Book Review: Present Over Perfect

 

I have seen this book EVERYWHERE on social media the past 6 months. I really wanted to read it, so I think I was wait-listed on my local library’s list for at least 4 of those months. When they told me it had arrived, I can sort of forgotten I reserved it…..Ha!

Still, I was very happy to finally have it in my possession.

This is a short, easy read. Each chapter is about 3-5 pages long, full of musings and writings from Shauna Niequist’s daily life and search for presence in her very-busy life. I read it for only 10-15 minutes each morning and finished it in under 2 weeks.

Now, this book is not a how-to of how to be present in your own life, but that is kind of what I liked most about it. Shauna made me think. She put life into perspective. She presented the feelings of her spouse and kiddos when she realized that she wanted to make a change. She had spent many years sort of passing through her home while multitasking and often heading elsewhere to be with other people, such as at conferences. She discusses boundaries and learning to say “no”. She also talks about the power we each have to move slowly, choose what we spend our time on and take care of ourselves and our home lives first and foremost. Her words are inspiring and motivating, and a were a big push for my current state of mind and life plans.

Shauna also spends several chapters discussing her spiritual life, specifically her relationship with God and how that has impacted her ability and drive to live the present life she is living now. This may or may not be impactful for you in choosing to read this book. Personally, I am not a religious-oriented human, so these passages did not hold a lot of meaning for me, but I am sure they would be very powerful for someone who is. At the same time, I felt this book is still worth the read and has a great message, even though religion is not a prominent part of my life.

If you can get ahold of this book and need some motivation to make some changes, I recommend it! You can purchase it //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=unembellished-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0310342996&asins=0310342996&linkId=aa77f7372667cb0a5ce69c4c090d0dbb&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff“>here