Kobo.com synopsis:
The bestselling, beloved classic on how to go into the dark side of yourself to bring out the light — now with new material.
Debbie Ford believes that we each hold within us a trace of every human characteristic that exists, the capacity for every human emotion. We are born with the ability to express this entire spectrum of characteristics. But, Ford points out, that our families and our society send us strong messages about which ones are good and bad. So when certain impulses arise, we deny them instead of confronting them, giving them a healthy voice, then letting them go.
It is to these feelings that Ford turns our attention, to these parts of ourselves that don’t fit the personae we have created for the rest of the world. She shows us the effects of living in the dark, of keeping all our supposedly unsavoury impulses under wraps. We find ourselves disproportionately frustrated and angry at the selfishness of friends, the laziness of colleagues, and the arrogance of siblings. When we are unable to reconcile similar impulses in ourselves, Ford explains, we waste our own energy judging others instead of empathizing. But most importantly, we deny ourselves the power and freedom of living authentically.
Through the stories and exercises in The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, Debbie Ford shows us not only how to recognize our hidden emotions, but also how to find the gifts they offer us. This is for fans of Marianne Williamson, Neale Donald Walsch, and Deepak Chopra. The very impulses we most fear may be the key to what is lacking in our lives.
What I say:
I really, really loved experiencing this book. This book was recommended to me a while ago by a former psychotherapist of mine. I love that this book really focuses on embracing our whole selves. There are so many times in the self-development world where we get caught up in just the shiny positive things. It’s really great to actually address the not-so-great or negative sides to ourselves that we don’t want to deal with or address. This book basically makes you face them head-on. Re-frame them in a way that has brought good to your life so you no longer push them down or away but actually accept them as a part of your past and as a part of yourself.