Who Stole My Magic?

After reading Happiness in a Nutshell, I realized that I can just start going through all the easy reads on my bookshelf. The smallest & thinnest book I have is Who Stole My Magic?

While it doesn’t have a connect with my current situation in life, I want to read it anyway, haha!

Whole Stole My Magic? by Jenny Manuel

It’s happened to almost everyone—a breakup that’s seemingly impossible to recover from. Whether you’ve been together two months or ten years too long, there’s a post-relationship limbo you need to survive in order to get on with your life.
Every girl has a story to tell, but everyone agrees—sure, it’s hard to do, but it’s definitely not impossible to overcome.
Jenny Manuel gathers the true and outstanding tales of women conquering breakups—from the mild to the truly horrific.

Who Stole My Magic? (The smart girl’s guide to surviving a breakup) is a collection of advice given by the author’s friends and family while she was nursing a broken heart. It’s nice that Jenny made this book because a lot of us go through heartbreaks and not everyone is lucky enough to have a strong emotional support. So reading the book is like having those people who gives rational advice to the situation at hand (no matter if it differs a little).

I love how the author described each person and how they helped her cope. In each chapter, you’ll get valuable lessons (whether for yourself or for a friend who you know needed a friend to cope a heartbreak).

Ed (why you need a friend with the patience of a saint)
“don’t ever be sorry for being sad, and don’t apologize for crying – what you are going through is completely normal and healthy.”

We don’t need a tough love approach at this point. What we need are friends who provide tender love & care (TLC). People who will let us cry in their shoulder, who will listen and who will not make us feel bad while we pour all our hurt out.

Michelle (why asking ‘what if” can drive you around the bend)
“don’t bother asking why”

Asking someone to explain why they don’t/won’t/can’t love you is like asking someone to explain why the wind blows. Instead of asking ‘why’, it’s much wiser to view your love as a gift. Even if your love is not reciprocated, appreciate that you have within your power an ability and courage to love.

Camille (why listening to sad songs is a really bad idea)
“whatever you do, don’t listen to any sad songs or music. It will only make you feel worse.”

Music can be a powerful tool because it speaks directly to our souls. Music can be powerful for healing as it is for wallowing. Just as forcing yourself to smile automatically puts you in a better mood, putting on an upbeat, positive music can immediately affect your state of mind.

Joanna (why treating yourself to a makeover is good for the soul)
“Beauty may only be skin deep and true beauty might lie in the soul, but it doesn’t hurt to have your outsides looking good when your insides are badly bruised.”

The makeover is an enhancement rather than a radical transformation – it was about rediscovering the best bits and making the most of them.

Mia (why you shouldn’t become bitter and jaded)
“Don’t be bitter.”

The feelings of anger and resentment are normal. They’re part of the grieving process. The real trick is not to let the anger take residence in your heart and consume you. Such negative emotions have a habit of making people seem hard and unattractive.

Raymond & Amelia (how travel can help to ease the pain)
“Travel, go somewhere you’ve never been. You need to get away from your immediate surroundings and realize that there is a huge world out there with endless possibilities and billions of people that you’ve never met.”

Removing yourself from your setting or the scene of your heartbreak is one of the most effective ways to dull the pain. It isn’t running away from your problems- it’s about acknowledging that there exists a huge world out there with exciting things to discover, wonderful people to meet and endless possibilities to explore.

Georgina (how moving furniture around can do you a world of good)
“When you lock yourself in your room – miserable and weepy – the space picks up the negative energy and your room becomes a depressing place to be. You need to let out the sadness and allow some new air in.”

Feng shui is the ancient Chinese philosophy that teaches that the positioning and physical characteristics of a person’s home or other surroundings affect the fortunes of the owner.
Give your home a dose of good feng shui by clearing out clutter and making sure your furniture is in the right place.

Ines (why it’s time to find a new passion)
“Find a new passion”

Trying to prevent yourself from thinking about something is pointless. It’s self-defeating exercise because the more you think about something the stronger it takes hold of you. If you were to fill your head with other thoughts, you would quite simply forget to think about the ex. Our passions don’t have to be limited to people. The people we love do often ignite passion in our hearts but it can just as easily be sparked by work, a hobby or a vocation.

Anna and the guy at dinner (how taking a step back can help you see the bigger picture)
“Sometimes, if you are having difficulty coming to terms with something, all you need to do is take a step back and look at the bigger picture.”

Too often a refusal to be totally honest about a relationship results in difficulty in letting it go. The end of a relationship rarely comes as a bolt out of the blue. Intuition has an uncanny way of raising red flags for us along the way, but too often we just refuse to see them. Sometimes, it’s only by being brutally honest with ourselves that we can begin to move on.

Frannie (why it’s important to get out there and meet new people)
“Being single doesn’t have to be about being alone”

Everything boils down to mindset and perspective. You could look at your newly single status as disastrous and lonely, or you could look at it as a fantastically exciting opportunity to reconnect with old friends and to make some new ones.

The Smart Moves is another section of the book that is so worthwhile to read and remember!

Who Stole My Magic is a short and quick read but boy, if you take it into heart, it’s definitely uplifting! Whether you apply it with yourself if you’re going through a heartbreak or if you’re helping a loved one in coping with their own heartbreak, it’ll help.