I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I suppose I'd boxed it in. The movie seemed to me a 'Chick flick' even though I'd never seen it! So I'd automatically put the book in the same category.
Some of reviews from Goodreads suggested that Gilbert was narcissistic in the book. This is a bit unfair (I also think with the frequency it was written that it was just a repetitive copy of other reviews!) I think most peoples journals if you read them would appear narcissistic. What did come across was her search for God and things which come from Him.
There are a few things which confirmed what I already thought and added a few more layers. A few years back I'd thought about Kundalini and Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Gilbert wrote about this regarding Kundalini::
"Every religion in the world has had a subset of devotees who seek a direct, transcendent experience with God, excusing themselves from fundamentalist scriptural or dogmatic study in order to personally encounter the divine. The interesting thing about these mystics is that, when they describe their experience, they all end up describing the exactly the same occurrence. Generally, their union with God..." pg 150
Another word which I'd never heard before was 'turiya': "You feel stirred by grace, swollen with wonder, overflowing with bliss. Everything-for no reason whatsoever- is perfect" pg 206. I've seen this in charismatic, pentecostal environments. Its usually after the service. There is a call for "ministry", those who want prayer for whatever comes down to the front. Usually nothing happens, but occasionally usually when the atmosphere is pumped up; turiya occurs. Its happened to me oh so briefly. Gilbert calls turiya a level of consciousness.
Overall I think if you are searching for God. Gilbert has a few gems in this book. About searching for God and overcoming.
I gave it 4/5
