Book Review: Life's Little Detours by Regina Brett

We were browsing through a flyer from a bookstore when we saw one book featured with this title: Life's Litte Detours: 50 Lessons to Find and Hold onto Happiness by Regina Brett. We checked the reviews and ratings on Amazon and it was 4-5 stars. So, we decided to buy it as gifts to our friends. That same day we bought it. There was only one copy left so we decided that have this for ourselves. I sure glad we did it because it was as if a gift to ourselves because this book woke me up again to find and hold on to the happiness I deserve and already have.

I have long told myself that I won't be buying any inspirational or self-help book because what they say is always the same. Words such as 'seize the day', 'life is what you make it', 'happiness is a decision' et cetera have been written millions of times, I guess since paper and pen were invented. This book was bought as a gift but we decided to read it just to check if its worth reading and giving. And it was! It is! I couldn't put the little book down.

Life's Little Detours by Regina Brett is a 245-page little book, no bigger than my hand, written originally as a column in the Plain Dealer and the Beacon Journal. After surviving cancer, Regina Brett, then 45, reflected on all the life that taught her and when she hit 50 she added five more lessons thus, came the book.

I love how the author narrated anecdotes and short stories to convey her reflections on each lessons. I find it easy to read because each chapter, lessons, has only about 2-3 pages. So you can actually go back to any chapter that you feel like reading again without taking too much time. The words she used are simple, easy and no need for a dictionary by your side. 

The lessons in the book are things which we already know but worth reminding us because sometimes we get too caught up with all the noise and clutters in our lives. I am moved with one of the chapter 'Make peace with your past so it doesn't screw up your present'. This totally make sense to me. I have issues with authority. There are times when I get stiff, frozen and couldn't say a word when someone who is older than me raises his/her voice which I see as an authority. I wanted so much to speak every time it happens but my thoughts just won't get out of my mouth. It took me years, after some retreats and two-month personality workshop to get into terms with it. I realized that that behavior of mine can be traced back to one incident when I was about 10 years old.

I was doing an errand for my mother. I was not able to understand it correctly and when she saw me doing things otherwise she shouted at me, stared violently as if I have done a treacherous thing, and called me 'tanga'. Recalling that moment, I think I don't feel like crying at that time but I can't speak up nor did I even say sorry or explain or whatever. I just couldn't talk and just do what she asked me to do the right way.

That was years and years ago. Mother have changed a lot and I know she loves me even back then. But, that incident made a dent in me that unknowingly affected how I deal with people with authority. After realizing that, it liberated me, made me deal with that kind of situation as a grown up and not as a 10-year old girl.

I could go on and on with all the realizations I had from this book but I don't want to bore you. I highly recommend that you get a hold of this for yourself or as a gift. It made me smile, laugh and teary eyed. Life's Little Detours could definitely be something you'd pick up whenever you're having the blues and things just don't seem right. And, oh, by the way, it also has about two chapters about finances. So it actually covers most of our life areas.