I’ve read better books on healing and overcoming trauma from a Buddhist perspective. Some of it was helpful but overall I didn’t gain a lot of insight from this book.

Valerie writes about experiences in her life that are downright sad and almost impossible to imagine. The abuse she had endured from the age of 8 and as a grown woman, living with unexpressed toxic emotions.

Through the frustration with her current state of affairs, she decided that meditation could put her on the path of self awareness.

She writes about reuniting her heart with her mind through self-awareness.

Favourite quotes: “I was just putting a bandage over my anger hoping it will heal, but instead it generated more fear and hatred in my heart.”

“Meditation is about slowing down: it is about allowing ourselves to be in the present moment and feel what we are feeling, without judging or punishing ourselves for feeling it.”

Recommendation: If you are looking for a book that shares experiences of being constantly stressed and how that feeling was overcome (or detoxed), this book is definitely for you.

Although she writes about a number of Buddhist techniques for meditation, you do not have to be Buddhist to benefit from this book.

Having missed out on reading this book the first time around, I am grateful to have the opportunity to check out the new edition of Valerie Mason-John’s book Detox Your Heart- Meditations for Healing Emotional Trauma. I’m like a broken record lately in saying that again, a book that I needed at this particular stage in my life has made it way into my hands. Call it cause and effect, karmic forces or just plain great timing – I’m feeling blessed to have the chance to receive and be open to the materials within this essential book.

This book is a refreshed, revised and expanded version of the one that was initially released in 2005. It features more stories than the previous work as well as an update on the author’s relationship with her mother.

Anchored in the Four Noble Truths, Mason-John delivers an eye-opening autobiographical journey through her overindulgence in sex, drugs and rock and roll, or as she calls it a different kind of Triple Jewels than what Buddhists know.

The author shares her personal story of how she grew up under terrible circumstances and was unable to shake the negative self-talk she was imprinted with. Her honesty is direct. You can’t help but feel deep empathy for the pain that she suffered. The stories of the obstacles she overcame throughout her life will inspire you towards enacting change in your own situation. She views the human spirit as what helped her break out of her addiction and self-destruction. Once we discover this promise of a way out, we need to overcome our habitual tendencies – those hindrances that keep us stuck in what causes us suffering. Mason-John suggests that we need to detox and purify ourselves in order to fully heal. She calls us to use kindness, generosity, creativity, meditation, and mega-doses of self-love to help in our healing. This book in her words is about “reuniting heart with mind.”

“This book is a self-awareness book.”

This book will help you to see where you’re hung up, and then will provide you with suggestions for how to change your habits. As was the case with Valerie, all it takes is a willingness and desire to heal. Getting in touch with our emotional self and how we are not to blame for many of the circumstances that befall us is a central element of this book and one that resulted in a major shift. In sharing her story, Valerie’s bravery is helping others like her. She notes that we must face our inner demons in order to come to inner peace. Slowing down and looking at ourselves – our experiences is what helps us tap into feeling and connecting to our emotions. Emotions play a key role in Mason-John’s book and she spends a good part of this work on identifying, exploring and working with our emotions, thoughts and feelings. Creating a space for emotions, welcoming them and then seeing the wisdom that can come from exploring them further than we traditionally do is key to transforming our habitual reactions.

Valerie is an example of resiliency and recovery. This book draws the reader in and explores exercises that they can do to help them to view their situation from a new perspective. Her goal is to help individuals heal their bodies, minds and hearts with the idea of taking “stepping stones towards inner change.”

In the author’s words “Detox your heart and you’ll detox your life.” This book is essential if you are seeking freedom from suffering and want to step into a path of healing and self-awareness.

A very inspiring book helping you to cope with emotional challenges and trauma. The exercises are easy to follow and can create a healthy routine focused on mindfulness and increasing the self-awareness and personal strength.