I’m not exaggerating when I say that this book changed my life.  It was one of the first self help or motivational books that I read.  This was back when I thought they were all cr&^p.  But my therapist lent me this one.  To me the ideas in it were radical - stop blaming other people for my problems?  But it was their fault!  But slowly I practised the exercises in there and became a much stronger and happier person, and able to work through the fear in my life (like going up mountains!)

It also helped me to understand what self help is all about - it’s about working on yourself, not on trying to change the people around you, or blaming them or manipulating them, it’s about honestly looking at yourself, and changing your life and your world from within. 

I have a huge respect for Susan Jeffers.  I love the way that she writes so personally about all this self help stuff.  I love that she talks about how beautifully she handled having breast cancer, but how a bad haircut before her wedding day had her in a massive tantrum.  She’s human, she’s made a lot of mistakes and she’s not afraid to hold up herself as an example and laugh at those mistakes.  More than anything she, like my therapist, has taught me to be kind to myself, to cut myself some slack when trying to evolve.

I even wrote to her to thank her for her help, and shared a little of my experience with donating a kidney.  She sent me the greatest letter in response.  And when I finished making “Everything To Dance For” I sent her a copy and she sent me the loveliest comments.

I’ve read so many of her books, which have all been helpful in their own way - applying the basic philosophy of handling your own fears to many different situations.  There are too many for me to list them here, but I will also highly recommend “The Feel The Fear Guide To Lasting Love” - it’s hard work but well worth it.  And also for children she has a great book with a lot of situations they may find themselves in called “I Can Handle It”, which I sent to my godson and he really liked it.