Anonymous

Fast paced and creepy

Reviewed: 12-10-24

Impressive audio performance of a fast paced book. Would have been 5 stars except for a clunky ending. The narrator deserves 5 stars plus.

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1 person found this helpful

Absolutely worth the credit

Reviewed: 10-23-20

Having read the author's text books, I found it delightful to hear him speak. The IFS model is transformative and deep. The guided meditations he provided in this title were touching and meaningful, and there were tidbits of descriptions that I haven't heard anywhere else.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the negative review that referenced "victim valence" as a characteristic of this book. I personally was touched by Richard's openness about his indirect learning path to arrive at the model. His description of the ways in which previous theory didn't match with his experience with clients shows me his courage in avoiding the arrogance that many therapy traditions hold when they label people who don't respond to their approach as resistant or otherwise defective. I heard humility and a willingness to be human.

I do think this title will be more relevant and helpful if you already understand the basics of IFS. Richard isn't a narrator by profession, but I personally like hearing his personality come through in his speaking.

If I had to give back 400 of the 410 Audible titles I own, this one would be in the 10 to keep pile!

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Caution if you have lost a baby (spoilers)

Reviewed: 10-27-16

I couldn't make it through this book. The story repeatedly goes over in GREAT detail the circumstances surrounding the SIDS death of a baby. Repeatedly. IN. GREAT. DETAIL. Hours of pouring over all the characters' emotional wounds and memories. Avoid if you have any sensitivity to this topic.

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Slow and boring

Reviewed: 11-16-15

Bought this thinking it would be a mystery. Really it is boring, neurotic chick lit. We are four hours in and still haven't gotten a mystery.

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6 people found this helpful

Has the opposite than desired effect

Reviewed: 08-19-15

Wow. I hated this book. I picked it up because of my interest in creating more quiet space in my life for creativity. Pretty sure I already knew that as a culture, we have had our quiet time, time in nature, and leisure time erode. Unfortunately, as far as I made it (chapter 5), this book was primarily focused on lecturing, quoting references, and droning on about all the changes in that regard and their negative consequences, with very little attention to what to do in your own life. Depressing.

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1 person found this helpful

Loved it!

Reviewed: 10-30-14

This was a fantastic book with fine narration that made a long car trip much more enjoyable. The time-travel aspect is fun, and the characters are well drawn out. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

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GREAT listen

Reviewed: 05-07-14

This may be my favorite fiction book of the year. The narration is great, the story is deep and engaging, and the characters likable. This was one that made me wish my commute was longer!

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Full of "shoulds"

Reviewed: 04-10-14

I've read hundreds of Buddhist books, and one of the characteristics I appreciate most is the lack of judgmental, right/wrong attitudes and language. This book is the exception. It is written with a parental tone and is filled with "shoulds".

As I listened, I envisioned a frustrated HR manager who wanted staff to behave more appropriately and framed a book with that underlying purpose using Buddhism to mask that intention. The recommendations that to be successful you should to come to work before your boss, leave after your boss, and never surf the web are examples that were presented in that tone. I also found that there was much more of a typical self-help orientation than a spiritual orientation.

If you are a very new employee and need advice about appropriate behavior at work, I can imagine someone might recommend this book to you. If your challenges with work are more sophisticated than that, keep looking.

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4 people found this helpful

Great story and narration, but hard to follow

Reviewed: 03-13-14

This is a good story, similar to SM Stirling's other books. Narration is competent and does a good job of differentiating the characters. Unfortunately, I found it so hard to follow, I broke down and bought the print copy so I could go back and forth. Within chapters, the book transitions from one storyline to another. In the print book, there are no subheadings, simply a few extra blank lines to show the transition. In the audio, these transitions run together giving almost no indication that a transition is happening. If you are doing anything at all that means you are not paying total attention every second, you will find yourself rewinding often to figure out what you missed. In combination with the print book to refer back to, I did really enjoy this book.

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1 person found this helpful

Fine story that is difficult to follow

Reviewed: 12-24-12

I purchased both the Kindle version and audio version of this book, and I'm glad I did. This story was very difficult to follow with only the audio book. I believe it was difficult to follow for these reasons: 1) the beginning of the story jumps around to different time periods with no explanation why or early assistance understanding how the story's pieces fit together, 2) for an American reader, the Norwegian names are difficult to differentiate when spoken, so it takes quite a while to keep the characters straight. This markedly increases the difficulties caused by #1. Seeing the names written in the Kindle version helped a great deal, and 3) because of #1 and #2, if you are doing anything else while listening and lose your concentration for a second, you can miss very important details of the plot.

I did enjoy the book, found the story to be well crafted, and finished it. I'm certain that without the written version to refer to, I would have given up early on.

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