Why should you read Big Magic?

For my first “book review” post I feel only proper to express my credibility. I can read. I graduated college. I read a few books every couple of years. Since the invention of audio books I’m a much more productive “reader”. I’m a self-proclaimed creative writer who gets read by her mom and mother-in-law. That’s it. My opinions are based on my own life, relationships and experiences. That said, I audiobook’ed Big Magic at the start of my off-season expecting it to maintain my attention and enlighten me.

I’ll start by saying that I do enjoy Elizabeth’s Gilbert’s writing style. Her writing style in Big Magic actually reminds me of my own at times. Generally, the book succeeded at inspiring, storytelling and evoking a deeper level of thinking. What I didn’t expect was for it to be so relevant to how I was feeling at the time. So to the point…

Why should YOU read Big Magic?
Big Magic touches on this concept of authenticity versus originality and I LOVED it. I hadn’t been able to articulate that thought on my own but I had been having it for over a year with my work, my business and in my own life. It was like a revelation. She touches more on it here on her website.  If you’ve ever had that feeling of putting something creative out in to the world and then simultaneously decided not to for fear of being ridiculed for copying someone or for fear that it was too similar to whatever inspired you to create it in the first place then you need to read her thoughts on this topic. Even if you’d dreamt about posting, sharing, publishing, creating something and didn’t for fear of your own failure; she has so many, important things for you to hear.

Towards the end, after a handful of her personal life stories and reasons for chasing a creative life even though it’s hard she says this: “What would you do even if you knew you might very well fail? What do you love so much that the words failure and success become irrelevant?” And this my friends is the million dollar question. Or the million dollar answer. Or the key to success. Or the golden ticket….or whatever. It. Is. Everything. To a person struggling to live a creative life, struggling to find their place in one or struggling to find what their passion is this question is their everything. Answer this question and I bet you’ll find a whole new perspective in your life.

This book is a must read for any creative types, any entrepreneural types, anyone seeking a creative lifestyle that’s authentic to them and different from the mass. Not only did it maintain my attention and enlighten me it sort of asked me to do more. It asked me to do more for myself and my real dreams and for others struggling the same way I am.