I’ve been counting down to lots of things in my life lately. The number of days until we head to France for two months has been a big one. As has my countdown to the release of the new book Simple Soulful Sacred from the fabulous Australian author, coach and speaker Megan Dalla-Camina.
I discovered Megan through her first book, Getting Real About Having It All. To say that book was life changing for me is an understatement. I read it when I was at an interesting point in my life. I’d turned 40 just days before and was questioning many things in my life. My career direction. What it meant to be the mother of an independent young adult. My passions outside my day job. You know, just about everything.
At the time, Megan’s message spoke powerfully to me. And it led me to working with Megan many times over the years – on my career, on my speaking and on my writing. These various coaching sessions saw me changing so many aspects of my life – and ultimately undertaking my own coaching qualifications.
So you can imagine how excited I was to learn that Megan was working on another solo book.
I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy, which I literally devoured in a single weekend. It’s a different book to Megan’s earlier offerings, but no less compelling. In fact, I think this new book is likely to change many more lives. It feels deeper and (unsurprisingly) more soulful, and is so reflective of Megan’s own growth journey over the years.
Title: Simple Soulful Sacred: A woman’s guide to clarity, comfort and coming home to herself.
Author: Megan Dalla-Camina
Published: 2019 by Hay House
What I loved:
The loving lessons and associated inspiration
Like Megan herself, this book is generous. It runs to over 400 pages and comprises 10 parts. Each of these parts is full of small chapters – each a just a few pages long. You can read it cover-to-cover to like I did. Or you can pick and choose chapters depending on your need or interest.
I’ve always loved these sorts of books, because they can deliver big value in short spaces of time. And this is very much the case with Simple Soulful Sacred.
Every chapter starts with an inspirational quote and ends with a beautiful affirmation to help embed the learning.
But the magic in this book is found in the words between the quote and the affirmation. Despite the relatively short chapters, Megan manages to pack the pages full of wisdom.
There was rarely a chapter where I didn’t learn something new to introduce into my life, receive an important reminder or felt inspired to think about something just a little bit differently.
For the record, my favourite parts in the book are titled Livelihood (Part 2) and Courage (Part 8).
The clear reminders
Now what I’m about to write next probably only applies to me because I’ve worked with Megan for such a long time – but I’ll share it here in the interests of transparency. If I’m being completely honest, while there were so many great reminders for me in this book, some of the chapters made me squirm a little.
Not because Megan had written something poorly, or because she was out of line.
No, absolutely not.
I was squirming because of the truths Megan shares. There were practices suggested in this book that I know I should be doing – but I’m not. You know, things I’ve started but have let go. Or even things I’ve conveniently ‘forgotten about’. Let’s just say that Simple Soulful Sacred was just the reminder I needed.
The physical book
I have to give a shout out to the design of Simple Soulful Sacred. This book is just plain pretty, with its pink and rose gold styling. It’s way too lovely to be hidden in a bookshelf, so I know my copy will be on display somewhere in our home. (I have stacks of books everywhere, so it certainly won’t look out of place.)
One final thought
If coaching is on your mind or part of your life already, then you should definitely get your hands on a copy of this book.
If you are a coach, there is so much goodness to share with your clients. If you are currently being coached, this book will be complementary in many areas. And if you are keen to get a taste of what coaching might be like and the sort of questions or exercises you might do when you work with a coach, then Simple Soulful Sacred will give you great insight, from one of the most inspirational coaches I’ve ever met.
Have you read Simple Soulful Sacred? Are you a fan of Megan Dalla-Camina’s work? I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Warmest, Janelle.
Please note: While I was gifted an advance copy of Simple Soulful Sacred, the opinions shared in this review are entirely my own.
