An overseas reader who downloaded the ebook version from amazon kindle for only £2.56 says this about the book in her amazon review:
“A good tale with some important messages for our modern times. Absorbing and believable, it is well-paced and has some memorable characters to support the overall theme of a shifting of consciousness at this period in human history. I will recommend it, for sure, to those who seek to learn and to be a part of the change.”
Thanks Liza
Alongside being an author and doing coaching work, I’m also the founder of www.merlinsdiary.com – a website which has quickly positioned itself at the forefront of the Mind Body Spirit events information sector.
In the first year we’ve had over 4,000 events listed in the UK, and the website recently went live in the USA too. We’ve also just unveiled the Merlin’s Diary directory – a fantastic new resource for presenters and venue managers. This will enable speakers/workshop leaders and venues to show off their services to a highly targeted market, using as it does the already established Merlin’s Diary website and database for its functionality.
Funny you know, because in The Breaking of the Shell, Alexander devises his own website from scratch…
“TOTALLY ENGAGED!
I couldn’t put this book down for lots of reasons. First, it reminded me of my youth; living in Britian in the 80′s and 90′s. I recognised how the material world and the ‘selfish’ self lives and doesn’t get us very far (sounds familiar even today eh?)
Lots of things resonated in the story of Alex and his ‘awakening’ from the material world into a reality where the heart and the spirit counts for something. This is especially lovely to see in a male character as so many men feel they cannot be in touch with their authenticity even in the 21st Century…
I also love the more subtle teaching about finding the thing you love doing and making a living from it. It seems a far more gentle and purposeful way to exist.
I’ve read hundreds of books in my time and the measure of a great one is not wanting it to end. When I’d finished the last page, I felt sad to think I was leaving the charcaters (at an approproate end point I might add for the story)when I wanted to keep going to find out how their lives continued.
I really recommend you give this a try. Compelling stuff!”
“Really enjoying the book in fact so much so I was in the bath for over an hour the other night whilst away just reading one more chapter………then another etc. It has bought a few things back into focus and some old stuff back up for me whilst reading it which has been interesting. If you let me have a link to where people can find out more about the book or buy it even I will post this for you and let others know of its existence.
I really felt for that boy who went to boarding school, something I have never done but had enough problems being left at the gate of a school for the day when I first started. I have a friend in the men’s group interested as he went to boarding school himself and knows how that screwed him up he says.”
Thanks Sharafin Gardner for this review on The Breaking of the Shell:
“I picked up Barry’s book after a talk , having no idea what it was about .
My main interest was to find out more where Barry was coming from.
Karen Armstrong ends her book A short a History of Myth
“If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel like a myth or
any great work of art, can become an initiation that helps us to make a
painful rite of passage of from one phase of life, one state of mind to
another. A novel, like a myth teaches us to see the world differently. It
shows us to look into our own hearts and to see our own our world from a
perspective that goes beyond our own self interest. …. artists and
creative writers can perhaps step into a priestly role and bring fresh
insight to our lost and damaged world.
Barry’s book certainty does just this . I read it avidly before going to
sleep at night in the middle of a Congress ,and now I’ve had the privilege
of going back to it, to look more deeply into what Barry is trying to
convey .
It is the life story of a man with a difficult background and childhood
traumas which lead to a breakup of his marriage and confusion in his
professional life, but ultimately he finds his way. The chapters alternate
between his early life and the recent past, and engage the reader to
continue .
The messages? Well there several. For me the most important are :
” Pain Is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. What
do these words mean for you? The answer will come
if you allow yourself to be patient” .
“You have two ears and one mouth, use them in the proportions that God
intended”.
“Right action follows as a natural consequence of right listening. Very
often you don’t have to do anything to follow the path of right listening”.
” Men hold the keys to power and the power is currently being used
destructively. Soon women will have duplicates once more “.
“Your feelings of guilt create only one result: self destruction”.
From the other world his father sends a message: “I stand today in the
golden pool of light which is the birthright of each and every one of us. It
is the pool of acceptance “.
It is a vivid parable for our time .So I urge you read it and find out what
it does for you.”
Summer 2011 latest Reviews
Very exciting morning! The Breaking of the Shell has just gone live for Kindle users at the unbelievably attractive price of £3.44p. So if you’re a kindle user please go to amazon and download the book.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breaking-Shell-ebook/dp/B0057PFQUW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1308899804&sr=1-1
In the same week that Hay House told me it didn’t fit their roster (fair enough), the book has gone back into the Amazon charts.
* #23 in Books > Fiction > Biographical Fiction
* #25 in Books > Fiction > Metaphysical & Visionary
Word of mouth is a slow process, but it’s like water on stone. Things eventually get shaped into a beautiful form.
