Book: “My Inner Sky” by Mari Andrew
Genre: Self-Help/Memoir
Rating: 3+/5 Stars
Blogger’s Note: Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“My Inner Sky” is a self-help book in which author Mari Andrew recounts various times in her life and the lessons she’s learned along her journey. The book is organized into categories like Dawn, Night and Twilight. She uses the metaphor of the sky to describe the different stages in life and artistically displays these transitional times through watercolor illustrations sprinkled throughout the book.
The book is beautifully crafted. From the bright colors of the cover, to the works of art within the pages, it is clear that this story was wonderfully designed. Mari Andrew accompanies this outstanding art with some wonderful concepts and beautifully put sentiments. She is no stranger to struggle and her story is one that causes heartache while reading. Her suffering was translated in a way that conveyed the cruel nature, pain and heaviness of that period in her life. As a reader, I hurt for her and felt myself pulling for her to recover and overcome those immeasurable obstacles.
However, throughout the book I also felt a huge disconnect between myself and the writer. At times her story came across as off putting. It felt like she was trying to hard to be introspective and spiritual. This perceived effort left me feeling apathetic and distant. Also, some of the anecdotes demonstrated a high level of privilege that was disconcerting. With all of that being said, I did find some wonderfully phrased nuggets of wisdom. Unfortunately, those portions of the book were like the sun poking out from behind a cloud rather than being consistently present.
As a reviewer, I felt torn by this book. At times I absolutely loved it and at other times I wanted to DNF it. I stuck with it because the author does mention her high level of privilege and I appreciated that she realized how fortunate she was and spoke on that topic. Her contemplative reflection was very bohemian in its presentation and the seasons of life will always be a topic that deserve respect and admiration.
Recommendation: If you enjoy self-help, then this is a good book for you. If this genre isn’t your jam, I’d skip this one.
Literature & Lattes 