Stop Being Mean to Yourself : A Story about Finding the True Meaning of Self-Love

by Melody Beattie

Book Overview

Stop Being Mean to Yourself is a compassionate guide filled with new ideas for overcoming the pitfalls of guilt and self-doubt, and helps readers find a happier place in the world. "In this wonderfully practical book, Melody Beattie gives you the tools to discover the magnificence and splendor of your being." -- Deepak Chopra, M.D. Beckoning readers toward a spiritual territory beyond even that of her revolutionary best-seller Codependent No More,...

Customer Reviews

To all of YOU who have written a review for this book

I am writing to all of you who have written a review about this book, and especially to Melody Beattie. To the person who mocked about Melody's inner civil war, or you're already a god or you will never ever hope to KNOW what an inner civil war is. And to the rest of you, this book is not about traveling through Nothern Africa, it is about INNER travel, if you were trying to read an action-packed James Bond or Indiana Jones story, you guys picked the wrong book. This is not a fiction book, it is a book about how to find your inner deamons, your fears, face them and come through truly successfuly. This is a "self-help" book, and should be rated accordingly. I lived an inner civil war myself, and Melody greatly helped in making me understand how everything lies in subtleness, awareness, in trusting the universe. In trusting yourself, in listening to yourself for once! Hence the name of the book. This certainly was one of the pivotal steps in helping me change my life. This book is for people WHO needs it, otherwise you'd be bored to hell, of course. Every kind of book, song, movie, painting, etc... has a porpuse and is meant for certain kind of people. Just stop for a moment and THINK before you rate a book...before you rate anything. It is NOT about "if I liked it or not", it is about "does it work?" This book is not a novel, it is a tool for those who need it. It didn't work for you because you didn't need it. I needed it, and guess what, it worked. It really did. THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH MELODY, YOU REALLY HELPED SOMEONE BE MORE CONSCIOUS, MORE AWARE AND A BETTER PERSON. I ONLY WISH I COULD CONTACT YOU TO TELL YOU THIS PERSONALLY. GOD BLESS YOU, AND YOUR DAUGHTER. -Rafael Romo, Mexico City.

Simple but enlightening

The title of this enlightening read caught my eye, for the very fact that there have been times when I've treated myself with less kindness than I show others. In Stop Being Mean to Yourself, Melody Beattie finds a unique way to unravel the reasons why this may be so. The sensitive solar plexus (the pit of the stomach) is an area of her body which she becomes quite aware of as she recounts her 1996 journey through Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. The "leap of faith" she describes taking in those exotic locales helped me to vicariously experience her inner transformation, which is really what this book is about. Cairo and Giza are areas of the world wherein the 'ancient' rubs shoulders with the 'modern.' While being guided through the "souk" or marketplace, Beattie observed a man using a stick to hit thieves within the crowd (thus identifying them for the benefit of others in his vicinity.) It occurred to her that she had been "walking without a stick" all these years - she had never been able to protect herself from those who would do her harm, much less identify them. This insight reveals a yearning for intuition and gives you the sense that her capacity for self-preservation is overdue. Symbolism permeates her tale. There are references to living in a psychological "box" and being tossed about as in a "vortex" - she makes good use of these images in describing some very disturbing episodes in her journey. What emerges, in the end, is Beattie's realization that her pain-filled life has had a greater purpose after all; her self-awareness which she can share through her writings can now help others in their quest for meaning and fulfillment.

The inspiration I needed ...

It's interesting how things/situations "speak" to some people and don't to others. Books are this way. Some reviewers found Stop Being Mean to Yourself a waste of time, but I found it an inspiration and an adventure that made me WANT to stop feeling sorry for myself, to KNOW that I should listen to my higher self and to BEGIN being good to myself. I felt I was led to this book - I read it in one day, with verve! It's true that it seems to be a "story" about Beattie's adventures and her personal quest for enlightenment, but that's what I liked about it! I was looking for something different, something interesting - a "story" about life and what others have experienced that I want and need (whether it is fact or fiction!). Plain and simple, it touched me with its simplicity. I related to Melody's struggles - her questioning and searching and uncertainty. ... I've read plenty of spiritual awareness and self-help books with daily affirmations, etc., (from wealthy, educated doctor types! - does it make a difference who's actually doing the writing if it speaks to you?!) but they have gotten old - Melody intrigued me. She re-engaged my creativity and my interest in myself - not necessarily on fixing myself, but in being loving and nurturing to myself. I felt understood reading this book, because I felt that Melody is "one of us." She's on the same spirtual path (but maybe farther ahead ;-)) as the rest of us who read this book and any of the thousands of others that exist on similar subjects. I was brought to this book - as other people may have come upon it for their own personal reasons - if you weren't touched by this one, there will be another book out there that WILL get to you. As Melody makes clear, we all have our own journey - no two are the same - and that's what stood out to me. I may feel comfort in hearing about someone else's journey or struggle, but mine is my own and I will forge my own path. Thank you Melody for putting me back on that path and helping me to realize that no one guru or doctor or person can tell me what's right for me! That's for me to find out in my own way.

melody is a wonderful writer. I have learned so much

Melody is a wonderful writer. I have learned much about my life since I began reading her books. My psychiatrist and psychologist recommended her books to assist me in learning how to stop being co-dependent. I did not realize until I started reading her books, just how bad I was a co-dependent. Thanks for the wonderful books you have already written and to the many more that all of us hope you write

A fabulous book of adventure and discovery

I loved this book on many levels. As a travelogue it carried me to Algeria, Morocco and Egypt in a way that had me tasting the dust and feeling the sweat. As a symbolic journey, I need to re-read it to capture it all. There were countless moments of "Ah-Hah" that I want to remember, but, as befits a truly spiritual, moving book, I couldn't stop reading long enough to take notes!. Finally, this was a story of Melody Beattie, who I feel I got to know on some level. Although I read many books that can be labeled "self-help," this book stands out as the best I have ever read. It's title does not do justice at all to its complexity and depth. This should be a classic