Title: The Ritual Yearbook
Author: Theresa Cheung
Publisher: Watkins Publishing
Release Date: November 19, 2019
Pages: 400
Book Source: NetGalley
“We all need to find connection and meaning in the midst of the fast paced world we live in and rituals offer an easy and simple way to do this. In this 365 year-long exploration, Theresa Cheung offers daily practices to help us bring focus and attention to our lives for meaningful and achievable change.
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A ritual is any action we take that has meaning beyond its appearance; by giving an action intention it becomes ‘sacred’ and purposeful.
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The absence of significant ceremony in our lives has left us feeling disconnected, confused and alone rituals and ceremony allow us to be present in the now, focus on the future and provide us with closure on the past, they return us to what matters. Drawing on science and psychology, Theresa Cheung’s 365 non-denominational rituals will help anyone to transform their lives.” – Amazon
Kim’s Review
I kept waffling between giving The Ritual Yearbook three stars or four. Although this book is well written and flows well, I feel you would have to be unemployed, rich (so you don’t have to work), or not have children to complete the book.
Being your best, healthy self is very important to me. But (and you saw that coming) there is so much to do in this book that I couldn’t even see myself being able to keep up with it, and I retired in June and have no children.
I think the 21 one simple foundation rituals at the beginning of the book have a lot of value, and if people do those every day they would be on a great course for improving themselves. They may seem simple, like making your bed or journaling what you are thankful for, but they have a positive aspect that can help your day start in the right direction. And for people who do none of these right now, they would see a huge improvement in their lives.
It’s when you get into the largest section of the book that contains rituals for the Body, Mind, Spirit and Heart that I can see people getting frustrated and not finishing the course. Each of the four section has 74 rituals. Some can be done relatively quickly, but others take a lot more time.
If you come home from work, have children that need to be fed and helped with their homework, and chores to do around the house, 10pm or 11pm comes very quickly. Leaving you with no time to do that days ritual. That’s why I say you need to not be working or at least not have children to be able to get through The Ritual Yearbook.
If I were to just look at it that way I would have given it three stars, because in my mind you would be buying a book that you would probably only be using ¼ of. But I can see someone taking longer than a year to complete the book. Perhaps doing the 21 beginning rituals everyday and only three or four of the others during the week.
Also there were quite a few of the rituals in the four sections that overlapped. Decluttering, journal writing, affirmations, and yoga poses (although they were different poses) where mentioned in two, three, or even all four of the Body, Mind, Spirit, and Heart sections. So this could speed up the book a bit and perhaps you could complete it in one year.
I’ve already started doing the first 21 rituals daily, and I really do enjoy seeing my bed made and journaling puts my heart in a happy place every morning. My podcast partner for Books Don’t Review Themselves and I are thinking of doing The Ritual Yearbook starting January 1st and recording our progress on social media. So if you’re interested, sign up to follow us on Instagram.
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