Freedom is an Inside Job: Owning Our Darkness and Our Light to Heal Ourselves and the World by Zainab Salbi
Published: October 2, 2018
Publisher: Sounds True
Pages: 184
Genres: memoir
Rating: 3 stars
Recommend to fans of: enlightening personal exploration, learning to forgive people who have hurt you, stories of women who grew up in Iraq
Foodie Vibes: homemade authentic Iraqi meals shared with family
Synopsis:
By all appearances, Zainab Salbi has had an impressive life. Growing up as the daughter of Saddam Hussein’s personal pilot, she eventually became a celebrated humanitarian and activist. Yet, as she was helping thousands of women in war-torn countries, Salbi’s personal life was coming to a crisis. In Freedom Is an Inside Job, Salbi explores her own riveting journey to wholeness—and how embarking on such a journey enables each of us to create the world we want to live in.
After years of working as a successful CEO and change-maker, Salbi realized that if she wanted to confront and heal the shadows of the world, she needed to face her own shadows first—and this could only be done by looking within. Through personal anecdotes, real-life stories, parables, and insightful guidance, Salbi takes us through a process of self-discovery. We learn to uncover our hidden motives and desires so we can live in alignment with our authentic values. “As long as we are conflicted within, we will continue to live in conflict without,” writes Salbi. “If we want to change the world, we must begin with ourselves.”
Review:
I won this book for free through a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you to Goodreads, Sounds True Publishing, and Zainab Salbi for a free ebook copy. As always, an honest review from me.
Zainab Salbi’s story takes us from her childhood in Iraq to an arranged marriage in America to founding an organization to help women all over the world. She’s very accomplished. The book is her life story along with all the lessons she’s learned along the way.
Her story is unique, yet many women can relate to her emotions and lessons learned. I liked that we get a peek into daily life of women living in Iraq at that time, not just what the U.S. mainstream media was delivering – a very limited, one sided view of the world. The life lessons of forgiveness, shame and fear, taking inventory of one’s inner self, and rediscovering your feelings is a main focus. There’s a lot to learn from her experiences and revelations.
However as great as her story is, it isn’t captivate me personally. It’s not boring by any means, but jumps around a bit. Also some parts feel like a therapy session for her; a book of remorse and past mistakes. It’s important to acknowledge but it dominated a lot of the chapters.
Overall, the story of the author’s life combined with the lessons she learned pull together to educate, inspire and enlighten others. The cons of the book made it not quite as enjoyable as I had hoped.
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