What I Know For Sure. Finished 5-18-15, rating 4.5/5, inspirational, pub. 2014

From all her experiences, she has gleaned life lessons—which, for fourteen years, she’s shared in O, The Oprah Magazine’s widely popular “What I Know For Sure” column, a monthly source of inspiration and revelation.
 
Now, for the first time, these thoughtful gems have been revised, updated, and collected in What I Know For Sure, a beautiful cloth bound book with a ribbon marker, packed with insight and revelation from Oprah Winfrey. Organized by theme—joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power—these essays offer a rare, powerful and intimate glimpse into the heart and mind of one of the world’s most extraordinary women—while providing readers a guide to becoming their best selves. Candid, moving, exhilarating, uplifting, and frequently humorous, the words Oprah shares in What I Know For Sure shimmer with the sort of truth that readers will turn to again and again.

from Goodreads

 “While I was waiting on God, God was waiting on me. He was waiting on me to make a decision to either pursue the life that was meant for me or be stifled by the one I was living.” – Oprah

I’ve never considered myself an Oprah fan.  Sure there are things that I like about her, she does good things and sends positive energy out into the cold, cruel world, but every time I watched her show she seems both sincere and out-of-touch.  But Kathy said she liked this one and the audio was short (only 4 cds) and read by Oprah herself so I thought I’d give it a listen.  I’m so glad that I did.

Oprah has many gifts and one is the power of communication.  I loved listening to her read her short columns from O Magazine about the things in life that she knows for sure.  It was like having Oprah sitting in the car with me (much like the cross-country road trip she takes with best friend Gayle that she talks about in the book) telling me to live my best life.  As often as I get pulled into the drudgery and annoyances of everyday life, it was such a breath of fresh air to hear Oprah tell me to open my eyes and live my best life.

There may have been no brand new lessons, we’ve heard many of these things before, but Oprah sharing her varied experiences and what they taught her left me with a smile on my face as well as in my heart.  Inspiring and positive and definitely worth a listen.