Book Review: Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein

From the very first page of Gabrielle Bernstein's Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles I wanted to reject the book. I found the language too "Gabbified" with it's "far outs", "trippy's", and pop psychology which assigns the root of all our problems to the "ego", which is quite a different sort of construct to the Freudian notion of that part of ourselves which serves as a mediator between the id and the superego, forming intellectual synthesis. The pragmatist in me found the book irritating, and reminiscent of the floppy "Ashram-think" I rejected as a child (with rather a similar background to Bernstein), but I couldn't push the book away.

Indeed, I kept coming back to Spirit Junkie, and inevitably would find myself reading it in the midst of my most intense anger, fear, or frustration — emotions that seemed to be surfacing unbidden, more frequently than usual. Every time I opened the book I found myself drawn into it, almost against my will ('ego' if you like). And every time I began to read it, I started to feel my anger, fear, and frustration disappearing — turning into acceptance, forgiveness, and gratitude. In other words, in spite of all my skepticism, the book helped me, sometimes considerably. In spite of the funky language, which may actually draw in younger Americans, there is a very compelling energy that underlines Bernstein's words. Beyond the semantics, there is a strong shared point of truth that is being presented and it's something that I found impossible to ignore.

So what's the book all about? It's partly about Bernstein's own journey as she struggled past addiction, chronic acceptance seeking, and failed relationships. Bernstein's story is an engaging enough one on its own, presented with honesty and courage, and her willingness to share her own difficulties, illusions, and breakthroughs is probably enough to keep the reader reading. Beyond that though, the book is a call to action, and this is what I found compelling, in spite of my resistance.

Article Author: Maggie Ball

Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of the novels Black Cow and Sleep Before Evening, the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark Soup, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, …

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