Review of Keys to Harmony
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David Alabi
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- Latest Review: Keys to Harmony by Margalit Jakob
Review of Keys to Harmony
[Following is a volunteer review of "Keys to Harmony" by Margalit Jakob.]
Keys to Harmony: A Memoir of Depression, Daring, and Creativity is based on a real story of Margalit Jakob and her talented life, which turns out to be painful after she's severely rejected in a prominent music school.
Having been initially full of passion and purpose, she gradually becomes heavily depressed and loses her identity and her attachment to music. The book is based on her emotional experiences of battling her way through the numbness, confusion, and shame that engulf her life.
Slowly, as she merely connects and as she casually looks after them, she starts finding a meaning; not the one that can be expressed through performance, not the one that allows showing off, but the one through which people can get re-established.
The book reads like a song and a song of pain as it chronicles how Jakob becomes a therapist herself and as it anchors on pain and imagination to help those in need of counseling. It is an emotional memoir of disintegration, survival, and learning to lead a new life.
The book was heartrending but at the same time inspirational to read. I was deeply impressed by the openness with which Jakob expressed her pain and her inner processes. Although the narrative covers something that is very personal, it seems that it is universal: her fight with losing music and herself. I believe that the feeling of failure and emptiness and the difficulty of recovering oneself after this point may resonate in the hearts of many people.
The best part about the book was the fact that it did not present simple solutions; it revealed that healing is a gradual process and could be in any form. That transition of the author as a pianist to a therapist was very smooth and natural, and this serves as a hope to me that even in a broken person there is still a chance of finding a new way to live and a new style of helping people.
I will give this book 5 out of 5 stars. The writing style, in which the author employs a lyrical and dramatic tone and shares her feelings, can be encouraging to those people who would desire to find their voice back and would be able to turn their miseries into something dignified.
The prose is plain, unflinching, and strong and has a sense that it is the author talking to the audience. It is well-edited overall, and I do not dislike anything in it. This book relates well to the individuals who are drawn to personal experiences and healing processes. It can make readers realize the way in which creativity, mental health, and the issue of finding yourself are connected. Keys to Harmony: A Memoir of Depression, Daring, and Creativity is not only attractive to musicians or therapists; it is to everyone who feels lost or lacks self-worth. I am very happy that I read it.
******
Keys to Harmony
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Keys to Harmony: A Memoir of Depression, Daring, and Creativity is based on a real story of Margalit Jakob and her talented life, which turns out to be painful after she's severely rejected in a prominent music school.
Having been initially full of passion and purpose, she gradually becomes heavily depressed and loses her identity and her attachment to music. The book is based on her emotional experiences of battling her way through the numbness, confusion, and shame that engulf her life.
Slowly, as she merely connects and as she casually looks after them, she starts finding a meaning; not the one that can be expressed through performance, not the one that allows showing off, but the one through which people can get re-established.
The book reads like a song and a song of pain as it chronicles how Jakob becomes a therapist herself and as it anchors on pain and imagination to help those in need of counseling. It is an emotional memoir of disintegration, survival, and learning to lead a new life.
The book was heartrending but at the same time inspirational to read. I was deeply impressed by the openness with which Jakob expressed her pain and her inner processes. Although the narrative covers something that is very personal, it seems that it is universal: her fight with losing music and herself. I believe that the feeling of failure and emptiness and the difficulty of recovering oneself after this point may resonate in the hearts of many people.
The best part about the book was the fact that it did not present simple solutions; it revealed that healing is a gradual process and could be in any form. That transition of the author as a pianist to a therapist was very smooth and natural, and this serves as a hope to me that even in a broken person there is still a chance of finding a new way to live and a new style of helping people.
I will give this book 5 out of 5 stars. The writing style, in which the author employs a lyrical and dramatic tone and shares her feelings, can be encouraging to those people who would desire to find their voice back and would be able to turn their miseries into something dignified.
The prose is plain, unflinching, and strong and has a sense that it is the author talking to the audience. It is well-edited overall, and I do not dislike anything in it. This book relates well to the individuals who are drawn to personal experiences and healing processes. It can make readers realize the way in which creativity, mental health, and the issue of finding yourself are connected. Keys to Harmony: A Memoir of Depression, Daring, and Creativity is not only attractive to musicians or therapists; it is to everyone who feels lost or lacks self-worth. I am very happy that I read it.
******
Keys to Harmony
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Keys to Harmony by Margalit Jakob
