LIFE STORMS: FINDING YOUR CLEAR SKY (subtitled “Practices to Overcome Negative Thinking, Build Connection, and Find Fulfillment”) is a self-help book designed to help those who are “emotionally disconnected, stuck in negative thinking, or […] struggling to maintain meaningful relationships.” Having studied psychology and counseling at university, author Tracy Doyle knows whereof she speaks and writes carefully—mindful that our actions tell us just as much as our thoughts.
Doyle grew up in New Jersey in a deprived and abusive environment. Molested and then raped by several boys and men, she was neglected by her alcoholic and mentally ill mother and taken in by various family members at different times as a child and teenager. Supported by caring extended family, particularly grandparents and an aunt and uncle, Doyle applied to go to university and worked several jobs to make ends meet. She segued into pharmaceutical sales and medical communications, ultimately becoming a successful executive. Indeed, almost the entire opening third of the book is autobiography. One has only sympathy for the utterly horrific circumstances in which Doyle grew up. However, at times it does feel as though there is material enough for two books here—a memoir and a self-help book—and that separating the two would allow for a clearer focus.
Most of the rest of the book offers a way of understanding and evaluating one’s own actions using the “Aurora Method,” a technique of Doyle’s own making that involves self-reflection through written exercises. Doyle draws inspiration from a variety of sources, including Jungian analysis, Maslow’s hierarchy of need, and the works of M. Scott Peck (whose 1978 book The Road Less Traveled remains a touchstone for millions of readers). There is much here in the way of perceiving unconscious or knee-jerk reactions to certain emotional landscapes, or what Doyle refers to as the “Reaction Cascade.” The inclusion of exercise pages designed to assist in this process of self-discovery—understanding why one reacts as one does in certain high-stress or triggering emotional situations—is where the value of the book lies. For those seeking emotional healing and better understanding of their inner workings, LIFE STORMS: FINDING YOUR CLEAR SKY is a useful place to start.
Informed by author Tracy Doyle’s personal struggles, LIFE STORMS: FINDING YOUR CLEAR SKY (Practices to Overcome Negative Thinking, Build Connection, and Find Fulfillment) offers a method of understanding one’s own emotional responses, as well as a way of moving forward in one’s life.
~ Craig Jones for IndieReader