In her early twenties, as an earnest seeker of truth she came across yoga which seemed to offer some solutions and she put much effort over many years into studying with yoga masters in India and Australia, becoming a yoga teacher herself.
She even thought at times that she was close to finding the answers to those big questions ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What am I doing here?’ but in the end, the answers never felt true to her. It was an elusive quest, and she could never quite find the deep settlement she was searching for.
Then something happened to completely rock her world. At the age of 33 she was diagnosed with breast cancer which put a stop to the momentum of her life. Outwardly living a healthy lifestyle, she could not, at first, understand why she would get breast cancer. She shares her feelings and reactions very honestly and how she was able to use her encounter with cancer as an opportunity to look at her life and discover more about herself. She gave up blaming herself or others and allowed herself to become vulnerable. She started to listen more deeply to her body and connect with her inner strength and wisdom realising that she had not been ‘breathing her own breath’ – that she had been living by what she thought she should do, or wanted to do, and was therefore often overriding her body’s needs. This part of the author’s journey offers support to others who are living with a cancer diagnosis, whether they choose treatment or not.
Breathing my own Breath is a story that holds the reader’s attention. The author’s style of writing, like having a conversation with her in your own lounge room, manages to take you on the road with her. You can feel her search, you understand her decisions, you are able to feel those parts of life that she enjoyed, and truth be told, you start to feel her exhaustion as she makes yet another trip.
We really liked Donna’s honesty and willingness to expose herself and how she does it with gentle understanding and without putting herself down. She shows how we can use a difficult situation as a learning, to let go of what no longer works for us and then move forward. There’s a realness to the way she relates her life – it’s not a ‘happily ever after’ story but a journey of someone who has lived life to the full and embraced both the ‘good’ times and the ‘bad’ times as opportunities to evolve.
The book has a message for several audiences, people who enjoy human interest stories, yoga students and teachers, women with a breast cancer diagnosis and last but by no means least, those who are wanting to look more deeply into what is on offer when you are willing to surrender to what you ‘think’ you want. If you have ever asked those questions, ‘Who am I?’ or ‘Why am I here?’, this book is for you. In the final chapters, Donna shares the wisdom of her lived experience in a simple and relatable way.
~ JoAE Book Reviewers
You can buy Donna’s book by clicking the link here
She even thought at times that she was close to finding the answers to those big questions ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What am I doing here?’ but in the end, the answers never felt true to her. It was an elusive quest, and she could never quite find the deep settlement she was searching for.
Then something happened to completely rock her world. At the age of 33 she was diagnosed with breast cancer which put a stop to the momentum of her life. Outwardly living a healthy lifestyle, she could not, at first, understand why she would get breast cancer. She shares her feelings and reactions very honestly and how she was able to use her encounter with cancer as an opportunity to look at her life and discover more about herself. She gave up blaming herself or others and allowed herself to become vulnerable. She started to listen more deeply to her body and connect with her inner strength and wisdom realising that she had not been ‘breathing her own breath’ – that she had been living by what she thought she should do, or wanted to do, and was therefore often overriding her body’s needs. This part of the author’s journey offers support to others who are living with a cancer diagnosis, whether they choose treatment or not.
Breathing my own Breath is a story that holds the reader’s attention. The author’s style of writing, like having a conversation with her in your own lounge room, manages to take you on the road with her. You can feel her search, you understand her decisions, you are able to feel those parts of life that she enjoyed, and truth be told, you start to feel her exhaustion as she makes yet another trip.
We really liked Donna’s honesty and willingness to expose herself and how she does it with gentle understanding and without putting herself down. She shows how we can use a difficult situation as a learning, to let go of what no longer works for us and then move forward. There’s a realness to the way she relates her life – it’s not a ‘happily ever after’ story but a journey of someone who has lived life to the full and embraced both the ‘good’ times and the ‘bad’ times as opportunities to evolve.
The book has a message for several audiences, people who enjoy human interest stories, yoga students and teachers, women with a breast cancer diagnosis and last but by no means least, those who are wanting to look more deeply into what is on offer when you are willing to surrender to what you ‘think’ you want. If you have ever asked those questions, ‘Who am I?’ or ‘Why am I here?’, this book is for you. In the final chapters, Donna shares the wisdom of her lived experience in a simple and relatable way.
~ JoAE Book Reviewers
You can buy Donna’s book by clicking the link here