Teri
Just more of the same --dredging up past trauma!
The journal itself is beautiful, leather bound and well made! There are no questions on gratitude at least not from the first several weeks, if any at all. The description talks about gratitude. From the description I didn't expect some of the questions require you to go that deep as far as bringing up childhood trauma, etc. so soon. And yes, you can answer whenever you like or not at all. And as I looked throughout the entire book, it was basically more of the same. Day 14 asks, "What truth are you avoiding?" Instead of helping me, that question triggered me (my feelings alone). That is a very heavy question to be asking so early on. And some of us have reflected for so long that we might not have any truths we are avoiding. Yet page 15 asks, "What's something small that made you smile this week? " Quite a contrast from one day to another. I have delved into emotional wounds in therapy, journaling, and other modalities focusing on bringing up the past as a way of healing, and I think you get to a point where it sometimes makes it worse for some. It just wasn't as I expected based on the description of the journal. I decided after 2 weeks to not continue using it. And for those of us with really stubborn & hypervigilant brains that have been through a lot of traumas (some of us to this day) I think dredging all of these things up again can only makes things worse. I was looking for something gentler that encouraged honest reflection in the now (current) rather than delving into the past again. And yes, that is sometimes necessary to do, but this book contains more prompts than not that ask you to do that if you choose. And if more than half a book doesn't resonate with you, then what's the point? If you are however looking to dig deep into your past you may love this journal. If you've done a lot of that work already, then you might have some pause.