Architecture of All Abundance: Creating a Successful Life in the Material World (Hardcover)

I'm not generally one for books of this nature (I usually enjoy fiction over nonfiction), but this book was fascinatingly plain. It dealt with everything I knew was familiar, yet was written in such a way that I was able to see 'everyday' as extraordinary. Knowing something of the content of the book before I bought it, I was afraid it would be too hokey and corny. I was also afraid it would be a book someone wrote to ride on the coattails of her daughter's (Jewel) success. It was nothing of the sort. Once I read this book, I saw where the source of inspiration in Jewel's music and poetry came from. Her mother, Lenedra, is a powerhouse of wisdom and gentleness. Not to mention eloquence! This book was very, very well written. The words are intelligent, coherent, and thoughtful.

Lenedra's prose is delightful. She offers her wisdom through insights and observations, never once taking up any pretention that she knows every solution to every problem. It's not a 'how-to' book to a successful, balanced, and happy life. On every page she emphasizes the answers, along with problems, are all there within our grasp, and offers her insights on how to see and follow through with the solution to our woes.

Her advice is simple, loving, nurturing and very wise, and she brings a unique and fresh approach to age old adages. Every story she shares, every notion she brings up, it's all stuff we've already heard, but really registered. The difference is you can feel from her words that she lived and learned the lessons firsthand, and that alone makes for a more engaging read. I also love that she never asserts solutions are beyond our own grasp, that answers are blessed only by aloof deities. Her words are powerful yet gentle, and place emphasis on the beauty of human courage. This book centers around human goodness, not humanity's failings.

This book is a nice, thick read. I've taken a good long time to read through it, reading only a few pages here and there, but the book keeps drawing me back to read more. This is one of those books you keep going back to, and I can see myself returning to it again and again during my lifetime. Each time your return to the pages of this book, you'll find yourself forming new insigts and opinions of your own on the subject matter. It's one of those books that will never grow old, because the subject matter regards a lifetime's worth of experiences.

Truly refreshing. This is a much needed book, emphasizing the stillness and quiet of life to find solutions, which is a ready welcome into our hectic modern day society.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genuine and Useful Information, March 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Architecture of All Abundance: Creating a Successful Life in the Material World (Hardcover)

I saw a negative review for this book in one of the national rag magazines, saying this book is destined for the "remainder pile." Don't believe it! Ms. Carroll approaches New Age concepts from just about every useful angle: through anectode, personal experience, poetry, the sciences, and her own high-level business experience. Between these approaches, SOMETHING is bound to get through to you, no matter what you've read, heard, or ignored in the past. Be prepared to give yourself a chance to get accustomed to her writing style, and do not dismiss the book with, "Oh, here's Jewel's mother trying to make a buck," - otherwise you'll be cheating yourself out of a great opportunity. Her writing is full to say the least - I enjoyed having to consult my dictionary from time to time - but the ideas she presents are worthy of nothing less. I consider this book one of my personal bibles to be consulted again and again. I lent this book to a friend who read 2 chapters, and hated it. But by the time she finished the book (so something must have registered with her), I couldn't wrestle the thing out of her hands. Trust the process and read.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sparking New Thought, November 9, 2001

By 

D. L. Kirby (Olympia, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Architecture of All Abundance: Creating a Successful Life in the Material World (Hardcover)

Every once in awhile a book, like a movie, touches you. You feel a kinship. Something inside responds. Memories are awakened, and emotions come forth.The Architecture of All Abundance stirred my soul, my being. It made me say "yes", I can re-think, re-fine and re-imagine my life.
I felt Ms. Carroll as a friend. One who reached out, took me by the hand and shared some very intimate, important nuggets of her wisdom. Take a walk with her, you will enjoy the journey.