Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein's Gateways to Enchantment
 

THE TRUTH, My Secret Diary, I'm Ten, I'm Smart and I Know Everything

Readers Share their Reading Experience

 

Professional Reviews

 

"Reading and enjoying The Truth, the plethora of opportunities presented to, and embraced by, this girl will stir in you profound recognition of your own early opportunities. What memories they will evoke, what excitement, what expectation!

 

Yet for far too many of us, as we developed from infant to girl to adolescent to woman, harsh forces worked to extinguish the fire in our Spirit. Embracing opportunities to 'become', to express, to flourish, often provoked painful interpersonal repercussions. Spirit-damaging repercussions. After a while, rather than seek, we shriveled. Rather than express, we self-silenced. Rather than dream, we suffocated on nightmares.

 

Then suddenly, here we are, grown but not really, a stranger to our self, unhappy, anxious, perhaps even despairing.  For, trapped in the stilted patterns of life we constructed to please significant others, we shoulder the sorry burden of dishonor and disrespect of our own, true self.  Hence, our state of dis-Spirit.

 

But there's fabulous news! Now, at this very moment, you have before you the most wondrous opportunity! Step into Dr. Barbara's Enchanted Self world through her latest finding, THE TRUTH, and commence your transmutation!

 

As Dr. Barbara encourages: "We can experience our very self transmuting from the ho-hum and humdrums into pure delight."

 

Though our life-paths are quite different, Dr. Barbara and I each were blessed by an extraordinary illumination.  Bliss is not something reserved for a few fortunate women.  Rather, it is a divinely appointed gift to which we are all entitled. Bliss is the natural, logical, and magical response of our Spirit to our commitment to authentic, exuberant, pure-hearted-service-to-others living -- whatever this means in each of our unique lives.  It is what Dr. Barbara encapsulates in her 'Enchanted Self'®.  Bliss -- a state of perfect Spirit-ual joy, satisfaction, delight, inner peace, and exhilaration -- is a Way Of Being which, once experienced, is unforgettable. 

 

For you, dear reader, I wish: The bliss of a life lived authentically, exquisitely, enchantedly!  Please, join me now, in visiting the magnificent inner life of one enchanted girl, whose diary reveals The Truth. Truth to transport you to bliss of your very own.

~ Martha Trowbridge writes Inspiration for Women In Crisis.  The Woman You Were Born To Be, Wings Of Self-Love, and The Wisdom Of Madness are among her books.  Her web site is www.marthatrowbridge.org

"The Truth expresses an amalgam of a child’s enthusiasm and delight in discovery with the wisdom of an older woman looking back at pivotal times, thoughts and experiences in her childhood.

The truth is presented as the journal of a young girl who is 11 years old. Developmentally this is a period of time between childhood and adolescents during which the child has an opportunity to experience her own competence, to experiment a bit with life and to begin to question authorities. The stories presented as vignettes or diary entries join together developmentally as an illustration of types of experience that a child might have had at this age, growing up in the 50’s and 60’s.

The girl presents as bright and self-confident, with a wisdom that is not characteristic for a child this age. Her ability to self-reflect about her own experience and those around her hints of the kind of self-talk that a therapist or good parent might provide.

Embedded in the journal are messages about childhood that are important for adults to hear, presented in the words of a child. One such message is the importance of communication for children. Children should be able to communicate honestly about their own experience to responsible adults, especially parents, even about such taboo topics including childhood sexually or childhood passion. Conversely, adults should be more authentic in their communication with their children and sensitive to the impact of their communication or lack thereof. According to the Truth, parents are not invulnerable. Exposure to conflict between parents has a negative effect on children and parents do not seem to understand the depth of this. Exposure to parent uncertainty can impact on the child with “a big giant pit opining in the bottom of my stomach.” However, when ones own parents do not provide the answer there are other role models who might, in extended family, on TV and in books. Powerfully demonstrated is the importance of female role models such as Nancy Drew, for being adventurous and having self-efficacy, using intelligence in problem solving and successfully figuring things out.

The truth provides entertaining reading for women of all ages, including mothers of daughters and teenage girls. Woven through the entertaining stories are messages of self-esteem, self-reliance, getting to know yourself, having adventures and understanding parents and their limitations. Reading the Truth can be the stimulations for discussion between women, between mother and daughter and between client and therapist.

~ Sandra Prince-Embury, Ph.D, Clinical Psychologist, The Resiliency Center of Allenhurst

“This wonderful story is about a girl on the cusp of puberty, as spoken in her own voice. She is childish and immature, but she is wise beyond her years. She offers a fresh perspective on adult life that can only be offered by one who is not yet there.  I could feel her pain and her joy as she struggled with the issues of her transition from childhood to adolescence. I laughed and cried as I read it. It is a delightful reading experience.”

~ Barbara Fleischer, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist and Psychoanalyst

“Reading and enjoying The Truth, the plethora of opportunities presented to, and
embraced by, this girl will stir in you profound recognition of your own early opportunities.  What memories they will evoke, what excitement, what expectation!  Please join me in visiting the magnificent inner life of one girl, whose diary reveals The Truth.”

~ Martha Trowbridge writes Inspiration for Women In Crisis, including The Woman You Were Born To Be.

“The TRUTH is the most delightful, refreshing and inspiring book I’ve read in a long time. It reaches our hearts through tender, loving and humorous anecdotes every woman can relate to, all the while providing us with meaning and insight. Once you pick it up you won’t want to put it down, as each page brings new adventure and perspective! This book will make you smile, and that’s The Truth!”

~ Jeanette M. Pintar Angel Therapy Practitioner ®, www.SFPNN.com

"What I loved about The TRUTH was not just hearing the thoughts and feelings of the little girl whose diary we get to read, but having her voice call forth the the thoughts and feelings of the sassy, sincere, smart, and vulnerable little girl I once was. What a wonderful rediscovery!"

~ Margot Silk Forrest is the author of A Short Course in Kindness

"I was back there with her!  Things I had forgotten--this book took me back.  I was crying out of joy--such sweet memories."

~ Anonymous

Click here to listen to her podcast via her blog.

 

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