The Way to Stillness Book Review: by Reviewer, Dr. Maxine Thompson

Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 7:17 pm

Book Review
The Way to Stillness
3-22-10

Title: The Way to Stillness: Powerful Tools For Those In Helping Professions
Subtitle or series and number: NA
Author: Anne Alexander Vincent & Gayle Alexander
Publisher: Cottage in the Woods
Release Date: January 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-54296-8

Format Reviewed: Paperback
• 206 pages
• Language: English
Amazon: www.thecadencegroup.com
Genre: Spirituality, Self-help, Self-Realization, Social worker, Counselor, Psychologist.
– if historical, give date NA
Age Group (Adult- / Young Adult / \

Reviewer: Dr. Maxine Thompson
Email: maxtho@aol.com
http://www.maxinethompsonbooks.com

“Be still and know that I am God…” Psalms 46:10

When I saw the title, The Way to Stillness: Powerful Tools for Those in Helping Professions, I knew this was a book I wanted to read and review . Why?
As a former social worker, who used to periodically undergo total burn out, I was facing that crossroad again, only this time as an editor/literary agent. In fact, I was beginning to doubt if there was any possible way you can help people without getting fried.
Things weren’t going right, and suddenly an inner voice whispered, “Slow down and be still.”
Well, it wasn’t even a day later when I saw this book on a blogging site.
Right away I felt a connection. I felt there was something I could learn from this book that I was missing.
And thankfully, this book has been a godsend. Reading The Way to Stillness worked for me on two levels. First, I felt like I was talking to an old friend as I read these wise words. Second, in sitting still, reading the book, I reframed in my mind what it is to help another human being.
The Way to Stillness is a book filled with humility, kindness, and compassion. I love the examples of how to use the tool of the “love motif.”
The first story about Mike (one of Mrs. Vincent’s former clients) was really touching. Mike was a child who was legally blind and who could not read. He’d had been written off by his teachers as “un-teachable,” therefore unreachable.
But given the right circumstances, and under the warm, kind guidance of counselor, Gayle Alexander, this child learned to read and became a success in his own right. This was just one example of what the author called, “The Love Motif.”
The message in the book is one of unconditional love. I love this line. “Helping others through the Love Motif is about the lure of the irresistible enchantment and magnetism of unconditional love.” (p. 71.)
I highly recommend this book to parents, social workers, psychologists, or any professional in the helping fields.

Tagged with: Helping professions • Human compassion • Loving kindness • The Love motif