Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage, and Transform [Hardcover]

Elise Ballard (Editor)

Book Description

Release date: January 4, 2011

Have you ever experienced an epiphany, a life-changing moment or realization?

Elise Ballard has, and she was so stunned by its effect on her life that she started asking others if they had ever experienced these kinds of breakthroughs. What began as simple curiosity led to an unexpected and exciting journey, spanning several years and the breadth of human experience. The result of her interviews is Epiphany, a collection of more than fifty revelations that changed lives forever.

Inspiring, thought-provoking, and eye-opening, Epiphany shares deeply intimate stories of people from all walks of life, from public figures like Maya Angelou, Deepak Chopra, Ali MacGraw, and Barry Manilow, to personal acquaintances and lifelong friends, to new contacts made in the most unexpected and serendipitous of circumstances.

Whether discovering purpose in life, awakening to new possibilities, or finding a new direction after a catastrophic setback, each person’s epiphany is a gift, providing new insight into these remarkable lives and a window into the universal truths that connect us all.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Guest Reviewer: Marci Shimoff

Marci Shimoff is the New York Times bestselling author of Happy for No Reason, Love for No Reason, and Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul.

As all who know me and my work can attest, I love anthologies, especially real-life stories of the hero’s journey, where ordinary people overcome insurmountable odds and share with us their most important life lessons. For it’s by sharing these stories that we connect to one another on the most fundamental level of our humanity.

In Epiphany, Elise Ballard has traveled the world and collected the life-changing stories of more than fifty people, including some of today’s greatest thought leaders, to show us the grace, the gifts, and the wisdom that life has to offer. I’m not going to give even one single story away, but I promise you, you will be moved, you will reflect, and you most certainly will want to share these stories.

Epiphanies are about transformation. They are the ”aha” moments that connect us with the Divine. In this impressive collection of true stories, we are invited to experience the transformation along with these fascinating and undeniably real people. Elise is a gifted writer and has done an excellent job in sharing her experience with each of her subjects. She portrays each individual with warmth and authenticity, whether they be a politician, a mother, a technical genius, a film producer, a doctor, a magician, or a student.

This is the kind of book that you keep by your bedside and read over and over. Each time you pick it up, you’re invited into the private life of another person’s tale of transformation. It’s a classic inspirational collection to be revisited time and time again.

I think this is a work of great importance. In this time of dramatic change, when so many of us must redefine ourselves based on a new reality, Elise shows us we can experience our greatest selves.

From Booklist

Ballard is a professional actress, independent filmmaker, and producer, so it isn’t surprising that she contacted people from the entertainment industries to share their epiphanies for her book. Contributors include producers, screenwriters, actors, even an ex-con turned mentalist and magician. But there are also testimonies from other kinds of public figures, such as Maya Angelou, Desmond Tutu, and Deepak Chopra. Each story contains a transformative experience that causes someone to act differently for the remainder of his or her life, with some of the best coming from everyday types, including a stay-at-home mom and a schoolteacher. At times participants indicate that the world seemed to conspire to support their actions, confirming that they were on the right track. Interesting and inspirational, this is for thoughtful readers, in whom it is likely to trigger self-examination and and the effort to listen to one’s own inner voice. --Susan DeGrane

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harmony (January 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307716104
• ISBN-13: 978-0307716101
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #253,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elise Ballard is the host and creator of the online community and website, Epiphany Channel, and the author of Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage and Transform (Random House/Crown Publishing), a collection of over 50 interviews with amazing people from all walks of life recounting the stories of their greatest epiphanies. She started her career in entertainment working as an actress and moved into independent filmmaking and producing in Los Angeles as a partner in a production company who had films distributed by Lions Gate and Monarch Entertainment. Her directorial debut, Lord of the Wiens: A Dachumentary, a movie about the annual Wiener Dog Races in Buda, TX, became a cult hit. She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and the wildly popular website, Positively Positive, and she recently was invited to speak at a TED event where she delivered two talks - one for middle and high school kids and one for adults. Elise also had the privilege of being invited to attend and cover the 2011 Nobel Prizes, and she serves as one of the judges for the prestigious Humanitas Prize in Los Angeles, awarding writers for emphasizing and celebrating humanistic values in their work. She has created, directed and produced numerous projects including the YOU DVDs accompanying the YOU book series by world-renowned, bestselling authors, Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen. She currently is in development on several projects, including more for the Epiphany Channel, film and television versions of the Epiphany project, and future books for the Epiphany series.
Many of her interviews that are in her book were also filmed and excerpts of them can be found on the EpiphanyChannel.com website as well as her two TED Talks. Her passion is hearing/writing/telling people's stories and she would love to hear about your epiphanies and/or feedback, too, which you can share at www.epiphanychannel.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it January 5, 2011

By Cinemamania

Format:Hardcover

Read through this in one night, just couldn't stop. It is poignant, intelligent, and both motivational and inspirational.
Each passage is relatable. Personally, David Hudgins was essentially the same as what happened in my life.
Truly wonderful!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars So Close ... March 16, 2011

By Mike Donovan

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I enjoyed a lot of this book. Many of the stories are truly fascinating and helped kick-start my own thought process about certain things. An 'epiphany' also seems to mean different things to different people profiled in this book. It could have just as easily been called 'Inspiration' as many people tell their stories without any "aha" moment that most think of when they think of epiphanies. I was a little disappointed with that. But my biggest disappointment was the too big of a share the book focused on stars, famous people, celebrities, whatever. A book like this would have been just as good (better in my opinion) had it just been inspiring stories began with epiphanies from just plain regular folks. We live in such a state of celebrity-worship now that it seems sometimes like books such as these have to throw in all the celebrities to validate the book. Because, we all know it just doesn't happen unless it happens to celebrities and is chronicled by People magazine. That's my biggest gripe. With that said, as I said at the beginning of my review, much of this book was enjoyable and many of the stories were truly inspiring as they did grow out of true epiphanies and that 'aha' moment when we awaken to a new way of looking at things, doing things, etc. It wasn't a bad book by any stretch - it just could have been better with the focus back on Peoria as opposed to the glossy magazine lives of the stars.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it for yourself and everyone you love! January 5, 2011

By L. A. Meisel

Format:Hardcover

Epiphanies...we have all had them but how many of us actually recall them or recognize them at the time as that "a ha" moment? Elise Ballard has interviewed people, famous and next door, to find out theirs and put them together in this incredible collection. I haven't even finished the book yet and already I have laughed and cried. Anything which can pull at my heartstrings is a success. Don't miss the video interviews on the website, too: www.epiphanychannel.com