Intended to be read as a daily meditation. Inspiring thoughts and simple truths in short stories. Oprah "Super Soul Sunday" recommendation.

This is a book that includes an entry for every day of the year. The entries range from half a page to a page and a half. Mark Nepo is a poet so many of the entries are written beautifully and in metaphor. I enjoyed some entries so much I wrote down excerpts for future reference.

On the other hand, some entries were so profoundly written I had trouble understanding their substance. My hesitancy in not giving this book five stars is because I wanted the entries to be sufficiently short or readable for a quick perusal to start one's day. Often that was the case, but at times I found myself rereading entries to fully digest the content.

This is the last book I got offered by a friend for Christmas.
The book was published in 2000 (22 years ago). The book consists of 230 Pages and 365 Days of chapters.

A quote and then authors reflection and his questions for meditation / reflexion. The sentences were written in a good way, but the quote and the reflexion just did not reason with me like other preferred self-help book.

I prefer 365 Days of affirmations by Louise Hay or Mooji.

“I see you! I am here!”

Catching up…

I read this one years ago, and now I am bringing my review to Goodreads.

I confess, before streaming, and when Oprah had her television show, I use to DVR it and would love to watch it when I got home from work. And I remember when she featured the author and his book. So, who didn’t run out and buy this book when Oprah mentioned it? It was a birthday gift to her, and now she made him and his book famous.

Well, if you were too young when this happened, let’s just say that is what occurred with a whole generation at one time. And it wouldn’t have been a bad decision.

Even if it was one of Oprah’s all-time Favorite Things, his collection of reflections were truly gentle wake-up calls for anyone needing positive reminders for the life they wanted to live each day.

As a poet and philosopher, and cancer survivor, Nepo devoted his work to wholeness of mind, body and spirit. He shared that this daybook should be seen as a “spiritual sonnet of our age, a sturdy container for small doses of what matters.”

This daybook which covers the whole year, is an intimacy to all things. It is filled with an appreciation for tears, the art of letting go, friendship, the broken heart, healing, patience, and all the connections that link people with each other.

Also, for each day of the year there is an opportunity to read a daily inspiration, practice a breathing or meditation exercise and/or appreciate a suggestion on what you can do to just contemplate the day.

This book helps readers in a way that speaks directly to the heart about the beauty, bounty and blessings of life. And sometimes it is nice to have that daily reminder.

Okay, I only read this book til 70% as I just couldn't make more progression.

I came to this book after enjoying Mark Nepo's 'Drinking from the river of light' and did enjoy many of its points despite it was recommended based on my request of reading a book about writing improvement.

Anyway, back to this book. It was okay, for most part but the longer I go on, the more I realize that I just don't care too much about all the spiritual things, and so even though I force myself to finish this book, I can only reach 70% and now, decided to stop. Better know when to quit then carry on mindlessly I guess.

I rate it 3.5/5. It's decent if you are into spiritual things and want them to improve your life.

A refreshing perspective on personal philosophy, blending diverse sources of wisdom. It is a 'read one a day' type format but I often just opened the book and read a random entry. Or I would skim the entries and read one that seemed to fit my mood on a given day. That gave me some courage or some patience or some wisdom for whatever I was dealing with at the moment. This book can be used for years since it is packed with peaceful reflections, good advice and encouragement. Not sickly sweet, just heart-felt.
It is has occasional references to one 'God' which threw me off a bit at first, but I just replace that with 'the universe' or 'soul' or 'karma' in my own mind, depending on the context. I find it strange though, because his quotes come from many religious and philosophical sources - which drew me to the book. I do wish authors would not assume we are all Christian. No harm done though -still an excellent book.

I didn’t read this entire book, but I think it’s meant to pick up when you need some inspiration, and then let go for awhile. Some of the passages inspired me, some seemed a little cheesy or disconnected.

I enjoyed what I did read, but ultimately don’t feel like daily meditations are my jam. I don’t think I’ll toss it though...I hope that someday in the future this book will fill a great news for me!

Great book to awaken the soul within. My favorite excerpts are the following:


A String of Todays
There is no tomorrow, only a string of todays.


Nowhere to Go
There is nothing to do and nowhere to go. Accepting this, we can do everything and go anywhere.


Having Honest Friends
If you tell me you already understand, I feel a little pessimistic. If you say you do not understand, I feel more optimistic.
—THICH NHAT HANH


I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These are your greatest treasures.
- Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the Source of Being.
- Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are.
- Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.
—LAO TZU

A wonderful collection of daily thoughts, stories, and meditations to help see the goodness in the life you have already - and how to make it better. Mark Nepo is truly inspirational, and his book will be a great resource for those days I need some guidance or a bit of a pick-me-up. Highly recommended!

This has been one of my absolute favorite books. I was looking for a daily devotional that wasn't a Bible devotional (does such a thing exist?) and this fit the bill. Nepo gives us a little quote or words of wisdom for each day of the year. Then, he goes on to explain his interpretation of the quote and help us think about how that relates to our daily life. My favorite part is that each day, he ends by giving the reader a little task (Recall the last time you felt depressed. Sit quietly and look inside and see if there is anything lodged or pressing against your mind or heart. It might be a disappointment or injury that you don't want to accept about yourself or others. Treat whatever you find like a splinter, and soften yourself with this lone of your breathing, so it can be removed. As you breathe, remember that you are larger than this hurt pressing in on you. p53)

My goal is to start each morning by reading a page from this book and it doesn't always happen. Sometimes, I find myself reading this before bed-- which seems to work better for me and help me let go of the things I feel like I screwed up on during the day.

What a beautiful book. One that has been my (almost) daily companion thru the year; one I intend to make my daily companion next year as well.

(And at long last, a blog post about this life-companion of a book:
https://helenaroth.com/the-book-of-aw... )

This is a lovely book for centering yourself when life gets too overwhelming. Which can be nearly every day. So, the format of this book, with a meditative entry for each day of the year is perfect. With short contemplative exercises at the end of each day's piece, it leaves you with the presence of mind and spirit to face your day ahead. It is a text worth returning to once read, for those entries which especially speak to you.