Romancing the Ordinary: A Year of Simple Splendor [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Sarah Ban Breathnach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2002

In her first major book since "Something More," #1 "New York Times" bestselling author Sarah Ban Breathnach takes readers to a new level of personal fulfillment and spiritual awareness as they learn to rediscover and savor the sensual experience of daily life.

Organized as a saunter through the year, "Romancing the Ordinary" celebrates the spirituality of the senses, seasonally and monthly. Ban Breathnach believes that women are endowed not with five senses but with seven. In addition to rediscovering sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch, readers will come to cherish their sense of "knowing" -- a woman's intuitive sense -- and "wonder," her sense of rapture and reverence.

Writing in the style so beloved by her millions of readers, and drawing on myth, literature, film, music, and drama, Ban Breathnach encourages each woman to discover what moves her to tears, makes her blood rush to her head, her heart skip a beat, and her soul sigh. Interwoven with the text are seasonal indulgences intended to restore weary feminine souls -- recipes, rituals, decorating, fashion, and gardening hints. By encouraging her to delight in the often overlooked gifts of every day -- from the aroma of simmering homemade spaghetti sauce to the sensation of freshly laundered linen against bare skin -- "Romancing the Ordinary" is sure to help every woman fall in love with Life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Women were created to experience, interpret, revel in, and unravel the mysteries of Life through their senses," declares Breathnach (Simple Abundance), insisting that women have two extra senses: those of "knowing" and "wonder." Breathnach then works her way through the calendar year, offering tips to women to free their "essensual" selves. Much of the advice (e.g., make your own scented sachets and foot lotions) is rote. At times, Breathnach herself criticizes the commercialization of the sensual. For example, the bath is a "waterfall of delight" that's being "snuffed out by the banality of the self-enhancement poseurs." Homemade is the best way to go, says Breathnach, and even the hours spent preparing various potions are a gift in themselves. On the other hand, she heartily endorses purchasing gourmet fruits, "essensual sets of underwear," silk sheets and other luxuries, since these items also pleasure the senses. Fortunately, the object of all this pampering isn't just to attract a mate. Breathnach urges women to stop focusing on finding a partner and to "learn the sacred soulcraft of self-nurture." While exhortations to "become your own courtesan" may seem narcissistic, the message will strike a welcome chord among women who've learned that sacrificing for others isn't always worth it. At times Breathnach is unintentionally funny she recommends taking Beckett plays to the laundromat to "try on for size being an intellectual." But her occasionally pretentious use of quotations and capitalized references to the Spirit and the Divinity shouldn't stop her fans from pampering their Inner Goddess.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The founder of Simple Abundance Press and author of best sellers like Something More shows us how to get the most out of life with this sensuous guide to the seasons.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1st edition (October 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743218779
• ISBN-13: 978-0743218771
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Romance for All Seasons, November 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Romancing the Ordinary: A Year of Simple Splendor (Hardcover)

I found it impossible not to be drawn to Romancing the Ordinary, at first simply for its beautiful cover. What I found inside was even lovelier! The style os this book harkens back to Simple Abundance as it calendars the year month by month, offering recipes and cozy home remedies. Sarah's signature narrative is in full effect with her personal anecdotes and insight, where it feels more like an exchange with an intimate friend. Though there is a noted change in her tone--sometimes she's nostalgic, others she is inquisitive and even sassy!
There has been so much tragedy in the past year that I think many of us are finding renewed significance in our everyday ordinary. Sarah takes that sentiment to a refreshing new level. Embedded between fanciful ways of revamping the blah of everyday routine, are nuggets of wisdom and practical proposals.
The book's foundation focuses on her intriguing idea that we can live life fuller simply by beginning to re-appreciate the power of our natural senses. In addition to the five physical ones, she tacks on wonder and intuition. Sarah's theory of Romancing Life translates seamlessly into Romancing Yourself. A practice that begins with self-knowledge. She shares her own realization that, the more you know how to make yourself happy, the easier it will be to recognize who will make you happy. And in the meantime, why wait for that someone? Do it yourself. Now what woman can argue with that?

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Splendid, October 29, 2002

By 

Sarah Llewellyn (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romancing the Ordinary: A Year of Simple Splendor (Hardcover)

I'm a long-time fan of Ms. Ban Breathnach's work. However, I'm not an easy sell just because an author comes out with something else. From the moment I picked up this beautiful book, I could tell that she had ventured into new territory. Laid out as a journey through the twelve months of the year, each chapter gently guides you through the delights to be found in every day and the simple graces you can bring into your life. You'll also find all of the SBB trademarks: rare quotes, thought provoking questions, recipes for body and soul, and of course the lyrical prose that only comes from the goddess of gratitude.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sarah has done it again, November 1, 2002

By 

L. Fort "lkfort" (Houston, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romancing the Ordinary: A Year of Simple Splendor (Hardcover)

I have read Sarah's Simple Abundance each year since it came out. Now I find this wonderful book of hers too. I am so glad she chose to refer to God more in this new book. I love Sarah's ability to write as we live. She knows what it is to truly see, hear, listen, touch, and smell our lives. Please don't just glance at your child, look into your child. Don't just see a flower, see the Creator who made it bloom. And as the seasons in life and nature change, we too change and grow. We cannot do it alone. Live your life, every moment, every breath.
thank you Sarah.