Therese Borchard has written a great little book. Not only is it small in size (it fits into my handbag, which is saying something) but it is easy to read in small chunks. It’s a collection of 144 tools and techniques she has learned over many years of suffering with bipolar disorder and other illnesses.
I loved the book, and found it funny, profound and useful.
Number 47 is one of many that resonated: “Process heat and suffering like a coffee bean”. Therese tells the story of a chef who was listening to his daughter vent about life being hard. He boiled three pots of water: one with a carrot in it, one an egg and one a coffee bean.
He then said to his daughter, “When you confront adversity, which one will you be? The carrot that starts out strong but wilts under pressure? The egg that becomes callous and bitter? Or the coffee bean, which makes something useful, tasty, even beautiful from the boiling water?”
Just great.
Here’s my problem: who do I recommend it to? If you are having a mental health crisis, then this book won’t solve it. You need professional help. If you are recovering from an episode of mental illness, then it will resonate and you should find it helpful. If you are a caregiver, then it will give you lots of ideas.
I’ve been using the tools in parenting. Not that I tell my children that, but I’ve found myself trying out some of the techniques on them and they are working. ; )
I’m sure it’s not what Therese had in mind.
View the book on Amazon (not an affiliate link).
Reviewed by Anna.
Andrea 10 Jul 2010 @ 10:28 am
Found your link to this review on Twitter. Just finished reading it today and I loved it! Just wanted to say hi and great review! The Coffee Beans / Water comment was excellent!