Breathing Freely: Celebrating the Imperfect Life

by Ruth McGinnis

Book Overview

This celebration of life encourages women to examine their pasts to learn to fully enjoy who they are in the present. With candor and warmth, Breathing Freely shows women how to find God's grace and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800757831
• ISBN13: 9780800757830
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.2" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Breathing Freely is a gem!

Breathing Freely is a gem! It captured me at the beginning and took me along on a journey of discovery. Ruth's experiences of "growing up" are universal and her celebration of an imperfect life is a relief! She is so honest and real...what an amazing woman! It is beautifully written and her CD by the same name is a must. Listening to that and reflecting on my own life has been quite a gift.

How to be gentle with yourself

As a recovering perfectionist, I found this book has been key to my healing. McGinnis appears to have the idyllic childhood, the most amazing of talents (which she does, if you listen to her music, available at www.ruthmcginnis.com), and the luckiest of circumstances. But as you read, you realize that every life has its tragedies. McGinnis' is no exception. The remarkable beauty of her life is that she does not gloss over her difficulties or conversely, dwell on the private details. Instead, she bravely accepts her life and herself for what it is and what she is... a human being, experiencing joy and success as well as pain and disappointment. They are not pieces of a life, they are an entire life, and the wholeness of it is what makes it beautiful. Her narrative has acute emotion without exposing private details in a blow-by-blow description. The book is written in such a way that you feel like you are on a road trip with McGinnis, listening to her tell the stories of her childhood. I could not put it down, as it would have been like bailing out of the trip when we were only halfway there. The book has encouraged me to embrace my life in its entirety instead of editing bits and pieces to make it look perfect. It is a way of living that is indeed, as the title suggests, "Breathing Freely."

Enjoying Your Life...And How To Get There

As a "baby boomer" and one who often finds herself so in pursuit of the "good life" that I forget to enjoy today, this book spoke as if it were written directly to me. I suspect many other people would say the same. "Breathing Freely" not only gives us guidance on how to enjoy each day, Ruth McGinnis takes you to that place through her own experience. For me, this allowed me to more objectively reflect on my own life.The book was easy to read. It is beautifully and lyrically written. I enjoyed it even more than another favorite, Joan Anderson's "A Year By The Sea". Take the time to read this book and learn to enjoy your life...today...in all it's imperfections.

breathing freely

I read Breathing Freely on an airplane trip and could not put it down until finished. Ruth McGinnis writes courageously and with a sincerity that touched me deeply. Far more than a self help book, it offers first hand experience froms which one sees applications to their own life. I will treasure this book for a long time.

Spiritual Renovation

I once heard a minister speak of spiritual growth as being like renovating a house -- you clean out, tear down, walk around with dust and sometimes great inconvenience -- until the new structure is completed -- with reinforced, newly painted walls and other improvements, making the finished product more comfortable, functional and livable. What I never understood, however, was exactly how to accomplish such a spiritual and emotional renovation. Ruth McGinnis' book "Breating Freely" explains, in very honest detail, her renovation process, with the end result being the freedom to accept your past, celebrate your present, and make wiser decisions for the future.This is an invaluable roadmap for anyone seeking to spritually breathe freely.