Transformation Soup: Healing for the Splendidly Imperfect (Paperback)

~ SARK (Author) "For years I blamed all or most of my problems on other people, mostly my Mother..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since the early 1990s, SARK's playful, sympathetic style has made her an immensely popular author of self-help and creativity books. Like her past works (How to Change Your Life Without Getting Out of Bed; Succulent Wild Woman; etc.), this vividly illustrated guide speaks to the reader's "innerchild," aiming to free the imperfect, fearful, sad, funny and creative aspects that adults usually hide. This time SARK addresses the process of healing, inquiring, "What Hurts?" and gently leading readers to places (gardens, Zen retreat centers, bed) and activities (meditation, massage, creative expression) that promote recovery. With dark tales of her own experience of incest, and goofy ones, including one about Rosie O'Donnell's chin hair, SARK's book reflects the "friendly disorder" of being human, covering a wide range of topics, from the trauma of broken relationships to body image and aging. Along with her heartfelt ruminations, SARK offers book referrals, transformation stories and a reference list of healers, including massage therapists, hairstylists, musicians and authors. In one fanciful section, she imagines the lessons a healing school might teach, including intuition, "non-competitive play," "accepting success" and "identifying patterns of self-defeat." All the while, she pushes readers toward their own creative expression through exercises such as "turning [inner] critics into allies" and marrying oneself. SARK's unpretentious effort illustrates her fundamental theme that "we are all swirling in the soup together" and that "whatever healing work we each do contributes to the healing of all of us." (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Anne Lamott author of Traveling Mercies We are all in this soup together. -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; 1 edition (May 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684859769
• ISBN-13: 978-0684859767
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #469,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hope and Good Feelings, April 12, 2000

By A Customer

I have been looking to Sark for guidance since I was fifteen and that was seven years ago. Her earlier works brought laughter,fun,and courage to be different and enjoy it. However I think this book is my favorite. She gets warmer and more honest with each new thing she gets published. Her words on sickness,self image, and "healings gone wrong" are wonderful. Each story can be familiar,illuminating,and hopeful. Her words can be reminders or they can change your view into something new and wonderful ( SARK tricks you into this by making her books colorful and fun to look at!) Troubling issues loose there severity and you are woven in a warm cocoon with all the other women who are feeling the same things and working on similar issues. I love this book! Thank you SARK you are definitely a "beacon of hope"

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transformation Soup, September 4, 2000

By A Customer

I am so grateful to have this book. I'm reading it not all at once, but in snipets when I need a friend and some inspiration. With her stories, SARK gives us an idea of what it's like to really look at our lives, to discover what it is inside of us that needs healing, and how to begin. It's a daunting process that requires tenderness. This is a wonderful, gentle book. What a relief! I feel that taking steps toward healing requires so much courage, and SARK en-courages me.

These are real stories from this woman's life. After I read a chapter, I feel like I've just spent two hours sitting with a best friend in a coffee shop, crying over life's current struggles and laughing over the past ones. And at the end of the two hours, I have some new ideas about how to face my dilemmas and, most importantly, I have the renewed sense that I'm not alone with my fears, my mistaken attempts at healing, or my weariness.

SARK's books fill me with hope and laughter. I also LOVE that she recommends other inspiring fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books at the end of each chapter. This book is a companion to cherish -- give yourself the gift of some self-nurturing and buy it. While you're at it, get a copy for your best friend, and for anyone you know who wants to enrich her own life.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wildly Inspirational, May 16, 2000

By	[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

After years of reading all of SARK's books, I finally got to meet her in person when she came to Denver, CO for the booksigning of Transformation Soup. The term "We are all indelibly connected" is what resonated with me the most. Sometimes we feel as if we are alone and struggling like a lonely ship at sea. Whether we are facing career challenges, family issues or health concerns - this book is a delightfully WILD read for the soul.