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Book Review: Devotion

There has been a lot of talk about memoirs lately, most of it has been negative. Even though I pride myself on loving nonfiction I'll admit I've moved away from memoirs over the last couple of years. There are just so many poorly written ones and too many celebrity publicity stunts. Devotion seemed like it could be different, if for no other reason than I was interested in the story. Dani Shapiro writes about her experiences trying to find her faith again, both in a religious and personal sense. I think a lot of people go through this drifting feeling, the kind of feeling that forces you to look for some answers. Somewhere. Shapiro has had a lot of loss in her life. Her father died early, she never had a good relationship with her mother, and she came scarily close to losing her son. When it seems like everything has gone wrong it's very easy to become faithless, which Shapiro does early on in her life. Through Yoga and meditation she begins to try and find some quiet, which eventually leads her back to the religion of her heritage: Judaism.

When I started this I was a little worried it would be another Tales of a Female Nomad fiasco. A book I wanted to like, but just couldn't bring myself to agree with. Instead I was inspired. They say if you didn't like a book it probably wasn't written for you. I could see a lot of people wouldn't like this book, but Devotion came to me at just the right time. While I haven't necessarily been struggling with religion I have been struggling with turning the constant worrying and anxiety off. I've had problems with turning into myself and figuring out what is going on. In short, I could really relate to Shapiro.

As I skim through this book and look at the sections I underlined, I realize I read this book as a kind of devotional. Picking out things I found inspiring, muttering to myself Remember this every day as I turned the page.

"Writers often say that the hardest part of writing isn't the writing itself; it's the sitting down to write. The same is true of yoga, meditation, and prayer. The sitting down, the making space. The doing. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Unroll the mat. Sit cross-legged on the floor. Just do it. Close your eyes and express a silent need, a wish, a moment of gratitude. What's so hard about that? Except--it is hard. The usual distractions-- the clutter and piles of life-- are suddenly, unusually enticing." (117)

I'm not going to pretend this is a book for everyone, because it certainly is not. But if you've found yourself grappling with any of the questions I mentioned above, if the passage I shared speaks to you, if you're just looking for a relatable read, I think you should give Devotion a try. You might surprised by it. Not everyone is interested in religion, but for me reading is a kind of meditation. Books are what I turn to when I need to figure things out. In that way I could really relate to Shapiro, and I thoroughly enjoyed her memoir.

The author of this book is very enthusiastic about doing Skype chats with book groups, follow this link if you are interested! To read more reviews of this book check out the TLC Book Tour schedule.

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Book Review: Devotion + tlc book tour