Your Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One

This book was so well written and the lessons were woven into the story. I loved so many elements of this book which takes piace in Paris. It is filled with moments I could relate to and the creativity with Camille’s ability to make a dream become a reality. I plan on reading this a second time. It is a fantastic read.

Giordano, R., & Caistor, N. (2018). Your second life begins when you realize you only have one. G.P. Putnam’s Sons.Raphaëlle Giordano is an author, group coach and founder of Emotone. She collaborates with creativity/innovation, communication, team cohesion, and stress management companies.This book is for the person who feels stuck or disappointed that life simply isn't what they imagined. Giordano begins, "My dream is that everyone should take full advantage of their talents and responsibility for their happiness." This is the story of Camille, a thirty-something woman who has a car wreck and meets a stranger, Claude, a "routinologist" who diagnoses her as having "routinitis." Routinitis is a "sickness of the soul," characterized by a "lack of motivation; chronic dissatisfaction; feeling you've lost your bearings and everything meaningful in life; finding it hard to feel happy . . . disenchantment; and world weariness." The book is about her journey using techniques introduced by Claude designed to change her focus and inner thoughts. Assumptions are that we can choose the way we think and perceive if we pay attention and practices. The story includes several practices a person can use to facilitate change. Examples include: (a) Write down everything you want to change about your life. (b) Carry out a complete spring-clean, inside and out. Identify everything about you that seems toxic, negative, that hampers your relationships and the way you organize your life. In your home, throw away at least 10 useless objects and tidy up, sort out, and refresh your surroundings in every way possible. Take photos of the effort. (c) Write a list of your best qualities, everything you're good at, all the successes you've had in your life. (d) Draw a portrait of the you'd like to be. (e) Fill your day with humor and cheerfulness. (f) Train yourself to be on the lookout for beauty. (g) Find room every day for moments of gratitude. Giordano noted, "Claude's advice is a mixture of advice I've heard and strategies I discovered." An appendix is included describing all the practices.I have no memory of who told me about this book or how I found it. The story arc is simple - girl has a wreck, encountering a stranger who gives language to her lived experience and then directs her towards practices to change her life. In doing the practices she re-calibrates, finding inner joy and direction. It's a story that can be read in a sitting.What's more profound are the tasks he shares to help facilitate transformation. In 2022, I spent a year focusing on exercise which included finding a mantra of the day, some observation or task that helped me to rise above myself or focus my attention towards gratitude, interconnectedness, or beauty. This practice was life changing, it was work at times but the benefit and the discipline were extremely helpful. This book shares one woman's journey. The appendix listing all the practices is worth the price of the book. I can imagine some of these practices showing up as I strive to coach students and leaders.

Your Second Life Begins When Realize You Only Have One is a feel-good novel that includes a lot of self-help techniques and buzz words. It was a best seller in France, and has now been translated into English. Camille is a thirty-something woman who is diagnosed with "routinitis", and her "routinologist" Claude provides advice using some self-help techniques and descriptions, none of which are covered in depth. Camille even uses Marie Kondo's techniques to tidy up her life a bit. One drawback about this novel is that it's also not very in-depth about Camille's life and her issues -- for instance she is estranged from her father, but we never really find out why, even after they reconcile towards the end of the novel . This was a nice rainy-day read, however, and may encourage some to look further into SMART goals and the like. SASHA LOVE-GIRL WITH A PASSPORT ♥️💋 💋💋💋💋

This book was very good and very informative.

I am super excited about reading this book. Not that it is the end of the world but when I receive books with stickers on it it is disappointing especially on a beautiful cover. Sometimes they are easy to peel off stickers but this is the type that as soon as you start peeling the entire back of the sticker remains on the cover. It makes it difficult to give books as gifts that come with this type of sticker on the cover as well as sell to bookstores once I am done reading. I please request that any stickers be put on the back of a book

I totally love this book and so happy the writer chose to say YES to this writing.It has assisted me in many turns of my own life.Gratitude

Enjoyed this book and have purchased it for friends as gifts. GREAT for the new empty-nester friends. I enjoyed the story but more importantly, the helpful tips, quotes, and insights that are all shared again at the end of the book. A wonderful book if you want to shake the routine of every day and start new patterns in your life.

If you are looking for a fun way to get unstuck in your life and take some new chances, this story is for you. Great book on taking chances and pushing thru to go after your dreams.