Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Human beings, as far as I can tell, seem to be divided into two subspeciesthe resigned, who live in quiet desperation, and the exhausted, who..." (more)
Key Phrases: Authentic Self, Simple Abundance, Virginia Woolf (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From the author of Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy comes a guided excavation for women who suspect that there's something more to life than the top layer pursuits of money, sex, and love. In service to these restless souls who want to scratch beneath the surface, Ban Breathnach offers tidbit-sized essays that help women unearth pay dirt--their reason for being. Using archaeology as her frame of reference, Ban Breathnach suggests imaginative exercises at the end of each chapter, which she refers to as "Field Work." Although it occasionally feels overdone, the archaeology metaphor works well--helping readers unearth their past choices and circumstances to better understand the soul's current mission. Early in the book, Ban Breathnach offers this enticing invitation to go on a spiritual dig: "Besides the fact that your soul is one of the last unlooted sources of the miraculous, with discoveries as spectacular as any found in the Delta of Venus or Egypt's Valley of the Kings, you can embark on a soul trip and be back before anyone even notices you're missing. They might be curious about that gleam in your eye and that flush on your cheek, but I'll never tell if you won't. Are you game? We're heading to the sacred site of your soul." --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

"Passion is truth's soul mate," writes Ban Breathnach in this follow-up to her stupendously successful Simple Abundance (1995). The author who helped millions discover the overlooked richness of everyday life by practicing gratitude now appends that message by urging us to heed our yearning for "something more." Understanding that most women are better at sacrificing themselves than at discovering and honoring their own passions, Ban Breathnach urges them to see the spiritual wisdom of "reembodiment," excavating from under layers of fear and disappointment their own moments of connection with a deeper, more authentic self. Offering a collection of teaching stories drawn from her own honestly rendered experience, as well as stories and pithy quotes from her friends and a host of notables (Rumi, Virginia Woolf, Madonna et al.), Ban Breathnach nudges readers beyond "settling and stumbling and surviving." Although she aims to help readers explore the depths of their own hearts by using an "illustrated discovery journal" (a collage of images and text meant to express the tastes and strivings of readers' authentic selves), the real power of this work, despite some workaday writing and concepts, lies in the unpretentious sincerity and raw immediacy of Ban Breathnach's many variations on the assertion that "At the end of the day, or at the end of a life, all we have is ourselves and love. And if we love ourselves, truly, madly, deeply, all we have is all we need." Writing not as a guru but as a friend who has learned to cherish her past, Ban Breathnach will galvanize her wide readership to believe we were all put on earth for something more than indifferent marriages and discarded dreams. Serving up self-worth and "repose of the soul" as the most priceless of attainments, she is a friend indeed. 750,000 first printing; One Spirit Book Club main selection; first serial to Good Housekeeping; Time Warner audio; author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; Other Printing edition (October 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446524131
• ISBN-13: 978-0446524131
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (117 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #423,094 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rich, rich read, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This is one of a handful of books I've read that changed the way I look at myself -- and another on that short list is Simple Abundance which I'm working through for the 3rd time as I write "morning pages" daily. This is NOT a sequel to SA -- in lots of ways it doesn't seem to be written by the same Sarah -- but by a more mature, more worldly wise, more "evolved" one. Repeatedly in my reading of SM, Sarah brought me to tears--because she knows me--and made me see myself much more clearly, made me face some issues I've ignored for 50+ years--and helped me see a path ahead. The margins are crammed with my notes to Sarah, to myself, to my past. A person who thinks this is only a book about how bad most men are couldn't have read with a woman's heart. Is there bitterness? Yes--life has its bitter spots, too. But is there hope? Darned right. And if a reader doesn't see the "gratitude" and "joy" in the message of this one, I'm sad for that reader. It's not a "ruffles and lace" book at all. It's a no holds barred look at life--with lots of real-life examples, many of which aren't pretty. On page 59, she writes, "Could there be anything more important than living without regrets?" I think the whole book is about HOW to live without regrets.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling..., November 25, 1999

By	"deelited2" (Covina, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Unlike many of the more recent reviewers here, I did not read "Simple Abundance" before I started the sequel. Also unlike many of the recent reviewers, I found "Something More" to be incredibly insightful, wonderfully written and a true gift FROM as well as TO the Soul.

I found the life stories within this book to be beautifully encouraging and inspiring, rather than depressing and anger-filled as several have noted. Life is an adventure, fraught with disappointment and sadness, as well as all the other "cozy" feelings we seek and need. And I, for one, am glad she didn't pull any punches and told things just as they are.

Excavating, searching, looking and definitely *finding* your Authentic Self takes a lot of courage. We all have it. THAT's what this book is all about and it gives us some concrete tools with which to do this. Thank you, Sarah, for daring to speak your Truth and helping so many of us along the way.

Read it. You won't regret it if you listen to your heart along the way.

73 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More appropriately: Breaking Up 101, December 11, 1999

By	Stacey Elza (Morgantown, WV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a nineteen-year-old college student. I have never been married, and currently have no prospects of doing so. I struggle through mid-terms. I live in a dormitory with a group of amazing friends, my second family. My life is hopelessly and joyously flawed.

When I finished reading Simple Abundance and returned it to my bookshelf with a satisfied sigh, I left it with a newly-found contentment and an insatiable hunger to be myself--whoever that ended up being. A family woman? A career gal? A chemist? A teacher? Suddenly, prestige (as it is defined by the world)did not matter, as long as I knew that I was doing what my true self was begging me to do.

When I came across Something More by accident, I bought it without hesitation, hoping for yet another shot of self-esteem booster. While the writing style is artful and refreshing, the content was a complete departure from what I had come to love in Simple Abundance. Since I have never known the pain of divorce, I felt that most of the book did not apply to me since break-ups, rather than authenticity, were the theme. I also felt that the book as a whole did not have the cohesiveness of the original; at some points, it just wandered.

If you are a woman who is trying to overcome a painful divorce, Something More may be just what you have been looking, but for those of you who are searching for more self-discovery, re-read Simple Abundance instead.