Review: Wisdom, Encouragement, and Inspiration
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 8, 2013
This insightful and philosophical book written in a warm, informal, and conversational style will uplift you and make you think about your life, your relationships, and  your faith.  Dolores  Ayotte knows how to engage the readers and create a relationship with them right away – and that alone makes her, at least in my heart and mind, the perfect person to get advice from.Dolores Ayotte starts each of her stories with a description of a personal, yet universal, experience, an experience we can all relate to in some way. Some of my favorite stories in this collection are “Christmas Love,” “On Being Judgmental, ” and “Child’s Play…or is it?” – just to name a few. I love the clever sense of humor that all books written by Dolores Ayotte are infused with.  One issue that especially resonated with me is her discussion of Christmas vs. Xmas, with “much Xtravagance, much unrealistic Xpectations, too much Xtra spending, Xaggerated gift giving…” – really makes you think, doesn’t it?Another fascinating idea in this book was God’s love vs. fear of God. I spent some time in Russia, after religion was allowed again, and I always wondered whether all the strict rules Russian Orthodox Christians were supposed to abide by came from God or from people who wanted to instill fear in others vs. lead others to true faith. Dolores Ayotte provides a very interesting perspective on this aspect of religion and people’s perception of God.Dolores Ayotte shares her life experiences and then makes us think of our own, through her gentle questions and suggestions. She doesn’t tell the readers how to live their lives, she just shares her wisdom and observations, inspiring the readers to think, really think, about their own lives. Another aspect of her book that I enjoyed very much are her carefully chosen quotes from various famous writers and thinkers that she ends many of her stories with. A wonderful book.