I received a complementary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
Early in “A Charmed Journey: An Inspired Guide to Personal Transformation” author Angela Dawn Lenhardt tells the story of how her mom would often get upset on the ride home from school with Lenhardt’s choice of words. The young Lenhardt, it seems, had a special talent for making her mother angry. “Immediately I’d be told to get out of the car and run home,” the author recalls. “Although it was somewhat of an ‘odd’ punishment,” Lenhardt says, “Mom’s discipline and my daily workouts paid off. I received track and cross-country scholarships, which paid for my college … and still to this day, I’m passionate about running.”
This story is one of many in A Charmed Journey where Lenhardt turns a seemingly bad experience into something good. I liked Lenhardt’s conversational style in the book as she tells of her various adventures, and the spiritual lessons she learns from each one. “From my personal experiences, the uncomfortable situations seem to have transformed my life the most,” she writes. “The hurdles that prove to be the toughest to overcome can be your greatest teachers in life, if you are willing to accept the challenge with an open mind and heart.”
If you are like me, you will enjoy reading what trouble Lenhardt will get into next, and how she gets out of each situation with humor and grace. From being homeless, to living in monasteries in China and Thailand, to chasing her horse across a busy highway, A Charmed Journey is full of entertaining stories of the author’s life. I found the book very easy to read (I finished it in two days). Lenhardt is especially vulnerable in the book, as she reveals her thoughts and feelings with each incident. When she doesn’t have you laughing, Lenhardt slips in valuable insights, such as:
“Giving to others, I’ve come to realize, is only part of the equation. Knowing how to receive completes the cycle.”
“Be in a state of gratitude – never let a day go by without being thankful for what you have … and don’t focus on what you don’t have.”
And after time spent as a hospice worker, “We do have choices at the end of our journey. We can either choose to leave gracefully and effortlessly, or resist the inevitable, retaining fear of the unknown.”
Read A Charmed Journey for more bits of wisdom. I am in good company in being impressed with Lenhardt’s work. Well known spiritual author Wayne Dyer says A Charmed Journey is “a marvel of a book. Readable and chock full of advice for living a spiritually aligned life.”
