If I ever had to rate a book as the one that’s made the most difference to my life (all of just 19 years) or has affected me the most, it would probably be this one. The book came into my life when I was facing a very tough time, was having a real bad time making decisions and was basically feeling very low. I just happened to pick up the book like it was always meant for me…and then felt my life take slow but sure turns for the better.
Before I go any further, let me warn everyone- you need to be in a completely accepting frame of mind to let the book influence you in the right spirit. If you’re the perennially skeptical person that most people are proud to be, then kindly keep away from this book. Because you will end up not benefiting from it and will probably go around telling others your opinion of it (which might hinder their views on the book). Anyway, the sole point is that you must be in a mental setting so that the book can take you on a long journey and you’ll surely come out of it looking a lot better, trust me.
It’s quite difficult to critically rate the book because it’s something like a memoir, a personal experience simply put down in writing with utmost sincerity and simplicity. And it’s quite wrong to rating someone’s memoirs because they’re not meant to be scored or ranked in any way. However, for the benefit of those who haven’t read the book, here goes a small analysis.
I would not want to reveal the plot in detail to any of you who’ve not read it. Because I’ve tried it on a few people and I ended up making them dislike the book even before they had read it…I’m sure, however, that other reviewers would not have done this, so you can go and check the plot in their reviews. So, I keep myself away from this.
It’s important to know the author’s background in this context. Dr. Brian Weiss is a psychologist par excellence and is, in a manner of speaking, the protagonist of the book. He’s been a very well known and revered doctor for years and is, like most of his peers, a firm believer in the absolute powers of Science. He, being a man of medicine, trusts Science and technology beyond anything and scoffs at the unknown and mysterious. With such a mental attitude, he’s in for a shock and experience of a lifetime that is triggered unknowingly by a patient.
The story revolves around the profound wisdom and learning that the doctor imbibes through the means of Catherine, a patient of his. It is about how after years of medical practice, all his laws and beliefs take a U-turn after he begins treating her ailments. The treatment lasts for about a year and a half and at the end of it, more than the patient, the doctor has been cured. Consequently, he realises the higher purpose and aims of his life and turns a completely different individual altogether. Not to mention, Catherine who gets completely healed and lives on to lead a wonderfully bright life after giving up all her mental troubles of the past.
What is so amazing about MLMM is that Dr. Weiss doesn’t attempt to preach his learnings or force his beliefs on the reader. Instead, he chooses to simply narrate his experiences to them which is still better because the event and truths in the story are really powerful and can move anyone who cares to believe them. The book is not for those who wish to read it like any other book and then forget all about it. It is meant to be understood and lived.
Then again, the subject of the book is no more a fresh one since it’s been taken and retaken by millions of the “self help” authors round the globe. But all I have to say is that this one strikes more strongly because of the fact that a fellow human being is narrating his experiences and not giving lessons on how to live and how to behave.
Try reading it. It might just change your life. Surely did that for me.