Book Review: Shifting Bravely, by Holli Kenley
I don’t believe in accidents or coincidences. Usually, these fortuitous happenings occur with events or people that cross our path in our life journey. Occasionally, the ‘happy accident’ happens when a book lands in our life.
That is what happened when I got Holli Kenley’s book – Shifting Bravely: A Path to Growth, Healing, Transformation.
I wouldn’t have said that my life needed transformation due to horrific patterns of abuse, betrayal, or trauma. And while the family dynamics in our immediate and extended family aren’t perfect – only because none of us as individuals are perfect – I feel we have a happy and blessed family with no dysfunctional situations that need addressed.
But as the author is quick to point out in the first chapter (A Shift Lies Dormant), we can end up camouflaging the seeds that lie dormant waiting to sprout and bloom into glorious life.
She writes: “One common form of camouflage is stagnation and settling. Many of us have come to accept that getting by is good enough, even if we feel stuck or unsatisfied. Others of us, who know we are not living up to our potential or pursuing our dreams, feel trapped and resigned to predetermined destinies. Day after day, our growth is stunted by settling for a degree of security and stagnating in mundane routines. How does this happen?”
Ouch!
This was hitting a little closer to home than I liked.
When I got to the Exercises at the end of Chapter One, (Practical and useful exercises follow the end of each chapter.) there were even more examples that made me cringe more than I like to admit.
- Living my someone else’s expectations
- Bound or oppressed by societal or cultural norms
- Stuck in circumstances beyond your control
- Feeling this is all you deserve
While reading Shifting Bravely, I saw that Holli Kenley is not one to dispense advice from atop a marble column where she resides in her perfection. She shares stories from her own experiences where she shows how she has applied this wisdom to her own life. She also includes examples where others have applied this advice to improve and transform their lives.
The phrase that comes to mind as I read how she has grown and healed herself is that the author is one “who walks her talk.”
I read Shifting Bravely at a much slower rate than I’d first anticipated as I spent more time working through the exercises with sometimes days of introspection in between each chapter and phase of learning. This is not a ‘read one time and put on the bookshelf’ book. To get the most from this, I believe it’s a book that is most beneficial to be re-read several times for a deeper and more relevant transformation.
Towards the end, in Chapter 7: A Shift is Sustainable, the Holli Kenley shares a poem by an unknown author that outlines five representations that show when a shift in our life is sustained.
“As you are shifting, you will begin to realize you are not the same person you used to be.
The things you used to tolerate have become intolerable.
When you once remained quiet, you are now speaking your truth.
Where you once battled and argued, you are now choosing to remain silent.
You are beginning to understand the value of your voice and there are some situations which no longer deserve your time, energy, and focus.
Author Unknown
Kenley writes: “I believe of the five areas of organic representation, beginning to realize we are not the same person we used to be, is one of the most remarkable and meaningful internal rewards of our journey.”
After reading Shifting Bravely and working through the exercises, I am not the same person I was when I began reading. And I know as I continue on my path of shifting, that the person I will be a year from now is not the person I am today. I look forward to this journey of growth and transformation with joyous anticipation
I highly recommend Shifting Bravely to anyone wanting to better their life. I only have one warning – grab a pen before you start, this is a book you’ll want to mark up!