White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another

I was given early access to this book as a member of its "Launch Team". I've read it several times and here are my thoughts:Definitely a worthwhile read for any Danielle fan, or someone burnt out on "New Age" and feeling like they are doing the "right" things spiritually but not getting anywhere meaningful. The main message of the book is that only YOU can look inside yourself and "be your own guru", get to know yourself and what you're all about. Radical self-acceptance.Danielle dissects the lies that permeate a lot of New Age thought and encourages the reader to look past these lies and more into themselves for answers. She uses her own extensive life experiences with religion and spirituality to support her argument, which is super helpful and lends her credence. I really like what she had to say about the meaning of suffering and how to deal with it when it arises.I do, however, have several problems with the book. First off, while it is clearly written to appeal to women, Danielle doesn't just come out and actually say it, which I wish she would. She mentions at one point the importance of including men, but there are no men really mentioned in the book - it's all bits of conversations with her girlfriends. I think the book would be more powerful if it either a) was written with all genders in mind; or b) was explicitly feminist and, say, explored goddess narratives. I also feel that certain messages in the book are really only accessible towards people with a certain amount of privilege, and I wish Danielle had expressed more cognizance of this. As someone who has worked with low-income clients as a caseworker, I can see how the ideas about "not letting your bills get to you" or "staying positive" don't apply to someone who experiences constant life stress and oppression. This is a trend that I see - a lot of spiritual books coming out, written by white women, that don't seem to acknowledge that those women are writing from a position of privilege. For me, unfortunately, this taints the message of what is otherwise a well thought-out and helpful book.So on the one hand, I liked this book - I'm going through a major transformation in my life, and a lot of Danielle says are things that I can relate to. On the other hand, I like to see when an author owns their audience and wish Danielle had expressed more insight into whom she was specifically writing FOR. She's done some populations a disservice by ignoring them in this book.

If in your personal development journey you are on a quest for absolute truths, 100% black or white answers, or rapid fixes, you will find yourself stumbling, starving for deeper knowledge, and in need for more and more support. It's the integration of spirituality and materialism, the reconciliation between soul and life, the gentle and wise merge of experience and study that will prove your best ally in life. Never leave the full control in the hands of others, which is quite common sense but seems to have been lost in the plethora of self-proclaimed gurus of any sort. Best recommendation: audio over printed book to enjoy Danielle's soothing voice. What I really enjoyed was her tiptoeing on words in an elegant and exquisite way. Given her entire production, Desire Map makes you soar and get deeply in contact with your feelings, Fire Starters is for introspection and social entertainment, the White Hot Truth is to get centered if you are overwhelmed and addicted to cheap spiritual solutions.

Note: I would not recommend this book for anyone who is not at least open minded to New Age.That being said, I first discovered Danielle Laporte when I most needed her “Desire Map” message- it’s not about accomplishing the goal itself, it’s about how accomplishing the goal makes you feel. White Hot Truth had a similar effect on me. I can’t say I knew what to expect, even when the tagline of the book was “Clarity for keeping it real on your spiritual path – from one seeker to another,” but it turns out it was what I didn’t know I needed.I did not grow up with religion, but I have felt the need and desire to begin a spiritual practice. Conventional religion always felt far too restrictive, oppressive, and formal for me, and regarding other practices, I often felt concerned with “doing it right.” Danielle answered so many questions for me about how to start a practice of my own and gave me the permission I didn’t think I needed, to go about my developing practice in my own, unique way.Some of my favorite quotes from WTH include:“You can’t take any of it too seriously.”“You’re the only one who can validate your spiritual integrity.”“Protect your heart so you can keep it wide open.”“We need to make our definitions of ‘leader and follower,’ ‘sage and seeker’ more malleable – we are all both.”“When we paint over pain with premature positivity, we short circuit our healing.”

I bought this book as i am heavily into gratitude and mindfulness. I had read great reviews about it and it was suggested reading as part of a book club i was part of. I am so sorry to say this but i hated it!!! I honestly thought it read like it was a review- - it was all short sentences and statements, i got to the second chapter and really couldn't take any more. I ended up selling it on (although i really tried a few times, to give it another go).

"Worship what you Love and Love the way you worship." - Danielle La Porte. This is one of my favourite quotes from the new book by Danielle Laporte and for me, it sums up her whole ethos. Unlike some spiritual/self-help book writers, Danielle doesn't shy away from unpleasant, inconvenient truths about how our choices - individually and collectively - impact our own everyday life and the world around us. As she says, positive thinking is great, but it will only get you so far. She is an inspiration to soul-centred activists and love warriors. She will invite you to step out of the crowd at times - whether that crowd is a corporate clique or your spiritual sanctuary - so that you might reconnect with your own intuition and instincts. She will inspire and challenge you to stand up for what you believe in and more than anything, she will en-courage you to believe in yourself. If embraced, this courage will help you to shine a light on your own inner truth - your passions, your ideals, your unique gifts - and bring forth the integrity to celebrate that truth in the outside world. Worship what you love, love the way you worship. Come what may.

I bought this book and found it a waste of time: its messy, insubstantial, poorly written and says nothing new at all. I'm completely mystified at all the amazing reviews here and on Goodreads, to the extent that I ran the Amazon reviews through the website Fakespot - where they received a grade F (the worst grade: estimating that 75% of the reviews here are fake). I think people are writing phoney reviews here and on Goodreads and would avoid this book.

This book is for anyone suffering from self-help, spiritual-seeking or therapy fatigue. Laporte writes in a warm, witty, clear tone, pointing you back to where the real answers are, not with her, but with you. This is a simple point, but it is priceless. As a therapist, I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

I usually love her books but this was dense with spiritual jargon and I struggled to get through the first few chapters then gave up. Will give it another try but found the style really difficult to engage with.