Customer Reviews

Welcome to Your Crisis: How to Use the Power of Crisis to Create the Life You Want

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If you have read Laura Day's The Circle ... the section on creating space hints at why a crisis is also an opportunity. President Kennedy once said that the Chinese characters for Crisis was the same as opportunity and this book delves deeper into the nature of that phenomenon. Laura Day has experienced these events herself and is speaking from experience. Often in a crisis the natural inclination is to focus on our emotional responses. When these reactions are negative it often triggers unhealed wounds that cause us to re-traumatize ourselves. Herein lies either the blessing or the curse ... and the remedy is in our choices to heal the original wound once and for all, and often with the help of those trained to do so. If we choose the emotionally healthy and healing response we are well on our way. If not, we risk staying in the quagmire of the trauma. Most people need guidance coming out alive, this is called resilience, and welcoming your crisis is the first step in ultimately...climbing out of the pit.

That said, it is OK to find constructive safe releases for justified anger, such as kick boxing, running, a therapy group, putting up boundaries, saying what you need to say to those involved in a situation, and legal vindication when required. Just as long as you discharge the emotions from your emotional body and seek legal, ethical, and moral conclusions as fast as possible so you are free by feeling justice. Then you are ready for phase 2 of a crisis response: processing what happened, learning the lessons, and being in a state of forgiveness so it doesn't happen again. Forgiveness is when you let go fully and honestly of the attachment to the idea that the past be any differently than it was. And forgiving before it is emotionally safe and healthy for you only hurts you more with the poison of denial. THIS IS TOUGH AND IT HAPPENS GRADUALLY. BUT YOU MUST DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO BOUNCE BACK STRONGER AND BETTER. Remember ... go with the energy properly and with the intent that the best revenge is a well-lived life in integrity. Remember too that two wrongs don't make a right, being hurt gives you NO permission to perpetrate another. It's more like the man whose wife runs off on him with another man, in the most vindictive fashion, and once the divorce is finalized becomes a mult-millionnaire and she can't touch his fortune. More just desserts then bitter pill.

One of my newest favorite films displays this principle in action. In the 2005 movie "Just Friends", the overweight Chris is madly in love with his best friend Jamie. When he confesses his feelings for her on graduation night, he is spurned and publicly humiliated. In shock, Chris jumps on his bike (it's a teenage love crisis) and screams with FULL INTENTION "I'll show you"! "I'll show you all"! Then rides away. Ten years later he is a hot, successful music executive in LA who dates supermodels, plays semi-pro hockey, and is a major handsome buffed catch. His teenage hurt and rejection propelled him to become larger than life. It's a classic re-telling of a myth of the ugly duckling. Laura Day helps guide readers to re-creating their personal myth in the same way. Laura Day explains further how intention in the midst of a crisis can really move things forward.

Towards the end of the book Laura Day talks about the many gifts that resulted in her life in response to losing her mother and her marital breakup. She talks about no longer missing her mother becasue of this. This is what the gift of a crisis means.

A crisis generates a lot of energy so it is a chance to harness this life force and invest it in manifesting what you truly want. Day's book explores this path and can jumpstart some ideas if you are truly in the tornado of a crisis so you can go from turbulence to flow. Take the energy (like horsepower) and ride FORWARD to your dreams. Laura Day describes different ways to do this in the book if you have no clue where to start. Transform your energy and your life will look different. Change your choices from unhealthy to healthy and that will only accelerate things. Without a dream people perish ... put your attention to making your vision for yourself manifest ... and the roadmap out of a crisis become clear. Day stated in her earlier book "The Circle" that sometimes we unconsciosly create a crisis in our lives because we do need a major wake up call. This is very true.

I've met Laura Day and did a private circle masters weekend with her and a small group in May 2002 when I lived in Toronto, Canada. The timing was excellent because the elements of the circle threw my life as I had known it into a "crisis". My wish was to change careers and be more creative on my own ... within 18 months my professional life was in upheaval, new friendships came and existing ones transformed radically, I was compelled to change my diet, exercise, and it became paramount to practice Buddhist meditation for my sense of well-being. I was also pushed my these events to handle my sense of responsibility, review my reaction to things, and face where I wasn't the best friend to people. Needless to say it was emotional and confronting. But like Day said, the crisis forced me to create what I truly wanted. How? By handling my emotions I was propelled to do journaling to manage the limiting thoughts I needed to let go of. In that journaling, my intuition lead me to creative groups in the city and beyond. By late 2004, new structures of a creative life were in place as a foundation and outlet for my voice. Whereas I created drama in my personal life, the crisis guided and redirected me to keep the drama as fiction on the pages of a narrative. It did wonders for my emotions!

Another more recent experience I had was having to leave a comfortable job because of corporate restructuring, wage freezing, and political changes in organizational governance. This was a place that offered a transition out of my previous career path. Within a week of accepting a package I also went through a break-up. The job was one thing but the relationship quite another. It seemed to be going well but truly could go no further. This opening in space and time allowed me to take advantage of an offer to do The Hoffman Process to address my internal limitations I imposed on myself. During the Hoffman Process it became clear that I needed to use my career crisis to make a full blown change. Thanks to another Laura (Berman Fortgang) I made a switch leveraging on my transferable skills within 90 days. Good-bye public relations - hello conference development. Then, about 2 weeks into a new career, a chance phone call lead to someone new who was (A) a much better match; (B) very loving and loveable; and (C) was there all along but I couldn't see until a crisis helped clear the way for it. Even though we only had a summer to get to know one another before I left for California ...I can genuinely say that I wanted to thank the last guy for leaving and creating a space for a new person to show up. And believe me, I was quite mad at the last guy for a pretty petty reason, but wish him well now.

For those looking to seriously get intensive support during a crisis... check out The Hoffman Process, Option Institute, or Kripalu Center where you can let out in a safe and healing environment, your emotions.

Another reader mentioned that one need not be in a crisis to benefit from this book. Rather, this can be used as a preventative thing too. I totally agree. This is one book that everyone can read whether you are into woo-woo or a hard nosed realist. This is NOT New Age but a self-guidance program from Day's own experience. One thing I noticed about Welcome to Your Crisis is that the excercises seem to work well if a person is doing The Circle. The techniques accelerate the creation of a new reality from an old one quite well. If you can try to pick up both books together.

Laura Day manages to turn the idea of "crisis" inside-out. She explains that crises "revolutionize" us; they wake us up and invite us to make decisions about our lives. In fact, as she says, the word "crisis" and "decision" actually come from the same Greek root.

I loved the helpful exercises. Unlike the other reviewer, I did not read the book in two days (although it's an easy read and I could have). Instead, I poured myself into the exercises, answering her questions in a journal. Laura is the goddess of simplicity and practicality, yet, at the same time, her work has tremendous depth. For instance, check out her discussion of the relationship between the four response types: anger, anxiety, denial, and depression -- it's clear, deep, real, and very useful.

Many people live in crisis without realizing it, and this is part of what makes *Welcome to Your Crisis* such an amazing book. I want to give a copy to at least 10 people I know right now who would benefit from the affirmative, wise, and wonderful advice in this book.

[...]and the rest of the world, start a revolution; read this book!

The stress of crisis can provoke unhealthy behavior in otherwise healthy adults. Bestselling author Laura Day takes a fresh look at various coping styles, and helps readers understand the four basic styles she's identified: depression, anxiety, rage and denial.

Understanding our own knee-jerk reaction to major crises in our lives is our first step toward gaining control. Reading the rest of this book is the next step toward developing a new, conscious style of coping that builds on the strengths of our natural tendencies while transcending their simultaneous weaknesses.

In addition to self-knowledge, this book imparts insights into others and how their own reactions to crisis, and approaches to problem-solving, can vary dramatically. I envision this book being of particular value to anyone who manages others (e.g. executives and entrepreneurs) as a way of gaining insight into others' coping mechanisms and learning how they might best be assisted.

Laura Day is a gifted, insightful writer whose compassion and wisdom shine through on every page of this extraordinary book.

When a disaster directly affects us--an earthquake, a hurricane, a car accident on the freeway--we respond in different ways. Writing as a widely consulted expert on adapting to change and crisis, author Laura Day explains four different reactions to crisis: denial, anxiety, rage and depression. Most of us experience one or more of these typical reactions as we respond to the sudden setbacks and unexpected difficulties of our lives.

Yet instead of these largely negative reactions, Day believes we can train ourselves to respond to a crisis with positive energy, transforming what might have seemed disastrous into a life-changing experience that fills us with hope, vision, and fresh energy. The difference is not the depth or difficulty of the experience, but rather our attitude as we encounter it.

Counselor to the star and guest on major TV shows, Day believes instead of fearing change, she believes, we should learn to expect change and be empowered by it. The worst of circumstances can be transformed if we are willing to adjust our perspective.

As Day writes on page 77, "To be effective in your life...you need to grow from your experiences, rather than being derailed by them." This is the primary thrust of Welcome to Your Crisis, as the author teaches us that even a major disaster can become a stepping-stone to personal growth.

Many of her ideas are not new, yet she explains them with a fresh voice. Readable and easy to understand, her prose keeps you moving forward, turning the pages and continuing to learn.

Decide who you want to be, Day insists, rather than letting the difficult moments of life define you and limit your future. Transform the negative thoughts, attitudes and feelings
that you encounter into warmer, more confident beliefs and values.

"Good lives are not easy," Day writes on page 219, "they require daily acts of adaptation, courage, and love." Clearly, the author supports the idea that all of us can learn to face our challenges in these ways--and by doing so we can improve our own lives and the lives of those we encounter.

Armchair Interviews says: Thought-provoking information.

This is a fantastic book on the human condition. Laura provides a way to classify your natural response type and how to work with it, rather than against it. It's a wonderful alternative to the typical "one size fits all" therapy.

I have read it, done the exercises, and found parts of myself that I hadn't realized existed. Don't be fooled by the title of the book; you needn't be in crisis to derive value from the book. In many ways, it is a crisis PREVENTION.

I highly recommend this book. Buy it for yourself or friends who may need a hand-up.

Laura Day narrates her own journey out of a crisis ... first through the tragic loss of her mother at 14 ... and then the devastating divorce that left her life in tatters ... to its gifts of healing and intuitive ability and career as a writer and speaker. Laura Day has been there herself ... a crisis ... and the stakes have been high ... but she pulled herself out of it ... and now shares the tools that became her lifeline. Day addresses the unique response styles and how you can make them work for you in a crisis. Best of all she has set up a website for this specific book with resources and group support so you need not go through this alone. I first met Laura Day at a Circle workshop on the East Coast in 2002 and returned to her work when she published the Crisis. More than any other self-help book on the market, this is stunning in its brilliant simplicity. No New Age blame game, no woo-woo, no magical thinking. A great tool to have in a self-help tool kit that keeps you empowered with YOURSELF.

Day emphasizes the gift of a crisis because you cannot go back to the past. This is the best advice in the book. It is like an old episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Captain Jean-Luc Picard is given a chance to return to his youth and change destiny. Instead of having the trauma of a fight in a bar that lead to his receiving an artificial heart, Jean-Luc averts the disaster. Good? Not really because when he returns to the present he discovers that his life has been mediocre rather than stellar. In fact, he is a low-level ship mate who is not seen to have any leadership ability! The gift of his crisis was the development of impeccable judgment and calculated risk taking. Jean-Luc opts to go back and claim his sacred wound and returns again the Star Fleet legend and Captain of the Enterprise. This old storyline depicts Laura Day's wisdom on why the rock bottom of a crisis can actually be starting point of a brand new life that outshines the old.

I am a long time fan of Laura Day and her books. I have always found The Circle to be an amazing work of wisdom. It is a clear, useful, and proven to me example of the power of positive, forward thinking. If you follow the steps; you cannot fail to accomplish your goals and claim your own power.

This book is a perfect companion to The Circle! And in someways it surpasses it. I found Welcome To Your Crisis to be a very clear and thoughtful guide to turning your life around. Simply put, it is magnificent!

I read it from beginning to end in just two sittings. That's how accessible it is. Now of course, I must go back and take the clearly drawn steps, one by one. Laura uses her own life as example making it part autobiography. This structure at once draws you into her personal account, making what she is teaching resonate powerfully. All of the examples shown throughout the book of people she has helped or known, are powerul examples of how we can all better our own situations and must never give up.

Whether or not you are currently in crisis, you have been at some point or other, and you will most assuredly be again. This book will give you the tools for the future by explaining to you how you dealt with your former crisis, and will help guide you out of your current one if that is the case.

Every one should read this book for helpful illumination, and while you're at it, buy one or two extras to keep on hand to give to friends. This is a friendly book, giving it to someone would be a loving act.

Life Changing.

Crisis or not, this book will help you find a new path if you let it. Your true path. The simple tools and ideas in the book provide immediate direction. Hope. Energy. I'm a big fan of this author, I absolutely adore "The Circle" and "Crisis" takes her work to great new heights.

It is personal and practical and immeasurably powerful.

Thank you, Laura Day.

This is a magnificant book -- a "how-to" manual of mental health, emotional stability, and personal empowerment. It is not heavy or complicated. Every sentence resonates with simple truth. Don't be fooled by the title. It is not a painful process. It is an empowering journey that you fly through on your way to the life you deserve. I bought the book in hardback and audio for myself; then, I bought more hardback copies than I can count for friends and family. In fact, the mark of whether I love someone is whether I have given them a copy of this book. Buy this book and share it with everyone you know.

I found this book in a time of great need and personal crisis. Note, a crisis doesn't have to be a big, instantanous event like a death or divorce. It could just be a nagging unhappiness or feeling that things "aren't right" that is eating you up. Either way, this book applies.

It helped me tremendously and I have since given this book to several friends in crisis. Regardless of the nature of what you are going through, it can help. If you have a friend that you are worried about but don't know how to help, this book might help them.

It is written in a very real, accessible way (no chanting or meditating necessary!) that is non-threatening to people who may not be used to reading "self-help" books.

I do not know if authors regularly read these reviews, but Laura Day, if you ever read this, thank you. Know that you helped me to discover what I really want from life AND believe that I deserve it.