Universe Has Your Back

I knew going in that this book was going to be meh at best. It's just not my kind of book. I know I'm really not the target audience. But it was the book group pick for January, so I promised myself that I'd try to keep an open mind. Ten pages in and my brain said nope, this is gonna need rolling snark to get through. It was like a cross between a book report and a narcissistic self-marketing event. I could have started up a drinking game: every time the author mentions that other book that she didn't write (something about Miracles...I already happily dropped this book in the return slot at the library and I'm not wasting time googling), take a drink. You'll be drunk by the halfway mark, which will probably help get through all the extremely repetitive paragraphs (don't get me started about when she was talking about songs and said the same thing 4 times). Need to be drunk faster? Take another drink every time she mentions going to her website. You'll be feeling good, not worrying about the universe at all by page 50.

Her “examples” were utterly first world ridiculous. Example: “Sob. I didn't get an e-vite to that party that everyone else is going to. My world is ending. Everyone hates me.” When in reality it amounted to poor wittle Gabby being one of a handful of people in the world who don't know to check their spam/junk mail box (never mind that every company out there warns you to check your spam box if you didn't get that email you were expecting). Geez. If your biggest problem is that you didn't get invited to a party or that you didn't find the house with a view of your dreams the moment you wished for it, then maybe you need to rethink your priorities. At one point I was seriously wondering if she actually just made it all up, because who - especially an apparently self-employed editor/copywriter - doesn't put forth the effort to get paid for a whole friggin' year? I guess this person didn't feel the need to eat or pay other bills?

I really did not like how the author inferred pretty much stated that bad things happen to people because they aren't positive enough, because they aren't open to the universe and the author's shallow way of thinking. Bull. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and it's not anyone's fault. Oh and fear? It's not a bad thing. Sure maybe sometimes it's not the most helpful emotion, but it has its purpose. Humans have a natural fight or flight response. Fear is part of that. It helps us to make decisions. We also need those other emotions this author likes to lump in with fear - sadness, frustration, anger, fear. It's part of being human. So yes, try to be happy. Empathize with others. Do some meditation (there are studies out there that indicate it is helpful) if it helps you. But all that doesn't mean the non-happy, non positive feelings are something to be dismissed. Sometimes the best path through a rough situation is to let yourself feel all of it.

In other words, go watch the Disney movie Inside Out instead of reading this book.