Synopsis: Read on Amazon
Author: Lise Bourbeau

I didn’t buy this book, it was actually a loaner. I’m not a fan of this type of books, but I was curious. It sould not come as as surprise what may have sparked my curiosity, considering a condition that affected me recently and some of the self-discovery journeys I’ve taken. So rather than dismissing it, I thought i’d give it a chance.

Should you read this book? To be honest, it is hard for me to say whether it is recommendable or not. It is for sure an interesting read, but I found it lacking in providing some actual tools to help yourself. Plus, some people may find the metaphysical topics too unscientific for their liking, so, if you do decide to read, make sure you keep an open mind. Read on to make a more informed decision.

The author of the book speaks about how all human beings have to deal with very specific types of emotional wounds, which she narrows down to 5: Rejection, abandonment, humiliation, betrayal, and injustice. Each of these wounds comes with a specific self-protecting mask, one that simply hides away the wound without doing anything to heal it. These masks also help bury our true selves. In order to be able to truly know ourselves, we need to recognize our wounds/masks, accept we have them and begin the healing process. The book provides a comprehensive explanation of each of the wounds and its respective mask, which are characterized by some very particular physical and psychological characteristics. Each of them is explained in a chapter, with the final one being the “how to move on from diagnosis” kind of guide.

To start with I found the english a bit complicated. It’s not that there are rare words, but I thought the construction of the sentences was quite detailed and it made each paragraph a long account of the ideas meant to convey. When I started reading it felt strangely “in your face”. I then realized this book is an English translation; the original was written in French (the author is French Canadian). She is extremely thorough in the explanation of each wound and it’s respective mask, so in that sense you get complete clarity on the key aspects of each to help you assess whether you have the wound or not. I thought it was a bit hard to identify what wounds I may have (as she points out throughout the book, no one falls in a single category, you may belong in more than one), but I think the process is not meant to be a simple one, just from one read. Most self-discovery journeys take some work beyond the reading of a single book.

There were 3 particular things I wasn’t too happy with: 1. She makes continuous references to her other books, in kind of a shameless promotion way. I know she is not the first author to do so, but it was a bit obvious that if you wanted a clear description of what she was talking about, you needed to get one of her other books. 2. The other part is there is a strong focus on describing all the wounds, sometimes with far too many details and kind of missing the point. Again, this may be a translation issue, French is a very rich and elaborate language, and it would take more lines in French to express an idea than in English. 3. The final part was probably my biggest grievance towards the book. You get a lot of information to try and diagnose yourself, but very little prescription and treatment. This is one of the biggest reasons I tend to dislike certain of self-help books, because they can stir up all these emotions, and then you don’t know what to do with them.

Overall is was, as I said at the beginning, an interesting read. It is not a terrible book, but I didn’t find it particularly life-changing, or at least one I would keep in my permanent collection. It is worth a chance, especially for those who feel they have some very deep-seeded issues from their past that require additional resolving and help. By the way, the author kind of assumes pasts lives and other planes as fact, so if you have some strong ideological/religious issues against these, then steer clear!

Paola’s mood after reading this book: