Scan barcode
ptothelo's review
4.0
I went to Grace Cathedral once when she presided over the service and he preached. It was a pretty cool tag team. I really enjoyed and learned a lot from the book, especially as someone who is always seeking "perfection" and always coming up short. What he spoke of crystallized some things for me and brought me some peace and happiness
kristenremenar's review
5.0
"God holds out an invitation to us - an invitation to turn away from the anxious striving that has turned stress into a status symbol."
Love this book, and it came at just the right time for me. Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho write that we humans are designed for goodness, that we can stop trying so hard to "be good" because at our core we already are good. We can live joyfully in the knowledge that we are loved unconditionally, choosing to do right not to convince God to let us into heaven, but because pleasing the One who loves us so dearly is the path to happiness. The Tutus are Anglican priests but write broadly to include all faiths.
The section on "zoning out" struck home:
"'Zoning out' - an activity usually accomplished with the aid of a television set - does not reinvigorate us....We 'zone out' though we want to rest. But we are afraid to really rest because we are supposed to be doing something..... 'I am busy, tired, and stressed, so I am entitled to a respite. I will zone out in front of the television.' And we continue to be tired, busy, and stressed." I'm not against watching tv, but goodness knows how often I let my brain turn to mush watching some pointless show and find that even though my body is relaxing, my brain hasn't unwound, and I'm as frazzled as ever once the screen is shut off.
Love this book, and it came at just the right time for me. Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho write that we humans are designed for goodness, that we can stop trying so hard to "be good" because at our core we already are good. We can live joyfully in the knowledge that we are loved unconditionally, choosing to do right not to convince God to let us into heaven, but because pleasing the One who loves us so dearly is the path to happiness. The Tutus are Anglican priests but write broadly to include all faiths.
The section on "zoning out" struck home:
"'Zoning out' - an activity usually accomplished with the aid of a television set - does not reinvigorate us....We 'zone out' though we want to rest. But we are afraid to really rest because we are supposed to be doing something..... 'I am busy, tired, and stressed, so I am entitled to a respite. I will zone out in front of the television.' And we continue to be tired, busy, and stressed." I'm not against watching tv, but goodness knows how often I let my brain turn to mush watching some pointless show and find that even though my body is relaxing, my brain hasn't unwound, and I'm as frazzled as ever once the screen is shut off.
kp_12's review against another edition
3.0
I'll add more quotes later.
If you are not religious (by religious I mean Protestant God/Jesus-based religious) then this book can be a little tougher to swallow. But if you take the grains of truth and advice that Desmond Tutu proposes based on his many experiences, then this book is fabulous.
If you are not religious (by religious I mean Protestant God/Jesus-based religious) then this book can be a little tougher to swallow. But if you take the grains of truth and advice that Desmond Tutu proposes based on his many experiences, then this book is fabulous.
andresreading's review
5.0
I especially enjoyed the poems at the end of every chapter. They are very uplifting and very neutral, in the sense that one need not be a christian to be uplifted by them.
regencyfan93's review
5.0
This book has so much to ponder that I need to re-read it. The poems/prayers were a summation of each chapter.
shippinforecast's review against another edition
3.0
Desmond Tutu certainly has a lot of interesting life experiences to share.
More...