piabo's reviews
287 reviews

No time and energy to finish this right now. Maybe one day.

Just needed to read one chapter for class

This book just made sense. Humans are story-making machines. Now I see it everywhere, and I can't unsee it. Beautiful.

It took me a while to understand what this book was about. I recommend sticking around a bit and not going in with any preconceived ideas, but being open to what comes. This is definitely not a book about what/who God is or why religion is good or bad. The book is trying to give a non-judgmental overview of what happens in your brain while engaging in religious activities. Not just believing in God but also prayer, meditation, community etc.

While the first half was already interesting, I enjoyed the latter half more. This book definitely gave me a different perspective on believing in God and religion, and I am grateful for that. Not sure if I fully recommend it because I am not sure if I fully understood everything lol.

There are two stories. I did not read the back of the book, so I did not understand that one is the son of the other, so it was fun figuring that out on my own!
The son has such a confusing storyline, the mother's is a bit clearer. I enjoyed being confused, but I also enjoyed understanding what was going on at times!
I did learn more about Kosovo and the lived experience of Immigrants in Finland.
I loved discussing this book with my tiny friends book club!

Just needed to read a few chapters for school.

+++ 2024 Review +++
This time around I wanted to take my time reading, and I did. After two months I am finally done.
I still really liked it! I think especially the first part was very interesting to me now with scientific background on the nervous system and the different kind of stress responses. The author does a great job giving different perspectives on the stress cycles and what can lead it to being activated or not finished. The perspective goes from full on big T Trauma to daily stress. It really made me feel seen and validated in all different kind of experiences.
Yes, the author is no PhD in psychiatry or similar, still I think she has a scientist mind and a good approach in general. Be critical when reading this, look my review below. But I stand by my choice of the 5 stars, it is still the only book I found that combines the scientific insights with actionable advice.


+++2022 Review +++
I am so glad I finally found this book. I have been looking for information on how to take care of my mental health for some time, but most books are super specific on trauma or other kind of diagnosis I do not have.

"Widen the Window" is for everyone who habitually pushes themselves to finish a task, reach a goal, or live through particular social situations. And so much more!
Only after reading this book, can I finally acknowledge that what I experience is stress and that things have to change in order for me to feel better and get out of the hole I am currently in.

Elizabeth Stanley does a great mix of personal anecdotes and scientifically proven strategies. It was therefore easier to connect to the things she says and find strategies to apply them to my own life.

I honestly wish I could just summarize this entire book here. Or lecture everyone I meet (and especially those I care about) about the principles or self-care and resilience building mentioned in this book.

My attempt to summarize:
It is okay to feel overwhelmed! It is not possible to think your way out of feeling stress. Your body experiences it and there are techniques to finish the stress cycle and relax, we just don't learn about much of this in school.
Sleep 8+ hours a day, exercise for 150+ minutes a week, eat well, engage in mindful activities, have healthy relationships.

Please do this AND read the book.
Thanks.

Of course, this book is not perfect. I am giving it 5 stars right now because so much was so good and new to me. But it is important that people read other books in addition to this (and seek therapy if things don't feel right!)
A great comment and additional resources are in this Goodreads thread: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4016438746

An exciting world and characters! Inspired and set in Yoruba Nigeria. I am intrigued by the whole fantasy part! Feel a bit too old and wanting something deeper now, but also really want to read the next part and see if the pace and deepness picks up.
Highly recommend tho! Maybe my Harry Potter alternative? Can't say after one book only.

I did not know anything about Laos or its history, I am glad I do now!
Read this book with the phenomenal  Alina, and we even had a book club discussion in the end. So wonderful to hear her opinion and discuss. Looking forward to doing that with more books!

One of my buddy read comments: I think this book is about home. About displacement. About war. And about people and storylines. Usually I don't line books with multiple people, but this time I am hooked. 

I really enjoyed the book for its science part. I am currently taking a genetics class and there were some beautiful applications inside. The author seems to be a sensible scientist who explains scientific methods well at many points. My plan is to go back to this book and re-read it at some point.
The whole idea of medicine 3.0 sounds great. But at the same time, it does not seem feasible just yet and might inspire some people to do stuff that is not actually scientifically proven or valuable to your overall health. 
The entire field is definitely interesting tho! I remember I had some more specific thoughts, but I did not take notes and procrastinated writing this review for too long. Let me try to re-read it in a few months and then get back to everyone :)

The big takeaways as always: move, sleep, eat, care for your mental health. It will make your life more worth living and even likely longer.