A review by imcourtneymarie
Be Not Afraid of Love: How to Stay Soft in a Hard World by Mimi Zhu

emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

4.5

When I say be not afraid of love, I do not mean that we should rid ourselves of fear, but that we should sit with our fear, and learn to love it, too. I love my entire  embodied being. Instead of pointing a trembling finger at love, I look closely and gently at my fear. I love myself the fulness of my feelings and I do not push myself away when difficult emotions arise… love reveals the truth to us because love is the truth. To be committed to love is to be committed to the infinite life of change. 

There are a great many quotes I could pull from this book that made me weep or my heart sing. There were chapters where I felt the immediate sting of “hey, me too…”. 

While Mimi’s story about abusive X and finding her ability to accept and feel love(d) again, if you’ve ever felt abused or neglected or unloved by anyone that’s “supposed to” love you, you may find strength and closure in Be Not Afraid Of Love. My X is familial and I found myself breathing along and internalizing much of what she said. Chapter 9 about miracles (not just of the religious kind) struck a particular chord. 

I’m very glad I picked this one up. Can’t wait to share it with my therapist 🤪
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