Customer Reviews

BACK TO THE GARDEN: Getting from Shadow to Joy

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This book is a gentle, empowering, easy-read on how to journey into a more self-empowering way of living and being . . . written from the heart. The book declares that the path is open to all . . . not just a priviledged few . . . and the expansion of one's life, which comes down this path, is well worth the effort, even with the inevitable bumps and bruises one will encounter along the way. You will cherish your life more and have confidence in the potential it holds, after you read this book.

Patrice shares facets of her courageous life's journey within a weave of practical and uplifting messages of hope, endurance and possibilities. Her writing is warm, touching, engaging and thought-provoking. This award-winning book deserves a place on every woman's bookshelf.
Corrie Woods, author of The Woman's Field Guide to Exceptional Living: Practical Steps for Living a Big, Bold, Beautiful Life!

Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (9/07)


Imagine coming to a beautiful garden. You need peace and tranquility. You desire to take in the beauty and peace of knowing that you are not there alone. You have entered a garden with many paths within its borders. Once visiting this garden, you will want to return often -- coming "Back to the Garden" is very simple -- all you need to do is open the pages of this book.

Like in a garden, where the grass and flowers grow, you will grow when inside its pages. You will find the different paths to self-awareness, self-discovery and self-acceptance. You can be at peace with your thoughts. "Back to the Garden" is a collection of many different stories about people from a wide range of walks of life. These stories will encourage you and give you an opportunity to take on a different perspective. When you read some of these stories, you will find that others have fought incredible odds and won.

Patrice Dickey has won numerous awards for her educational excellence. She shares how you can break from the shadows and come into the light of a happier life. With the many short stories in their own individual sections, you can come "Back to the Garden" and find just the morsel that will help you at any given time. This book is a must have for anyone who desires to feel true joy. Patrice Dickey has been truly blessed with a way of educating others into seeing the joy and contentment in life. She is very encouraging and helpful. Joy definitely flows throughout the pages and your life will seem different after being here. There is an accompanying CD by the same name where Patrice has selected stories so you can visit the garden when riding in your vehicle between appointments or anytime you need a pick-me-up.

The garden gate is open. Read "Back to the Garden," and come in and savor the time you have in this beautiful place!

Received book free of charge

By taking the reader on a journey through her own follies, adventures and heartaches, Patrice Dickey traces the twisted pathway from shadow to joy. The author exposes her own vunlerabilities as a mechanism to extend a hand to to others seeking to make sense of the madness in their lives. The book combines engaging prose with meaningful revelations, and the author's obvious wisdom never assumes a "preachy" tone. Certain to appeal to readers who would prefer to learn their next lesson from someone who risks experiencing a richly lived life.

Ms. Dickey's BACK TO THE GARDEN: Getting from Shadow to Joy is a warmly written guide that approaches the daily struggles of our anxious age with compassion and common sense. The book is both a courageous journaling of one woman's self-healing and a generous how-to book for others wishing to follow the path of honest self-assessment and direction.

Back to the Garden is like an easy visit with a friend..... just a meandering through life.. thoughts.... tools.... experiences with spiritual eyes to see and experience it all.

A gentle jewel.

Patrice Dickey has beautifully leveraged the metaphor of the garden - with all its beauty, demands, unpredictability, and sustenance - as a template for living a rich and rewarding life: fragile but malleable, temperamental but life-affirming. Full of paradox, full of wisdom.

Poignant personal examples, introspection, and a call-to-arms mark this litany as a must read for anyone wanting to feel the sun in their face, the soil under their fingernails, and the fruit of their labors manifesting in their life.

Makes me want to grab the spade and hoe and get diggin'.

Stephen Banick, Scottsdale, AZ