I recently finished reading “The Real Rules of Life: Balancing Life’s Terms with Your Own” by Ken Druck, sent to me in exchange for a review. This is probably one of the most life-impacting books I have ever read.
In fact, I plan on reading it again but taking more time with it. There was so much to take in and the opportunity to really apply what you read. I greatly appreciate not only the effort that went into this book but the heart as well.
“The Real Rules of Life” was written after the author’s loss of his 21-year-old daughter, Jenna, who was studying in India. She was tragically killed in a bus accident.
Whenever people experience life-altering events, they tend to go through a life-changing process. But most of the time it is kept to ourselves. Ken Druck offers us a glimpse not just into his pain but into the life lessons that he learned along the way.
One of the things he says early on in the book is, “We all travel different paths in this life. Some we choose. Some choose us. The path that chose me was one of loss.”
That statement really got me thinking about my own life’s journey. I thought about the many paths I have taken…some of my own volition and others that seemed forced upon me. Yet each path was a life lesson.
Through the author’s experience, he came up with 23 rules about life, with a chapter dedicated to each one. Here are the first 10 rules, just to give you an idea on what this book offers.
Rule #1 – Life Is Not Fair: It’s More Than Fair
Rule #2 – Around Every Corner: Keeping an Open Heart
Rule #3 – There Are No Deals: Life’s Real Terms
Rule #4 – Running from Reality Takes Energy: Truth as Courage
Rule #5 – Life Is Designed to Break Your Heart: Managing Love and Intimacy
Rule #6 – It Is What It Is: Dancing with Reality
Rule #7 – There Are No Quick Fixes: It Takes What It Takes to Mend
Rule #8 – Listening Is Love: How to Really Listen to Strengthen Relationships
Rule #9 – Closure Is a Myth: Healing Is a Lifelong Process
Rule #10 – Control Is an Illusion: Knowing When It’s Time to Let Go
Each of the 25 rules contains powerful and thought-provoking lessons that we can apply to our lives no matter what our journey has been. This is a book that I highly recommend to all parents.
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