Non-Fiction Book Review | “The Wisdom of Listening” (#RealPeopleRealLives) by Marilyn R. Wilson

Posted Friday, 12 October, 2018 by jorielov , , 1 Comment

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a part of the blog tour for the second release by Marilyn R. Wilson hosted by iRead Book Tours. I was thankful to be a part of her debut release blog tour a few years ago where I learnt about her life’s work and what inspires her to write. I haven’t been reviewing or hosting iRead authors in quite a long while – for most of the year, I couldn’t find stories which excited me to read and/or there were a heap which I felt would fit other readers better than they would my own readerly inclinations. I am thankful I could host Ms Wilson on this second tour and gain more insight into what inspires her to share this inspiring collection of voices, hearts and lives.

I received a complimentary copy of The Wisdom of Listening direct from the author Marilyn R. Wilson in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

On why I was keenly interested in wanting to read ‘The Wisdom of Listening’:

I wanted to dig into the heart of how she organised the sequences of discloses within this release as it has a unique rhythm of disclosures – as I initially settled into reading the individual passages, I noted how they strike a hearty balance between a slice of memoir, a candor of conversationalism and the kind of insight you would expect from a woman whose dedicated her life to listening to others who tell their story with the hope of inspiring someone by the experience of hearing their story told.

It is quite true – when she encourages you to read the passages out of sequence from how their arranged – you can take it upon yourself to curate a bit of a personal experiment – which passages are drawing your eye towards them first? Which ones speak to you the most? Try it! You might be pleasantly surprised – as I knew I was as I was reading – I was automatically seeking out more of her own personal declarations – the pieces of this installment in her evolving series of Real People | Real Lives which takes on its own canon of originality with each book she writes – something which struck me as interesting as I was not expecting this to be the case.

Similar to reading anthologies – I took this edition to be of the same vein – a wanderlust of inspiration wherein you are never quite certain which piece or short will draw you into the folds of the message it has left behind for you to find. Each of these pieces curate their own fingerprint of insight into what Ms Wilson has gleamed as an interviewer but also, as an experiencer of life spent observing the keen awareness we all have within us to contemplate as we shift through our transitions – where memory and experience intermix and re-settle the thoughts as they once percolated to mind when inspiration alights within us.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Notation on Cover Art: Being an artist who wants to increase her toolbox of media choices, one of the future journeys I wish to take visually is into watercolours. Especially coming from a history of using oils and pastels; the effects you can achieve with watercolours never fails to impress me or inspire me. If you see the collective works of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law floating into my feeds on Twitter it is not by accident – she has an incredible gifted eye and story-telling arc of narrative within her paintings which I simply :love: dearly. This cover is a spasm of colour, thoughtfulness and it speaks to sometimes you have calm your voice in order to hear what others are saying – sometimes that requires removing our sensory awareness – to close our eyes in order to see what is being said is a great metaphor to have on the cover.

Non-Fiction Book Review | “The Wisdom of Listening” (#RealPeopleRealLives) by Marilyn R. WilsonThe Wisdom of Listening
Subtitle: Pieces of Gold from a decade of interviewing and life
by Marilyn R. Wilson
Source: Author via iRead Book Tours

The next time you're out in public, take a moment to look around you. Each and every person you see holds wisdom in their pockets--pieces of gold they've accumulated as they walked their own unique life journey.

Within these pages, Marilyn shares some of the many pieces of gold she has received over her decade-long career. They have been offered to her during interviews, through random encounters and while facing difficult challenges. The most important? We are each unique and exactly who we are meant to be.

Are you ready to dig for gold? All you need to do is be brave, be present in the moment and be open to the possibilities--then start a conversation.

Genres: Biography / Autobiography, Interviews & Conversations, Non-Fiction, Self-Improvement & Self-Actualisation



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780995314726

Also by this author: Life Outside The Box: The Extraordinary Journeys of 10 Unique Individuals, Author Interview with Marilyn R. Wilson, (Guest Post) The Wisdom of Listening

Published by Influence Publishing Inc.

on 28th May, 2018

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 220

Published by: Influence Publishing Inc. (@influencepub)

Formats Available: Paperback and Ebook

Life Outside the Box by Marilyn R. WilsonThe Wisdom of Listening by Marilyn Wilson

You might remember my conversation with Ms Wilson or my ruminations on behalf of her first release Life Outside the Box, Volume One – this week, I have the joy of her guesting on Jorie Loves A Story with an insightful response about how she fleshed together her inspiring idea behind her latest release: The Wisdom of Listening.

Converse via: #NonFiction & #RealPeopleRealLives

About Marilyn R. Wilson

Marilyn R. Wilson

Marilyn R. Wilson is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for interviewing. It all began in 2006 when she answered a Craigslist ad from a NY magazine asking for story submissions. Two were accepted. The first live interview was life changing and Wilson has never looked back. With over 150 interviews now behind her, the love of interviewing is still as strong as ever. Whether through a random encounter on the New York subway or via a “one-on-one” interview with an internationally recognized artist, the goal is the same—to share the unique journeys of inspiring individuals.

In 2007, this goal led the author to co-launch a successful, innovative magazine focused on professionals working in the fashion industry, paired with photography and illustrations by local artists. Now on staff at Raine Magazine (NY/Miami/LA), as well as freelancing for other publications, Wilson has taken her passion to a new audience with the release of her first book.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

One of the threading themes within the collective narratives by Ms Wilson is the interconnectedness of our human experiences – of how each of us is a light of truth and each time we elect to share our truths with others, we fill a well of wisdom which in turn will become spilt into the next soul who crosses our path; thereby strengthening our co-joined experiences and deepening our understanding of this ‘life’ we’ve been blessed to live.

As we first arrive inside this new collection – there is a different tone of enlightenment permeating through the narrative itself – you can see it in the arrangement of the sections, wherein snippets of affirmative truths are being relayed to you for a purpose of sharing not just their message but to give you a personal moment of inspiration to feel something as you are reading them. Wilson encourages readers to ponder what is expressed and shared within her books – to seek the reader’s truth alongside the truths of those she showcases. In this particular installment however, she returnt to funnelling these takeaways back through a lens which is reflective of her own experiences moreso than the experiences of others. They are still focused upon but this is a quasi-autobiographical entrance into one woman’s journey towards self-growth and personal awakening.

I found she has found her rhythm within this collection of stories – of finding a way to take what she wants to articulate and reveal through her words by merging them into a cohesive collection of tales which can be read in any order when you pick up the book. Trust me, I tried it both ways – straight through and then, randomly selecting pages to begin reading. Initially, when I first read Life Outside the Box – I saw the potential of the series Wilson was laying the foundation for but I didn’t feel the first edition was the strongest portal of entry. In this second release, I was overjoyed finding she had not just found traction with her fortitude of insight collected among her adventures but I found a better collective ‘voice’ threading itself through this release. She truly has claimed a written voice which befits her message(s) and now those can shine as you re-enter her journey from the art of how to listen and gain the most benefit by your mindful approach to everyday wisdom.

We begin at the beginning of Wilson’s story – of how she became the interviewer and how the interviewees radically changed the course of her life. If they hadn’t, we wouldn’t be blessed with her books nor would we understand how the journey she embarked on all those years after college and mumhood would have set the stage for having a keenly perceptive understanding of sociological influences and the curious tendencies of how human desire and the instinct to remain curious and open to life as its being lived is one of the cornerstones of all the people she’s crossed paths with to meet. It is in our willingness to push forward and to seek out new experiences where we understand the most about our humanity. If we constantly see ourselves as we currently are we lose sight of the potential for our personal growth. We grow each time we learn something we hadn’t known previously and thereby, our universe expands. Knowledge is an endless realm of possibilities because for each curious thought there is a multitude of ways in which to research a way to better understand the scope of what prompted the thought in the first place.

As we seek to better understand the path Ms Wilson walked towards the woman she became and the kind of writing which vocalised her truer gift to the world – we see a woman who championed herself through the trials of uncertainty and fuelled the courage to re-affirm her own desires as a writer and as a seeker of truth.

In a moment of personal clarity and of relating this cardinal truth to her readers, Wilson reminds us all of the reflective glow of our own selves has to first be accepted by whom we feel is our most authentic self to present to the world. No one else can define us (though they try) and no one has the right to limit our potential (though they wish they could). Her intuitive way of encouraging and empowering everyone to embrace themselves and to champion their individuality is a concept which is fitting for today’s era. In a world which seeks to limit personal expression, individuality and places a war across gender identity and sexuality dividing lines – it is welcome to see a woman who is championing the fact that the only box you need to worry about is the one you stand on to shout out your own living truth to the world at large. Never compartmentalise yourself – that’s my own personal motto – because we’re human and we are not box trolls! We are not constricted to living in a structure which limits our reach.

One of my favourite takeaways is how she talks about living authentically – whether that means the clothes you were define a portion of your personality your wanting to share with the outside world or whether walking out bare faced without cosmetics might be your natural aesthetic –  you have to be comfortable to own your truth, everyday and in every way it manifests in your life. This is something I whole-heartedly agree with – not just as a nearly as a thirty-something but it is a creed of mine I’ve been living throughout my life. Even when I too, was bullied and harassed to the brink where I had to exchange schools more times than women generally switch hairstyles and hats. If you can’t be yourself and if you can’t feel the freedom to live the genuine true you – whether your in an area which is less understanding and closed to the diversities of life or if there is another factor which places you in a situation where you have to seek a way to ‘blend in’ rather than walk free; somewhere along the route of living you have to find a way to break free.

The sad bit really is how unaccepting and intolerant the world has the tendency of becoming – no one truly hears or sees anyone. Everyone appears to be quick to judge you out of hand without foundation of reason and for whichever reason, those first impressions and interactions strike the imbalance of where you either walk alone or you cobble together a few people who stand on the outside like you, seeing you as you are and have unconditional light within them, too.

As I readily say – the world is a melting pot – the beauty of interacting on social as a book blogger is by drawing the world closer to me. The night I was writing this thoughts down, I was celebrated in the #bookishTwitter for championing others when in theory it is something I do rather naturally. I love lifting others up in a life of joyfulness and I love connecting people together who might not have crossed paths previously. I enjoy spreading joy and optimism and showing how true acceptance is spread throughout all aspects of our lives. It is how we interact on social and how we greet those who work in our local communities. Equality is not an ideal to strive towards, it is a way of living and how you choose to interact with others where acceptance is never conditional.

If you were to pool the 4,000+ accounts I follow on Twitter you would take stock of the fact I follow people who are opposite to my own politics, have different religious beliefs, are LGBTQ+ or straight or non-defined inasmuch as you would find they are not limited in scope to #bookworld either – though I do hang out in the bookish side of Twitter as it is a happy-go-lucky place to reside. A fitting place to haunt in a world which tries us constantly for the amount of adverse situations which filter into our lives as regularly as newsreels and the AP wire threads into the radio.

You’ll find actors, directors and producers of film and television alongside #ownvoices and #POC authors; there are Indie musicians and major label recording artists; there are Indie, Self and Major Trade publishers and/or writers hugged close to those who write in the mainstream vs the INSPY markets. I follow Indie bookshoppes, libraries, book bloggers, book reviewers, booktubers, bookstagrammers, audiobook narrators, podcasters, book box subscription services, vegan and vegetarian resources and select political accounts, too. I have a wicked passion for illustrators, fine artists, fantasy watercolourists and poets. In a word – I follow the world’s creatives and I seek to gleam the wisdom of their own stories each time I choose to interact with them.

Isn’t that the whole point of being involved on social? I know it is the point of living in the world – of stepping outside our comfort zones to engage with people we do not know personally but whose random conversation could be the best lift of joy in the moment we converse with them?

This is what I took out of The Wisdom of Listening – it is not just vocal conversations where we need to be mindfully responsive to listening with our hearts and keeping our minds open to the truths of others – it is through all channels of communication, including social. On our blogs and in our tweets – wherever we lay our hat socially – if we remain open to the experience of how remaining vulnerable to others and of hearing their stories and their living truth, we effectively have changed the world for the better. We are seeing each other whilst we are hearing our stories collectively being told through tweets and conversations.

Words paint a light on wisdom but wisdom can only be a shining light

if the person accepts the truthfulness of what is considered wise.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

This blog tour is courtesy of: iRead Book Tours

Click through via the badge to find out what else awaits you!

iRead Book ToursPreviously I shared an author Guest Post for this lovely blog tour!

Words paint a light on wisdom but wisdom can only be a shining light if the person accepts the truthfulness of what is considered wise. by Jorie Story after #amreading The Wisdom of Listening by Marilyn R. Wilson Click To Tweet

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Wisdom of Listening”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Marilyn R. Wilson and the iRead badge were all provided by iRead Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.

I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

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Posted Friday, 12 October, 2018 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Indie Author, iRead Book Tours, Memoir, Motherhood | Parenthood, Non-Fiction, Publishing Industry & Trade, Sociological Behavior, Sociology, Vignettes of Real Life




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