The Malaysian Insider

OCT 25 — I look at my bookshelves now and see books there I would never have read — much less even bought — when I was younger. I was simply less adventurous in my reading then.

I also did not read much non-fiction at the time. When I started work though, I read quite a few books on journalism but found that the doing — the actual slogging and sweating of the days — was a much better teacher.

I had yet to discover memoirs and so did not get inspired by all the great journalists that had gone before me. Instead, my mentors were the older journalists who shared the same newsroom with me.

When I changed careers and joined the world of advertising, I spent quite a bit of money on reference books. These were generally books which showed award-winning print ads from around the world. They were fabulous but I often felt deflated after looking at them... people like Neil French were doing great things and I was struggling with detergent ads. Sigh.

The late Yasmin Ahmad, who was a colleague in those days, had a completely different perspective on those books. She loved them and could quote me stuff from different editions... amazing. Even more wonderful, she — or her work — was soon featured in those very books!

Today, I enjoy reading memoirs (and guess what, you don’t have to be as famous as Winston Churchill to write one!), travel books and even yes... are you ready for this... self-help books.

Nelson Mandela’s “Long Walk To Freedom” will open your eyes and inspire you, as will “Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama”. It doesn’t matter that you are not South African or Buddhist, both these men share the story of their lives with us and you cannot but be touched.

But self-help books? Yes, I too thought only losers or New Age lunatics bought those books. I stayed far away from that section in case anybody thought I was either of those. How narrow-minded and unkind of me, right?

I don’t remember how it started but one day I gave the section a look and found wonderful gems there. I love the books of Sark. Sure, they are New Age-y but her joy and guidance is so honest. I could not, and did not, resist.

And you know what, there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a little help now and then. I guess I am old enough now to know it’s simply not cool to pretend everything is cool.

On my coffee-table — so they are always close at hand — are three books: Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Miracle of Mindfulness” (a wonderful guide to meditation); Elizabeth Lesser’s “Broken Open” (an extraordinary book on how to use difficult times to help us grow) and the Dalai Lama’s “The Path to Tranquility” (which is a book of daily meditations).

Today, when I was browsing the Religion/Self-Help section of one of the largest bookshops in the city, I saw an old woman reading aloud from one of the books. She wasn’t loud and she sounded like she was praying... years ago, I would have dismissed her as yet another looney tune in the Self Help section.

But today, I felt like she had turned that corner of the bookshop into a quiet prayerful place. Amazing, isn’t it, the power of words.

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