Eloquent writing that spins a lovely blend of soulful memoir with solid research. Oxenhandler looks into the history of wishing and swings between her admitted cynicism and bent toward argument and her desire to experience the magic power of the wishing. ( )

Just finished this is in a torrent of reading on trains and planes and beaches.... I hesitated to buy it because I thought the idea was the whole thing. That is, I assumed the author's idea to spend a year focusing on three deep wishes (for a man in her life, spiritual health, and a house of her own) was interesting and useful enough as a concept that I didn't need to read the actual book.
But I'm glad I did. Oxenhandler is more nuanced and philosophical than Elizabeth Gilbert, whose book is otherwise comparable in content. Oxenhandler presents a lot of interesting research on wishing as well as her own experiences over the year and she avoids an overly optimistic ending (justifying her oft-stated self-description as a "skeptic"). All in all a book I'd recommend to those interested in Buddhism, desire, personal fulfillment, and memoir.... ( )

This memoir flies like a swirl of dandelion fluff on the wind - it goes in every direction. Now there is the examination of some wise philosopher and next there is a scene from the author's life. Now there is great emotion, next a discourse on history. Much like the author's own ambiguity towards the notion of wishing, the book doesn't really come to any firm conclusions about the power of wishes, other than to say, "look - I tried it and here is what I learned and gained". ( )

This book was on loan from a friend, and I'm glad that I read it partly before coming on vacation and finished it while on vacation (while on the beach, actually, which was a nice touch). Reading about the author's need to let go of her inner guilt or expectation that something bad needed to happen so that something good could happen spoke to me that I should enjoy my vacation just for what it is, and not think that awful things will occur. Also, the discussion about wishing - what to wish for, how one should wish, what 'experts' think about wishing,etc. - in her practical and almost cynical view matched my own viewpoint, so I could really take to heart the conclusions she draws at the end, and those conclusions have me thinking about... what would I like to wish for? ( )

I enjoyed reading this account of a year in the life of this author. There are 12 chapters, one for each month. She begins by making 3 wishes she would like to come true that year. Her artist friend, Carole, who seems to be a wish genie, understanding the mechanics, helps her to begin. As the months go by, we meet other people who add to her experiment in wishing, and we go on journeys to France, Hawaii, and a goddess's living room.

This is not a self-help book and is nothing at all like "The Secret" or other books of that genre. This author is a writer and teacher with a background in philosophy. It is really a memoir chronicling an approach to progressing her life. It does not offer activities for us to practice, or suggestions about how we should live. You are free to discern those things on your own. She does live in California and encounters a lot of creative, free-spirit "California thinking", which I found refreshing.

Her "brazen acts of wishing" were no different than what most of us desire for our lives, the foundational pieces we need really. She seemed to have no problems in manifesting a man and home ownership, and a spiritual practice on the mend. I left with an uplifted "you can do this too" feeling. Recommended reading for your journey. ( )