To Love and Let Go

Here is my book review of To Love and Let Go by Rachel Brathen.

Wow! What a powerful and heart-wrenching book. I read this book on a weekend spa break and was openly crying over the pages. I felt like I was there with Rachel Brathen, feeling her pain as she dealt with the death of the three closest people in her life. At the same time, she had to deal with the fragility of her mum’s life and the heartaches that came with her mum trying to commit suicide several times for various reasons.

Yoga Girl

I thought I knew her story as I have been following Yoga girl since I joined Instagram but having it in a book brings it all together and makes it more real. On Instagram, you don’t always know the full story and they are just random stories that don’t always tie in together. Reading the book I realised the gravity of the losses and her pain and almost feel in awe with how she has dealt with life.

The book begins with Rachel being in pain at an airport and then finding out later that it is linked with the death of her best friend, Andrea, in a car crash. The next death she has to deals with is her grandmother Mormor, which happened when they were on their honeymoon. This was closely followed by the death of her first dog, Sergent Pepper.

Retreats

With everything she goes through, I have a newfound respect for her. What she has done for yoga and the charity work for the children in Aruba is amazing. To add the things she has had to deal with in life is just unreal. The different meditation and yoga retreat she goes to are interesting to read about too. I like the idea of going on some of the retreats she mentions but I also feel a little scared and unsure about whether I would be able to deal with it. Her trip to a Shaman retreat was eye-opening and I was glad to read the details of it but I know I would be too scared to actually do it myself and drink the special tea. The meditation retreat is still interesting and wouldn’t mind giving those a try… I think….

I’m so happy for her and where she is in life. I’m glad she has Lea Luna and an amazing husband. I also read on Instagram recently, on world mental health day, that she still suffers from episodes of depression and feeling low and will get professional help. I truly hope she feels well and has an amazing life. She has had to endure so much pain that she truly deserves all the amazing things that happen to her now. And she’s only 30. What a life so far and she has so much to live for.

Connect with her

I would definitely recommend this autobiography and her earlier book Yoga Girl. My review of this book is here: https://anaccountantandamum.com/2017/01/06/yoga-girl-by-rachel-brathen/

Her website is here: https://www.yogagirl.com/

Her Instagram account is here: https://www.instagram.com/yoga_girl/