Iris Krasnow is the author of Surrendering to Motherhood and Surrendering to Marriage. Her third exploration of personal awareness is Surrendering to Yourself: You are Your Own Soul Mate. Krasnow states that the goal of this book is "for you to get real, to look to yourself for definition and direction, and not to be the judgment of friends and lovers."
Divided sections are titled, Who Are You?, Who Do You Want to Be?, and Surrendering to Yourself. Inspirational interviews are combined with practical, useful advice on becoming honest with yourself. Especially memorable are pieces about the HIV positive man who learned how to make every day count and the Colombian immigrant who finds great joy as a pedicurist.
Surrendering to Yourself involves getting back to basics. Krasnow scaled back on a very successful Washington journalism career to start a family, then moved the brood to a small Maryland town to find the simpler pleasures of her past.
The author's main message is that outer "things" are not a substitute for inner happiness. "We should be thinking life-lifts, not face-lifts, and realize that when we get crevices in our faces, Botox cannot fix our souls." Krasnow's practicality makes her message easy to receive.
Both genders will benefit from Surrendering to Yourself. Though the author speaks of God and her Jewish background, this book is non-denominational in its purpose.
Some of the messages are conflicting. Krasnow describes her own satisfying move away from Washington DC, yet mentions later that relocating in search of happiness is not wise. Readers should be able to carve out their own paths anyway with little confusion.
One of the best characteristics one can possess is the ability to act on personal principles instead of worrying what others might think. Krasnow drives this point home in a very eye-opening, simple, inspirational way. Surrendering to Yourself is one of those must-read books that you'll finish in a day then run out and buy more copies to give to everyone you know. It's that helpful. It's that good.
