“Shadow Work” Sheds Light on the Path to Your Best Self
A book review of Danielle Massi’s “Shadow Work”
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(Full disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post uses Bookshop.org affiliate links).
If you’re someone interested in crystals, tarot, and other witchy concepts, it’s pretty likely you’ve come across the phrase “shadow work” at some point. As someone who’s taken a few courses in magical concepts, I’ve encountered a few different definnitions of this practice over the years. Yet though I came away from these courses with a better understanding of tarot, the elements, astrology, etc, I never quite felt like I understood this whole shadow work business.
So, when Danielle Massi reached out to ask if I would be interested in a review copy of her upcoming book, Shadow Work: Face Hidden Fears, Heal Trauma, Awaken Your Dream Life, my answer was a resounding yes.
Shadow Work blends science and spirituality to explain the shadow work process. With her background in psychology and mental health, Massi grounds this somewhat mystical practice with science in a way that makes the topic feel more apporachable. The book not only defines shadow work and explains why it is an essential ingredient in healing and manifestation, but offers plenty of exercises and guidance on how to do shadow work.
What I Liked
For all the times I’ve brought a crystal to work with me in my pocket, there’s also a time I’ve rolled my eyes at someone going a bit “too out there” with the spirtual stuff. This skepticism about the unseen and unproven means I can sometimes be resistant to concepts like spirit guides or the quantum realm. Shadow Work begins with a section called “The Overlap of Science and the Soul” that really helped explain what shadow work actually is and how it relates to what we do know about the brain and trauma. I can truly say this section of the book helped me finally get a grasp on the understanding of shadow work that previously eluded me.
This grounding in science and research carries through the book even into the more challenging (for me) concepts, which I really appreciated. For instance, Massi writes about how generational trauma shows up in…
