Book review: The universe has your back
I love a good self-growth book. Personal development is definitely my jam.
Cue: Gabby Bernstein.
I wasn’t sure about her books until I heard from multiple people that I needed to read them. She kept popping up everywhere online as well, so I took these as signs that I needed to read her books. I started The Universe Has Your Back after I graduated in 2017. It seemed like exactly what I needed to move onto the next phase of my life. And it was. But my brain was fried and my body was exhausted after exams and I found it very hard to focus on reading. Reading is exactly what I wanted to do, but also the last thing I wanted to do… if that makes sense.
I knew this was a great book, so it was always in the back of my mind. I picked it up again about a month ago. I felt so called to finding this book because I found myself in a place where all I wanted to do was learn more about manifesting. Creating the life I want and manifesting my deepest desires… totally up my alley right now. So I got this book from the library and powered through it. I took it with me to my solo park dates and read on a bench under the trees. It was exactly what I needed. Funny how books can pick you sometimes rather than the other way around.
Here are my thoughts on the book.
Book Review
Loved:
So. Many. Tools. I love reading about why we are the way we are and how things could be different if we allow them to be. But I need tools. This book is full of them - mantras, meditations, usable tips. This is definitely a book you need to flag with sticky notes and come back to.
Exercises. Gabby includes exercises throughout the book where you can write things out and sort out your thoughts and feelings around different topics. Love this, but also found it hard to do - see “challenges” below.
The way the chapters are laid out allow you to build on previous topics and exercises as you go through which I like because I work very linearly.
There are tons of examples of Gabby’s own life where she worked through limiting beliefs as well as manifested what she wanted. She also includes client examples and stories people have shared with her after following her advice. I love seeing how things apply to real life, and there was tons of that in the book.
Challenges:
This book is dense - there is SO much information. It doesn’t look like a big book but it is packed full of information. It took me time to digest everything and I even then I feel like I could go back another time and see things I didn’t see at all the first time.
I love the exercises (like I mentioned above), however I found it hard to do them all. I often read at night, curled up in bed and I don’t always want to bust out my journal to write things out. I also felt that by the morning I had forgotten what I read the night before so it was hard to implement some of the tips during my day.
The information and tools were wonderful, however I can see how they wouldn’t change your life unless you actually put them into action. But this goes for any personal development book out there. It’s all about baby steps though!
Overall:
I would suggest reading this book in the morning. If you have time (or make time) to read and journal in the morning, that would be the best time for this book. This way you can work through the exercises and implement the mantras and meditations throughout your day.
This is a book to read twice. Read it through the first time without the exercises and then go back through and do them. I think that’s how you would get the most out of it, if you are serious about making changes.
Own vs. loan - I think I will buy this book instead of loan it from the library again. There’s so much value in there that I want to have it on hand for a reference if I ever need it.
So there you have it. My review of The Universe Has Your Back. If you’re anything like me and want to know whether a book is worth your time - there you have it. And if you’re into all the things I mentioned above, then this one is definitely worth it.
