Connection
How to Find the Life You're Looking for in the Life You Have
Connection is a self-help book that encourages deep engagement with one’s self.
Kristine Klussman’s detailed self-help guide Connection concerns building a better relationship with oneself as a baseline for having better connections with others.
This book asserts that many people don’t know themselves well, but that such connection is more important than outward happiness for optimal well-being. Going beyond self-care, it is a conversational guide to deeper self-knowledge that delves into naming personal values, evaluating how one’s time is spent, and determining whether that allocation supports one’s goals.
Through personal anecdotes and stories from groups and individuals whom Klussman worked with, the topical chapters concern matters like the true self, meaning, and determining one’s life purpose. At each step, the book recommends techniques for making the time and space to connect, drawing on research in order to take suggestions like “don’t judge emotions” from abstract concepts to achievable practices.
The text stands to function like a workbook: it is full of options for living a more connected life, and of encouragement to get in touch with one’s self. Its thought-provoking worksheets, which are shared at the back of the book, aid in its recommended exploration of one’s priorities, helping audiences to assess meaning in different areas of their lives, to define why their values are important to them, and to plan out non-negotiable self-care techniques.
Klussman asserts that people must take serious time out to evaluate their levels of connection; such carved-out time stands to make the complementary work, like assessing one’s personal preferences and priorities, easier. All of the recommended work is designed to be done in tandem: the book suggests that engaging with one’s experiences and habits will help to bring personal inclinations into sharper focus. These are powerful notions that are amplified by a number of suggested tactics, including getting more sleep, making time for creativity, and spending time alone. Such habits are meant to stack on each other and elicit growth; still, despite the considerable work it suggests, the book advises that people be gentle, even slow, about adding new approaches to their daily lives.
Klussman’s supportive guidebook can be approached in multiple ways: some may dip into it for advice on particular issues; others may opt to read it from cover to cover. Whatever approach people choose, this work stands to reinforce intentionality and to foster positive change.
Connection is a self-help book that encourages deep engagement; it’s full of sensible suggestions and inspiring stories for building a personal relationship with one’s self.
Reviewed by
Sarah White
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
