Since I had an e-book I worked through the book using my notebook.

There are three sections: becoming present, seeking perspective and awakening possibility.

Each section has prompts, questions and journaling with quotes and affirmations and meditation suggestions. Together with some lovely artwork this book was a joy to use.

This is a great book for those starting out on a gratitude practice as well as those of us seeking to go deeper into it.

I got an e-ARC of the workbook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I’m considering buying a hard copy for use now.

The Gratitude Explorer Workbook is by Kristi Nelson, the executive director of A Network for Grateful Living, a non-profit organization. I decided to get a copy of this book after seeing a review by Liz on Lemons But No Lemonade Recipe.

This workbook has lots of journalling prompts and plenty of writing space. It’s visually lovely with a watercolour theme, and there are quotes interspersed throughout. At the end of the book, there are also stickers(!!!), bookmarks, postcards, and conversation starter prompts.

The book is divided into 3 parts, the first of which focuses on becoming present. It includes acknowledging and making room for emotions, loving your quirks, and celebrating being both broken and whole.

Part 2 is about seeking perspective. It suggests giving yourself credit and finding ways to reframe obligations as opportunities and envy as inspiration.

Part 3 explores awakening possibility. There are quite a few exercises focused on living from your values. This part also looks at ways to be a citizen rather than a consumer and taking a stand for what matters.

I’m not into over-the-top positivity, but this book was realistic about it. It will help you tap into what’s good in your life without trying to convince you that everything is completely wonderful. I quite liked the approach, including the emphasis on accepting yourself as you are. Plus it’s pretty and it has stickers, so how can you go wrong? This is a fabulous little book.



I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Storey Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was happy to receive the ARC “The Gratitude Explorer Workbook”. I am a big fan of gratitude practices and experiential journals. This workbook is beautiful, it is aesthetically pleasing with just the right amount of art work without becoming distracted by it.
I found that the three sections of the book, “Become Present”, “Seek Perspective” & “Awaken Possibility” felt intuitive for growing a gratitude practice. The journal prompts, meditations and self-explorations questions brought me into the present moment and encouraged my practice.

The author does a wonderful job of introducing and explaining a gratitude practice and underscores the importance of it in our all too often hectic lives. I would recommend this journal to someone new to a gratitude practice as well as someone who has experience with it. I plan to purchase it when it comes out in hard copy.

Book Review - The Gratitude Explorer Workbook by Kristi Nelson

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NetGalley Ebook review

At first glance, the workbook is aesthetically pleasing with its calming colors, meaningful quotes and well divided topic areas.

The book begins with a review of mindfulness practices, importance of self-care and breathing, and discusses the benefits of a regular gratitude practice. I appreciated the suggestions on how to work gratefulness into daily life for example having a wake up and bedtime routine.

I have picked up other books in the past with journalling prompts and I have to say that this is one of the better books that I’ve seen. While there are too many prompts to list here, ones that definitely caught my eye included:
1. Recognizing acknowledging and accepting emotions
2. Self acceptance/self love
3. Working through loss
4. Active listening
5. Gaining perspective
6. Using mindfulness techniques for daily activities i.e. eating
7. Setting intentions
8. Learning to except the unknown in life

Of special mention, having had a traumatic loss this year, I really felt drawn to the activity called “Harvest Love From Loss” and definitely plan on working through this beautiful journal prompt.

There was adequate space to complete the journalling prompts and the look of the book was well spaced and uncluttered. While I was reading an e-book, I can imagine how beautiful the interactive portion of the book would be that includes stickers, bookmarks, postcards and affirmation cards.

This is definitely a book I would consider purchasing to have a hard copy of and would also consider giving this as a gift to a friend or family member to work through. I appreciated having the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you to Kristi Nelson, Storey Publishing, Storey Publishing, LLC, and Netgalley for a free copy of "The Gratitude Explorer Workbook: Guided Practices, Meditations, and Reflections for Cultivating Gratefulness in Daily Life" for an honest review.

I wasn't sure what I'd find when I opened this, but I was delighted to find every not-quite-formed-fear relieved by the delight of turning every page. I love the easy prompts, that as they continue draw you deeper and deeper into what bring your gratitude both in your current daily-week and across the whole of your life behind you. I was tickled even further when I got to ending section where there will be lots of stickers and fun activities to help you make your book even more exciting to decorate as you go.

A friend of mine keeps a gratitude journal. But she is extremely organised and a natural list maker. I am not. This book gives me hope that I too can keep a gratitude journal.

The journal features beautifully coloured pages with quotes to inspire and many, many different prompts for reflection. So if one page doesn’t suit you, inspire you or match your mood, don’t get stuck or give up—simply turn the page.

I must admit that I felt a bit cynical when I saw that I could give myself a gold star for completing an action. But the good-natured and sincere charm of this journal won me over. Go ahead and yourself a gold star—why not?

That very shift helped me reflect on how we can easily become hardened by the world and can benefit from softening, little by little, page by page, day by day,

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I had no idea this book was a journal for myself to write in. I like how it takes you step by step into achieving your own gratitude. I didn't really like much the stickers part, but I completely understand why it was given to us in the book. I recommend for everyone. Will pick up a copy myself to do and have.

I really enjoyed this workbook and for once actually think it has helped me. Mindfulness, meditation and lots of techniques to try.
I will buy this in hardcopy as I think it is beneficial

I received an arc eCopy of this book and I have to say I liked the ideas it shares.

It's a simple little things like changing I have to, to, I get to. Also thinking of things that bring you joy etc. It sounds simple but in life, we get caught up in the rush and forget what beauty and happiness is around us.

I'm adding the paperback copy to my want list.

Pretty little book, would be great as a gift. It includes a nice selection of motivational quotes, good advice about changing your mindset and I liked that it included a lot about connecting with nature and encouraging us to do our best to be more sustainable. Some stuff i've come across before but a good idea to set it out in a journal fashion.
Instead of reading it from the beginning to end I think it’s probably more useful as something to dip into every now and then. I really like the idea of sending postcards (included in the hard copy) to friends and family.
I would have liked to see some more examples, possibly even case studies. Seemed like there quite a few questions that I didn't have the answer to so it would have been nice to have more guidance in places. Also some parts were a bit cringey and flowery but then that's just my own preference.

If you do not only want to read about gratitude but also work on it
Kristi Nelson presents her workbook "The Gratitude Explorer Workbook. Guided Practices, Meditations, and Reflections for Cultivating Gratefulness in Your Daily Life" published by Storey Publishing, LLC. The book is divided into three parts: 1) Become Present, 2) Seek Perspective, and 3) Awaken Possibility. Every part is started with a short introduction. The book finishes with the "Tools for Expanding Gratitude" (Gratitude Extras). In the introduction of the book Nelson writes: "Practicing grateful living helps you become more mindful of opportunities, and it shifts your awareness to the things that awaken and serve you" (p. 6). Furthermore, she states: "The practice of introducing simple moments and experiences of gratefulness into your day is profound. When you remind yourself of this practice throughout the day and string these moments together, you discover that these subtle internal shifts impact your sense of well-being. The commitment to living gratefully itself will yield tangible gifts and guide you, over time, to greater joy and peace—both for yourself and others" (p. 7).
One needs to be aware that this is a workbook. Readers who are looking for basic information about gratitude need to look elsewhere. The book is presented with a great design and is inspirational. It also contains many quotes from various personalities (e.g., Aristotle, Natalie Goldberg, Thomas Merton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and others). I highly recommend to get the printed copy because of the "Gratitude Extras" (Stickers, Postcards, Bookmarks, and Conversation Starters) that are included in the end of the book and because it is a workbook that has a lot of space to write in the answers / thoughts to the various tasks. I recommend it for readers who want to become actively engaged in their gratitude and for readers who want to get new inspiration for their gratitude lists / journals.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheGratitudeExplorerWorkbook #NetGalley

There are many self-help books including the practice of gratitude within their pages and I wondered if this book would be able to add anything new. I think it does, certainly for those new to the concept.

Aesthetically, this book is beautiful. I think it would be best appreciated, and most useful, as a paper copy rather than an e-book. The colours and artworks are calm and soothing, the quotes inspiring and encouraging. There is little in the way of theory and that felt ok: this is a workbook and as such it is filled with a range of suggestions which the reader can use as appropriate. It is a practical resource and I think most readers with an interest in developing a practice of gratitude will find something new to consider.

My thanks to Net Galley, the author and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for my independent opinion.

This was a really enjoyable book. I loved how it was split up and how it encourages you to complete tasks (who doesn't want a star sticker!).

For me, I would have liked to see some examples of the different exercises. There were a few where I wasn't quite sure how to engage properly. In some ways this was good as it meant that I could practice gratitude my own way, but it also had negative effects when I would skip tasks because I didn't get them.

I'm looking forward to returning to this over the next few months as I work on improving my gratitude.

The concept is very good and pretty promising and I felt the idea was pretty good, plenty of mindfulness and meditation techniques, I'm thinking physically the journal with stickers, cards and the watercolour pallette.

There were some really beautiful pictures and quotes that I found to be inspirational but I feel that I'd have gelled better with this journal if it was a physical one.

It's a very nice book, but I'm not sure it'd be something I would pick for myself, though I'm glad I've had the chance to have a read of it and explored it for myself.

I do think it would be really good for some who practice therapies such as mindfulness professionally or with mental health, because gratitude is always a great healer and also a great thing to practice.

With thanks to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author, for this free ARC in return for my honest opinion.
All opinions are my own.

I have an online version of this book. The simplicity and structure make it worthwhile to use in my journal and using the prompts has been really inspiring. It really resonate with some work on values I’ve been completing through Brene Brown’s dare to lead course. Recommend. Take your time and enjoy the reflective process.

This book is beautiful! I love the graphics and the activities. Will certainly be buying a copy to use with clients in my therapy practice.

I am a proponent of gratitude, and am always interested in books on this subject. The Gratitude Explorer Workbook by Kristi Nelson did offer some good suggestions for gratitude journaling and meditation. I felt like a lot of the suggestions have been covered in other books on gratitude,
The artwork in this book is beautiful, done in soothing colors.
Overall, this is a decent book for developing a practice of gratitude.

Sounded better than it was for me. It had good ideas but nothing new. Maybe is the format because it took me sometime to figure out the style of the book. Maybe a printed copy will work better. It’s a nice book but I wouldn’t pick it for myself.

Unfortunately, it's only 2,5 stars from me.

At first I found the concept of this workbook interesting and I imagine the physical set to be visually appealing with all the stickers, cards and prompts, and the watercolour palette.

However, I need to acknowledge that "gratitude" is currently such a buzzword that there are not many books on the market that explain the concept properly. "The Gratitude Explorer Workbook" by Kritsti Nelson is lacking a more scientific explanation and approach towards practising gratitude, and its benefits. And there are plenty!

For me, this workbook lacked coherency, the bits and bops of different subjects were scattered throughout it with no greater depth. The instructions on how to approach each chapter and writing prompts were not clear. As a reader who is supposed to interact with a workbook, I'd love to know the purpose of each exercise is, otherwise it just turns to writing or sticking on stars just for the sake of it.

Speaking of stars, the whole idea of rewarding oneself with stars felt too goal-oriented, rather than mindful and--to be frank--a bit juvenile.

"The Gratitude Explorer Workbook" tries to be a self-reflection book, a journal, a quasi-educational publication, but seems no to be able to fully commit to one format and do it well. However, I understand how interacting with it could be enjoyable, as this workbook is aesthetically pleasing, Insta-friendly at may provide a sense of novelty.

Great workbook for beginners, there is plenty of space to record your thoughts. I may even use a notebook so I could come back and use it again. This something I’m really interested in and will definitely practice.

I love the watercolour quotes throughout, they would be lovely to frame and place on a wall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me an advanced copy.