ARA Review by Emily Garrett of In It Together

[Emily Garrett]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, In It Together.]

---

4 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

This book is devoted to inspiring us all to find internal happiness and peace. The author is successful at addressing an audience that includes everyone. This is quite an accomplishment, considering the subject matter. The author first explains all of the common issues that keep us bound by unhappiness or struggle, and then moves point by point on how to overcome any struggle that the reader might be experiencing.

This is unlike any book I’ve ever read. It is thorough in explaining the distractions and views in which we wrap ourselves, preventing us from seeing the essence of our real selves, past experiences and realistic futures. I would have been disappointed if the author had told us about all of our illusions and the ways in which we disappoint ourselves, without telling us how to fix it. I was pleased to read the last part of the book, which explicitly guides us how to move forward and forge a happy future, and more importantly, a happy present.

The author guides the reader to accept who we are and the experiences we’ve had. Decisions that other people have made towards us cannot be changed and we must accept the past for what it is. Otherwise, we waste energy on regretting the past and resenting others’ actions towards us, rather than to use that energy in building a happy life for ourselves.

If you are open-minded and want to give some thought to the deeper meaning of your life, you will enjoy this book. The views portrayed in this book are not political in any way and do not adhere to or reference any specific religious beliefs, and they do not conflict with any beliefs that I hold dear.

I gave this a rating of 4 out of 5, because there were a few words that I had never heard before, which were not explained, which caused some confusion for me, such as solipsism. There were also some concepts that I felt were overexplained. Not every reader may feel this way, as we all catch on to these concepts at different rates. In some ways, I thought these could be explained more succinctly, but at some point when reading, I saw a paragraph that stood out to me as an important example that helped drive it home. Otherwise, I would have given it the fifth star, because it was a well-thought out read, well edited, and a positive guide to help readers to improve their lives.

***
View In It Together on Bookshelves