The Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten Principles for Total Emotional and Spiritual Fulfillment [Hardcover]

Barbara De Angelis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

This is an inspirational and practical guide for creating the kind of true freedom we are all seeking, the freedom that comes from knowing how to tap into a powerful inner state of confidence, clarity, and peace, and how to protect it from all of lifes ups and downs. With her trademark blend of wisdom, compassion, and warmth, De Angelis shows us how we tend to sabotage our own search for happiness and offers invaluable tools for building an inner center of emotional and spiritual self-reliance. Secrets about Life Every Woman Should Know invites the reader to discover a source of real emotional security.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a muddled though earnest attempt at philosophy based on her 30 years of meditating and spiritual study, De Angelis shifts further away from her core area of expertise: love and sex. (After many bestsellers, De Angelis first moved in this direction with Real Moments.) Playing on the title of one of her most popular books (Secrets About Men Every Woman Should Know), this latest effort offers a watered-down version of Eastern philosophy aimed at teaching her readers about the purpose of life. Ranging from the teachings of Rumi and the Buddhist nun Pema Ch?dr?n to Dan Millman and Alan Cohen, the text offers worthwhile points to contemplate, but too often they lack originality: the purpose of life is growth; change is inevitable; obstacles are lessons in disguise; everything you need to be happy is inside you; fear suppresses the feeling of being alive. Most fervent on the subject of love, De Angelis propounds loving one's self abundantly, illustrating her points with examples of mating and dating. This material, as well as De Angelis's highly personal tone and candid revelations about dramatic events in her life (a flood, disappointing relationships, business problems), will likely draw her usual fans, though perhaps not new ones. Agent, Harvey Klinger. 5-city author tour; radio satellite tour. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Of course, it seems logical that happiness can and should come from within, and waiting for it to come from outside through other people, our work, or life experience can be disappointing. However, logic is one thing; living as though we know we are responsible for our own happiness is something else--it is too easy to depend on (and blame) others or our situations for our unhappiness. De Angelis, a popular author on relationship topics, recognizes this dichotomy and keeps hammering home the point that real happiness cannot come from outside ourselves. She offers 10 principles designed to force readers to focus inward and change what can be controlled--our thoughts and feelings--and stop worrying about what we cannot control, such as the behavior of others. The 10 chapter titles contain the 10 principles and include "Change Is Inevitable, So Stop Resisting and Surrender to Life's Flow" and "Fear Will Steal Your Aliveness--Make Your Courage Bigger than Your Fear." For all self-help collections. Marlene Chamberlain

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786864680
• ISBN-13: 978-0786864683
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,115,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind, exceptional, April 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten Principles for Total Emotional and Spiritual Fulfillment (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read many self-help gurus, and this book is the only one I have latched onto as a keeper. I have had it for several years now and am so glad I happened upon it.

The honest truth is I have never read anyone who has wrote with such sincerity and refreshing honesty as Barbara, and I am so incredibly grateful for the bravery she took in revealing what drives her personally - she actually reveals how she thinks and feels and how she effectively applies it to her own life and difficulties. And she is not advocating gimmicks or a new system fad. There is no franchise of lectures and products revolving around what she lays out. I wholeheartedly believe she is telling us the principles she has adopted to negotiate life in a more optimal and felicitous manner, and it is nothing like what this American culture advocates!

Her words of distilled wisdom have helped me tremendously! At occasional times of significant weakness or disappointment, if I can just remember to pick up her book and re-read it based on what I am facing, I can orient myself back to rethinking how I am approaching a challenge or problem.

This book is priceless and many thanks to Ms. DeAngelis for having the chutzpah to write it!!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I have EVER read!, March 11, 2002

By 

"maybaby523" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten Principles for Total Emotional and Spiritual Fulfillment (Mass Market Paperback)

I have battled depression off and on my entire life. I recently read this book and it was so helpful in making me understand my negative thinking patterns and how to change them. The book forces you to look at yourself and the way you approach the set backs in your life, and how to find happiness even when things aren't going all that well for you. She isn't preachy at all, she comes across more like she is sitting there having a cup of coffee with you. Very positive and motivating.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GET THIS BOOK!!!!, March 14, 2003

By 

Vanessa "musicaleyes9" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten Principles for Total Emotional and Spiritual Fulfillment (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is AMAZING!! The way Barbara writes is just unbelievable!!! The book totally changed me internally. The way I see onstacles, troubles, and negative events in general changed forever. I see the "big picture" now rather than feeling that life is unfair to me. I now know that I am meant to live through everything that live through -- positive or negative -- that there is a lesson to be learned in anything that happens to me.
I am recommending this book to absolutely everyone -- READ IT, you will not regret it!