Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "New Year's Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written..." (more)
Key Phrases: fancy pantry, golden mirror meditation, illustrated discovery journal, Great Creator, New York, Mother Nature (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This book features 366 essays penned from a woman's perspective. Sample topics include gratitude, harmony, self-nurturing, positive body image, the importance of scented linen closets, and many others. Each essay sports a pithy quote from (surprise!) the likes of Kahlil Gibran. Viewed uncritically, it's hard to argue with Simple Abundance's earnest admonitions to appreciate life, in all its messy imperfect excellence. And the fact that serenity and happiness are each in dreadfully short supply can excuse some of the treacly writing. But Breathnach sometimes lapses into what can only be described as her "Martha Stewart on Prozac" voice, and the results are aggravating to the extreme: "If you've been hesitant to strike up a reciprocal relationship with your guardian angel, don't be." Fans of guardian angels will greet these feel-good essays every morning with the rising sun, a cup of mint tea, and a bluebird chirping on the windowsill, and be happy. Skeptics will prefer their coffee very black.

Product Description

Quotes, poems, meditations and practical exercises for every day of a woman's year include thought-provoking, inspirational messages, money-saving suggestions, gardening and decorating ideas, and thoughts on personal fulfillment. 30,000 first printing.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 10 Anv edition (November 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446519138
• ISBN-13: 978-0446519137
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (217 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #89,182 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

141 of 147 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simple abundance: a daybook of comfort and joy, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

It is interesting in scanning the reviews of this book, over ninety percent are five star... but the ones who disagree seem to give it, for the most part, one star. It is a book which brings out strong opinions. Reactionaries and fundementalists will have a hard time with this book because it does not reinforce their dogma. It instead addresses the broad spectrum of beliefs, encourages tolerance,openness, and exploration of self and of all aspects of life, including religion and spirit. That would drive the reactionaries over the edge. There are so few books which can actually add something to your life, day after day, month after month, year after year. This is one of them. It is a book for women on the search to find more meaning in their daily ritual as caretakers, more joy in the everyday. It gives me something to think about each day of the year. I feel a bit sorry for those who give it the knee jerk New Age blasting. But, it takes all kinds to make the world go around.

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoy habitually expressing my authentic self. Thanks!!!, April 12, 1999

By A Customer

I am in the process of reading this book. It caught my attention on the Oprah Show, several months ago, so I waited to buy it, to make sure that I wasn't buying on impulse.

This is a great book. As someone who is going through a job change, moving, and breaking free from a shame-based, hateful family, I am reading this book, and experiencing a serenity, through doing things, everyday, simple things, that don't cost much, that add value to my spirit.

I am so excited, everyday to get up and read the day's lessonns, and to discover new joys in my heart.

Others around me are catching on to my authentic self shining through.

I am looking at this book, from this point as something that is helping me to bring out things in me, habits that enhance who I am, that I had given up on, prior to this book.

Thank you so much, Sarah Ban Breathnach.

I look forward to my journey.

73 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Satisfying Read., July 25, 2000

By	Allie Kat "sarahphin" (Nunavut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort of Joy (Paperback)

Looked at one way, this is a collection of cheerful essays with homespun spiritual wisdom and housekeeping advice that satisfies our appetite for the nostalgic. Looked at another way, it's a terrifying reflection of a society of souls so sterile that we take comfort in being told it's okay to use scented bath products and buy flowers. Still, thousands of women have found meaning in the book, and they can't be all wrong.

This book is more about abundance than simplicity. In places Ms. Breathnach does extol the virtues of simplicity and has you clearing clutter; in others she has you buying and hoarding and collecting everything, from fabric remnants, just in case some day you get the urge to staple lace to the pantry shelves, to autumn leaves for exuberant Victorian tableaus, (aka dust-collectors). These things are much more fun to read about than to actually do. I don't want to tie little circles of fabric to the tops of jam jars; even when they're bought that way, I'm the one who gets to cut them off and throw them in the garbage. Nor do I want to replace the buttons on all my clothes with cute ones, I curse enough if I have to replace one where the manufacturer did a shoddy job. I don't want to know what decoupage is; and most especially, I really, really, don't want to buy a hat to cheer myself up. Having hot mulled cider after raking leaves sounds charming (and I loathe cider), but the reality is that after raking leaves my back hurts, I'm exhausted and can barely crawl to the shower to wash the sweat and dead bugs off, and if I had to search for a hot mulled cider recipe I'd whack the nearest bystander with a poker.

Since books are for reading and pondering, the pleasure in this one is in doing exactly that, and it does provide a lot of it. The problem I had with it was its overall frenetic busyness, which is in sharp contrast to its meditative advice. If you haven't already read it, go ahead, you know you want to, and somewhere in all its generosity and abundance you'll find ideas that appeal to you and that you can realistically use. But remember, if you can't keep up with the suggestions and images given for creating a perfect home, don't feel guilty. If you can, you're either a Stepford Wife or have a serious amphetamine problem.