The Secret | Rhonda Byrne | Review
'Remember that your thoughts are the primary cause of everything.' - Rhonda Byrne.
The Secret has been making serious waves across bestseller lists worldwide since its release nearly seven years ago, and it's not too hard to see why; promising to give readers a glimpse of the power of the 'Great Secret' that governs our universe, giving us all the power to access everything we've ever wanted, curiosity alone could prove a good enough incentive to grab a copy.
By letting readers in on the power of the 'law of attraction' (think 'cosmic ordering', only with a slightly more spiritual undertone), The Secret claims you can utilize your internal 'untapped power' to turn around every aspect of your life; money, relationships, even your weight (!) - all of which can be improved in almost no time at all. Sounds a little too good to be true, right?
I don't generally opt for anything labelled a 'self-help' book, but then, I don't know if that's what I'd classify The Secret as, necessarily; whilst the author and contributing writers definitely do take the 'Great Secret' as a way of life, a belief system, the be all and end all, the narrative is more than a little far-fetched, and even comes across as…well, evangelical, at some points, and quite like a fictional tale in others.
Generally, I have to admit to finding The Secret a little challenging to get through, and not because it's poorly written, necessarily, but because it's quite repetitive; despite being quite a small, thin book, with large print, I couldn't shake the feeling that all the relevant information could have easily been summarized in a leaflet, if I'm completely honest.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say, I'm not a particularly religious person, but I do believe in some aspects of spiritual practice; that the universe is, for the most part, inherently good, so this kind of book is probably made for someone like me, and, whilst a lot of the concepts and 'case studies' referenced in 'The Secret' can be more than a little hard to swallow, I do think that anyone with an open mind will be able to take away some important lessons from the book.
If you're open-minded, prepared to take one or two slightly 'tall tales' with a pinch of salt, and want to learn a thing or two about improving your outlook on life and maintaining a more positive attitude, The Secret might just be for you - I have to admit, I certainly wasn't expecting to find myself recommending it to anyone, but here I am... 3/5 stars
This review was written by regular reviewer Francesca, get to know her here.
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