Martha Beck, as usual, blends her unique combination of practical advice and woo-woo theories bordering on the stark raving mad. Some of her books are more mystical in nature than others, and this one certainly requires a healthy dose of suspending your disbelief. Beck even warns readers about this in the book's introduction (she calls it 'putting your brackets up'), so it's not as though the magical utterings come as a surprise.

What I always appreciate about Beck is that she allows herself to be her quirky, authentic self on the page: funny, irreverent, academic, and wholly convicted in her beliefs. My only slight complaint with the book is that I would have liked more practical advice for actually tapping into all that Stargazer potential I'm supposed to have inside me. But then again, I guess if accessing it was as simple as filling out a worksheet, it wouldn't exactly be much of a magical process, now, would it?

Ultimately, Beck proves once again that she knows her audience well: spiritual seekers willing to follow her on an in-depth exploration of their hidden places, in the hopes they may discover the starlight has been there all along. ( )

Martha's voice snagged me as I skimmed through an Oprah magazine in a waiting room several months ago. Her humor, intellect and sensible approach to life permeate her writing. I was hooked.

I borrowed this title from my library system and worked through the journaling with a large dollop of skepticism. But again and again her matter of fact, simple (not easy) methods for moving toward my "north star" made sense. Her passing observation about the "empty elevator" rang so true it brought me up short. I laughed out loud as she described her dog's reaction to a garden statue. Before reading to the end I ordered a copy of my own (hurrah for Better World Books!). I want to read it all again and mark up the good bits.

Added in 2022
Ten years later and the reread was as satisfying as the first time through. This time I marked up the good bits and more of the wisdom sunk in. I also realize that much of how I navigate my life now was inspired by Martha a decade ago.

The chapter "Leading Your Life" really resonated on this round. I've met people (am related to one or two) who just are not "amenable to ordinary relationships." I was unable to process this chapter ten years ago; probably because I was hadn't come face to face with practitioners of "dark arts". Or, more to the point, I was too invested in the approval of one or two relations. A few months ago I lamented to my therapist that on occasion I wished I were more able to be okay with the difficult behaviors of certain folks in my life, just be more zen. She basically said the same thing as Martha: "Let go of your hope for normalcy" with some folks (who Martha describes so well it made my skin bristle). ( )

I wasn't able to finish this book. I think it is an interesting book, but I have too much self help on my hands right now and can't focus on the exercises the way I would like to. I am not a self help book reading kind of person, so in some ways I can't believe I even attempted to read it. I think that there are some excellent exercises. They seem to be easy, but when I tried them, they were harder than I thought. ( )

I'm not much for “self-help.” It's not my passion; because of this, I rarely buy into it. If the girl on the cover really knows what it takes to be a millionaire, why isn't she one? And if that guy is truly happy, why does he hide behind the face of an action figure? Wait, that isn't plastic, that is his face!!! All kidding aside, it's just not my thing. Enter Martha Beck.

Martha Beck has come with high recommendations for years. Her angle, paraphrased: “You probably aren't doing what you want to do in life... why the hell not?” She doesn't tell you what it is you want to do, or how to do it; rather, her method allows for self-discovery. It's a message I like, and one that I, along with everyone I know, struggle with.

I don't know how to rate a self-help book and I'm not going to try. Was it helpful? Maybe. I'll let you know in a year (or five, ten...). Did it change my outlook? Certainly. Beck knows her stuff. No exaggeration, I was going through the steps Beck said I would go through before she said I would. The day following life changing circumstances, I read how the process has begun and how changes were around the corner. Hours after I woke from a vivid dream, heavy in symbolism, I found myself reading about how my dreams would reveal my purpose. Her method for decoding dreams was unique, but so much more logical than other methods. Will I take her advice? I'm going to try to as much as I can. I cannot throw caution completely to the wind, jumping from the ledge of my life and hoping to land in that traveling circus I've had my eyes on, but I'm going do what I can to move in that direction as quickly as possible. And I'm not going to be overly cautious either; I will walk along that edge until the moment I see a tent or an elephant below me, then I'll jump and just hope it all works out. So, yes, I buy into it.

Did I enjoy the read? Not really. Beck ensures the reader that all the examples used are true, but I couldn't help but wonder if some were exaggerated a wee bit (or of gargantuan proportions). Beck tries to be funny and, well, honestly, she's just not funny to me. (Sorry, Martha.) She's also conscious of not bogging down the book with too much jargon, but it felt like too much to me. In the end, it was still a self-help book.

Final Verdict: Insightful? Yes. Helpful? Possibly. Enjoyable? Not really.

Like Martha Beck's other books, this is a very wise and funny book. Taken with a few grains of salt, very satisfying. ( )