cover image The Little Book of Everyday Soul

The Little Book of Everyday Soul

Lillie Goodrich. Prima Lifestyles, $15.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-7615-6364-8

Former ad exec Goodrich urges readers to locate the ""nourishing link"" to their souls in this earnest but awkwardly written guide to making life more meaningful. Some 15 years ago, Goodrich decided to ""'embrace the grace' of her Soul""-to pursue communion with that which she felt inside her-and, unsurprisingly perhaps, it was a life-changing choice. This volume lays out her philosophy of self-actualization using case studies from her personal growth consultancy practice, ""checkpoints"" (""Do you believe you can have everything you want?"") and ""principles for reflection"" (""The main objective is to be responsible for healing fears that limit you""). Living soulfully, Goodrich writes, means acknowledging your ""natural excellence,"" listening to the wise inner voice you're born with and believing that the universe has only your best interests at heart. It sounds reasonable enough, but also a bit wishy-washy and vague (how does one choose ""growth over stagnation""?), as well as difficult: if it were as easy to trust in self and universe as the inspirational statements herein seem to imply, we wouldn't need so many self-help books.