By Lisa Driver
Published by DriverWorks Ink
$19.95 ISBN 978-192757033-3
When I review a self-help book, I'm interested in knowing the author's story. Is he or she writing based on personal experience? If so, I'm immediately more invested. The combination of practical advice and personal revelation is precisely what writer Lisa Driver delivers in her second book, and the long subtitle of Leap! provides a summary of what readers are in for: advice on ways to "Overcome Doubt, Fear, And Grief [And] Choose The Path of Joy."
Driver wears multiple hats. The Regina-born writer is a "certified Angel Therapist, Advanced Angel Tarot and oracle card reader, Medium, and Reiki Practitioner," and in 2016 she became a new mother.
In this 96 page soft cover she conversationally discusses her decision to leave the financial security of traditional employment and follow her dream to focus exclusively on her business, Above 540, which serves to inspire others "to the joy and wonder that exists around them, and [help] them step into their power" via readings and spiritually-based teaching and healing. Setting intentions, meditating, creating awareness, setting boundaries, practicing gratitude, journaling and gaining clarity regarding what one wants are all part of Driver's recipe for more joy.
The book also balances two disparate events in the author's life: her 61-year-old father's death, and the birth of her daughter. Advice on improving one's own happiness is woven through these stories, and several meditation-style exercises are included — using deep breathing to "fill you up with energy," and then imagining a dazzling light filling your body.
"With this shield of light surrounding you, you are always safe and connected to the Divine."
The "Divine" here is also inclusively named "God" and "the Universe.” Driver subscribes to "The Law of Attraction" ("like attracts like" and "what you focus on, expands"). She and her business partner, Clara, teach a vibrational scale that "associates numbers with certain emotions." Driver says "The Law of Attraction" responds to the "vibrations we emit every day,"- the higher the vibration number, "the more powerful and positive the emotion."
Resiliency is critical in this life, and when the author/healer learns her beloved father has a "fist-sized" cancerous mass in his abdomen, her spiritual beliefs and coping skills help her navigate through the hell of his Stage IV colon cancer. His diagnosis "kicked me in the butt and helped move me forward," she writes. Sadly and ironically, the day she learns — via phone call in a Tim Horton's restaurant — that her father's cancer has spread is the same day her much- awaited pregnancy is confirmed. "Life goes on," her father sagely tells her.
This book serves as a reminder that living well and joyfully is our own responsibility, and regardless of our circumstances, it's completely up to us to make the necessary changes that ensure we remain on a positive track. Readers will take away what they need to from Driver's story, but for me, it was the statement that "The only moment we know we have is this one." Yes. Better make it great.
This book is available at your local bookstore or from www.skbooks.com.
