Pursuit of Light: An Extraordinary Journey by Sandy Brewer has to be one of the most interesting auto-biography/self-help books I have ever read. I really wasn’t prepared for what I was about to read. Not that I wasn’t aware of the sensitive subject matter that Sandy would describe, but the depth of emotion and detail of each chapter made the book hard to put down.
I started reading while waiting for my daughter’s softball game to start. Sandy’s easy-flowing writing style and distinct personality pulled me in and before I knew it I had missed the first inning of the game. Oops! I put the book aside to focus on my daughter, but you can bet I was back to reading it before the night was over.
In Pursuit of Light is a book about choice. It is true that we are the result of our choices. When things go wrong or, in Sandy’s case, we are wronged in ways that seem completely unimaginable, we have a choice. We can choose to wallow in the role of victim or we can choose to move beyond the baggage and step into the light of who we are meant to be. It’s not a choice we make during a “lightbulb moment”, but it’s a choice we all must summon the courage to make every day.
I think what I liked most about this book was that Sandy makes no bones about her feelings at the different stages of her life. There was no sugar-coating the range of emotions she felt both as an abused child and as an adult coming to terms with her past. Sandy is very open with her thoughts and the events surrounding her. I think everyone can relate Sandy at some stage of her life. The people and the situations may be different, but the feelings and realization that you must choose to rise above the circumstances are themes we can all identify in our own lives.
Intermingled in the chapters are tidbits of Sandy’s current reality as a counselor and she often sidetracks to a story about a patient she is counseling to make a point. These small insights were invaluable to understanding Sandy’s healing process. It was also interesting to hear Sandy explaining how the mind can play tricks and how she walked her patients through their own discovery of choice.
For more information about Sandy and Pursuit of Light, visit her website or pick up a copy of the book. You may not be able to put it back down.
