Book Review; The Art Of Falling Apart

[See The Art of Falling Apart; Ruminations On A Baptism By Fire on Amazon]

Allyson,

Thank-you for sharing your book with me!

This is your most intimate, and illuminating, piece of work so far- it was a baptism by fire for sure!

You drew me into your inner world- taking me through the dark recesses of our primal fears, self-doubt, and the dying away of the false ego, to emerge, renewed and more wholly in relationship, with your Self and your life. It’s heartfelt, terrifying, beautiful, and inspiring.

Often practitioners are placed on a pedestal (or we falsely place ourselves on one). Because our work is to guide others towards ousting the false ego, resolving trauma and aiding in their trajectory towards claiming the essential self- we must, to a degree, be able to do this ourselves. Therefore, it is humbling when find that we still have a lot of personal work to do, and I think sometimes, we feel shame when we falter. We need to confront that fear of revealing, that we too, are still in a process of becoming. It is a vulnerable position, and yet, it is the very thing that is necessary.

With this book you have illustrated the darkest part of our unfoldment, where we enter into the recesses of our fears and assume, with full consciousness, who we are meant to be. Many of us turn away at this point, because it requires that we acknowledge, and act, on our truth. This is not easy, requiring that we stay with the chaos, and have faith, surrendering, and allowing, the facade to burn away. It can be wholly life-altering if we have built our relationships, and our lives, on who we thought we were (or felt we needed to be).  It’s seemingly easier to suppress symptoms and dis-ease, disassociate from our truth, and stay in our delusions, that is, until we are faced with our ultimatum. You have illustrated this so beautifully. I felt your fear, your brokenness, your self-doubt, your bravery.

Then you take us into the warm embrace of self-care, and the traversing of this passage, with tenderness and self-love. This is one of the toughest things for most of us to do. “What? Am I actually going to ask for, and do, what I need to get well? What about XYZ? I can’t.” Your false ego was flat-lined, and you did. I felt like I was there with you, building up your relationship with your self, acknowledging and acting on your desires. It was tender at first, and then I could feel your energy build. I felt the enthusiasm as your love function became activated, and celebrated, when you found yourself with your kin, wholly in love.

Your book felt like an intimate, resonant conversation; these are the conversations that I crave. It could only have been achieved if you allowed yourself to truly be seen, and to speak, from your heart, and from your truth. It is a remedy, truly, for those that are still pursuing this passage. With the sharing of your story, you become a maverick, and give others a hope, and faith in their capacity, to become who they are meant to be.

Thank-you Ally.

xo

Let me know if you need anything else.

Love,

S