4 out of 4 starsReview by Eva GallegosShare This Review
From Drift to Shift: How Change Brings True Meaning and Happiness to your Work and Life by Jody B. Miller is a motivational self-help book, which brings comfort and strength to people struggling to find their authentic selves in life.
The contents of this book are grouped into four sections, titled as follows: Why Shift? When to Shift? How to Shift? And After the Shift? Each part contains a different set of stories. These stories belong to the people that inspire the author. The experiences shared with them are examples of the changes and setbacks that are part of life.
All these people have different backgrounds, professions, dreams, fears, even nationalities. Nonetheless, they all had to struggle through life to become who they are now. These events radically altered their perspectives and were the reason for their shifting. These situations push them forward. They were able to embrace life and be happy with who they are.
Each chapter has its own introduction and begins with a quote or phrase related to the following story. Finally, the author summarizes the most important lessons of each segment in a series of tips or thoughts titled Takeaways.
The stories were interesting and engaging, Miller successfully creates a bond between her audience and her friends or acquaintances through the book. It was a pleasant experience, I felt that I was part of the conversation. This feeling was one of the elements that attracted me most from the book. She was also very clever in supporting through evidence from various sources, most of her reasoning and conclusions. This shows the care and concern of the author for the quality of the information provided.
All the stories were incredibly moving. I am sure they will resonate with many people as some of them did with me. I was pleased that this book sounded and felt real, that the persons and the stories in it were real. At times, the lives of these people seemed like a big black hole and although they might have surrendered, they did not. It is a nice reminder that there is always hope and you can always get better.
This book has countless positive elements, one of many was the mixture of cultures and beliefs. Manoj’s story made me want to take a plane to India to delve into the spiritual practices of meditation and Buddhism. Spirituality is an essential concept in this book, whether it is for Christians, Hindus or any other religion or belief system. Without faith, hope and love, any transformation process loses significance and reduces the probability of success.
Overall remarkable and touching, a perfect collection of life stories. A wonderful volume that would inspire any reader. I found this book to be well edited, skillfully structured and cleverly articulated. While providing an extensive set of lessons, the book never turns tiresome. This author offers an inspirational perspective and more than a few strategies on how to approach some difficult circumstances. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, as I would recommend others to read it.
