A beautifully written and detailed book. A story that will make you feel as though you are actually living that specific moment with Sybil.

You will find out about Sybil's unhappy, overly protected childhood and how she dealt with it all and how it affected her entire life. You will find out about the angel Sybil listened to and the angel she doubted as she got older. Her strong-willed mother, loveless childhood, and times of poverty definitely affected her life decisions.

Despite any setbacks in her life, though, she managed to find her inner peace.

This quote early in the book sums up the emotional state of the book. It is an enjoyable read as well as a heart wrenching and soul searching book.

Page 16 - "It was the beginning of her emotional relationship with people other than the family she'd been born into. Aura was the first person who hurt her. From her, she would learn about bitterness and frustration, about the failure of some human beings to see that hate is only an inch from love, and that we have in us the power to join them or keep them apart."

If you want a book that will make you think and listen to your inner yourself, you will want to read Sybil's story. ( )

One woman's incredible journey in search of peace, joy and forgiveness.

** spoiler alert **
While I Was Learning to Become God, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, is a documentary account of the real life story of Sybil Vaughan, told partially in her own words and partially in the words of her friend and author, Roxanna Jones. Born and raised in Colombia, Sybil was a typically happy and blessed child, who at times experienced visits from her guardian angel, Archangel Michael. Sybil never considered herself poor, even though her parents were from a working class, as she had everything she ever needed. Through her own experience, as she grew older, Sybil learned how cruel the world could be and bitterness began to seep into her heart. Sybil soon forgot about her visits from her angel, later recalling them as an adult. As a teenager at the time, Sybil could not understand why no thing she did, brought her joy and happiness anymore. After high school, her father helped her financially and she attended college in the U.S. Where after 2 years Sybil ended up feeling disillusioned and homesick and decided to return to her country. She debated on whether she should go back to school, and instead decided she had it in her heart to become a wife and mother. In her early 20's, Sybil dated a man named Sebastain, ten years her senior, through an arranged date from her mother. Although, she had her doubts about Sebastain, Sybil fell in love, married and her nightmare began.

I felt a real connection to Sybil in this book, as I personally had a failed marriage with a man similar in character to Sybil's husband. Sybil struggles with feelings of emptiness and disconnection from her family throughout her life, and later from her friends after her divorce. Being naive leads her to trust the wrong people and she ends up being used again and again. Sybil does not give up easily, as she fights throughout her lifetime, to find the inner peace and solace she feels she is missing. To find that peace, she learns, she needs to forgive those who hurt her and grow in spirit. In Volume 2, Sybil's life does a complete turn around, as she returns to the U.S and goes back to college on a scholarship. At first seeing it as a brand new start on life Sybil is happy and doing well. Then the floor falls out from under her, she hits rock bottom and loses everything she has worked for. But Sybil still has her body and mind and she uses them to find that inner peace. In the end, Sybil finds what she is longing for and it turns out, for her in finding it, her time on earth has ended. I found the ending of Volume 2: "The Fifth Element of Love," hard to take. My heart broke for Sybil as she tried to get back her daughters from her poisonous husband. I did not fully understand what happened to Sybil, once the author went back to see her for the last time, and I hope Jones can explain it in another book. Both books were enlightening and I found many similarities with Sybil and my own life, that I never expected from these books. I believe many woman and any nationality can relate to these books. As Sybil dealt with all of life's struggles, we as women may face throughout our own lives. Those of which include sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, marriage, spousal abuse, spousal neglect, infidelity, divorce plus so much more. Sybil was a brave and couragous woman and it was a joy to read her life story. ( )