Book Review : The Gift by Edith Eva Eger

*Disclaimer : I received a copy of this ebook for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hey friend! I’m back with one of my final book reviews for 2020 – here’s hoping I can gain some ground on these before too long!

This time, I read The Gift by Edith Eva Eger.

Below you’ll find the description of the book provided by NetGalley followed by my personal review and star rating.

As always, thank you for stopping by today. 💛

Description :

“Edith Eger’s powerful first book The Choice told the story of her survival in the concentration camps, her escape, healing, and journey to freedom. Oprah Winfrey says, “I will be forever changed by Dr. Eger’s story.” Thousands of people around the world have written to Eger to tell her how The Choice moved them and inspired them to confront their own past and try to heal their pain; and to ask her to write another, more “how-to” book. Now, in The Gift, Eger expands on her message of healing and provides a hands-on guide that gently encourages us to change the thoughts and behaviors that may be keeping us imprisoned in the past.

Eger explains that the worst prison she experienced is not the prison that Nazis put her in but the one she created for herself, the prison within her own mind. She describes the twelve most pervasive imprisoning beliefs she has known—including fear, grief, anger, secrets, stress, guilt, shame, and avoidance—and the tools she has discovered to deal with these universal challenges. Accompanied by stories from Eger’s own life and the lives of her patients each chapter includes thought-provoking questions and takeaways, such as:

-Would you like to be married to you?
-Are you evolving or revolving?
-You can’t heal what you can’t feel.

Filled with empathy, insight, and humor, The Gift captures the vulnerability and common challenges we all face and provides encouragement and advice for breaking out of our personal prisons to find healing and enjoy life.”

My Review :

This book made me think so much – and in such positive ways. Edith talks briefly of her time in a concentration camp – but she uses her story to help others see that there are ways to rise above your past, and above your pain.

A lot of us limit ourselves by our thinking – we start the day with one negative thought and let it spiral. The same goes with forgiveness…it’s so much easier sometimes to not forgive because it’s comfortable. Having to do the work of actually choosing to forgive someone is hard.

I love what she said at one point which was as part of a conversation with someone else. Basically we put off doing things because we’re too old, or we’ll be X years old by the time we finish. (Her example was being 50 by the time she finished her doctorate.) The person she was having the conversation with told her that she was going to be 50 anyways…and that hit me in such a profound way.

I’ve been at a crossroads in my life for a bit – my kids are getting older and I’m trying to determine my next path. A lot of what I want to do seems like a fantasy…but what’s the harm?

I’ll still be getting older, but at least I’ll have an answer – and who knows…I may even surprise myself in the process. 😀

I loved reading this book – Edith talks with such hope and empathy, but in a way that is so genuine that you wish you had someone like her in real life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️