Today, I'm sharing a book with you that I'll think you'll want to know about.  It's written by a friend of mine, Iman Gatti, and called Cracked Open Never Broken. I first met Iman at Kripalu, a yoga retreat center in Stockbridge Massachusetts.  She was like a beam of light and had a laugh that came from her belly...a deep from the heart, contagious laugh.  I was immediately drawn to her and we became friends.  She later coached me when I was going through a hard time in my life.  I highly recommend Iman's book to anyone who wants to be inspired.  The description below is just a preview of this amazing book.  I still get emails from Iman and I copied the one that I received today about boundaries because creating appropriate boundaries is something that I've been struggling with and I though it was very timely.  Iman is raw and real and a truly beautiful soul.  Read on...

When she was six-years-old, Iman Gatti witnessed the tragic death of her mother.

This began a journey in which her childhood and culture were stripped away from her only to be replaced by a decade of abuse and neglect at the hands of those appointed to protect her.

Yet in this darkness, Iman held on to the light within her. A light her mother taught her was far too bright to ever be extinguished.

In Cracked Open - Never Broken, Iman takes readers on a journey through a childhood of loss, heartbreak, and isolation as she clings to the hope of a life she always dreamed of.

Her memoir is for anyone who refuses to succumb to the role of the victim, and instead chooses to live with an unbreakable spirit and overflowing compassion. Through sheer determination, strength, and resilience Iman overcomes the unimaginable. She is proof that, when faced with extreme suffering, the power of the human spirit can endure and transcend.

Iman believes we all possess the power of forgiveness and that we can transform our trauma into triumph.

My boundaries...
Are mine
and in place for good reason.
They keep me safe and sane and let me declare to myself and the world how to respect myself.
They are a roadmap of what I need to always find my way back to myself.
They are a way I choose to measure what I can and can’t accept.
They are not here to make you comfortable or to justify your existence in my life at all....
In fact, they have nothing to do with you.
They are mine, FOR me and FROM me so that I can practice the art of self love and self respect and show up as boldly as possible.
They allow me to feel free within my own heart because I am honouring the property lines of my soul.
You see, for a really long time, I didn’t come first in my own life. I was too afraid to speak up and declare the amount of air I needed in order to breathe.
I tiptoed around what my soul begged of me for fear that what I needed would be too much.
I let others pick away at whatever parts of me they desired and I didn’t question them.
I made do with the scraps of myself that were left behind.
And it hurt like hell.
So much so that I could feel myself dying.
I could feel myself choking on the leftovers of the person I wanted to be.
I was afraid of not having what I wanted and so I rejected myself.
There came a time when I had to choose between loving myself and giving up completely.
You can be sure I chose myself.
And in doing so, I created a manifesto of my self love...and with that came what I would no longer allow.
My beautiful boundaries are my guide of unquestionable servitude to myself.
My unshakable faith in trusting that I can deliver what I need to myself.
My commitment to continuously take responsibility for what I need in my own life.
A delicate reminder of my devotion to this incredible life I’ve been gifted.
So, yeah, I have boundaries.
Because when I leave it up to others I almost always miss out on what I truly need to function.
Because it’s not your job to fill me up.
It’s mine.
I am my own responsibility.
I draw lines in the sand, I stand up for myself, I lovingly say “fuck you” when life offers me anything less than I promised myself.
And I won’t stop and apologize to anyone for whatever I need to do in order to love myself without exception.
It’s not that I don’t care how my boundaries affect you - it’s that I CAN’T care if I truly love myself because they are what I need in order to feel safe and loved and whole.
And I am willing to do whatever it takes in order to keep my promises to myself.
Because while I don’t expect for your world to revolve around me - I am 1000% certain that mine does.

I heard Iman tell her story in person that week at Kripalu and it inspired me beyond words.   Everyone has problems, but sometimes, hearing other people's stories puts ours into perspective.  This is definitely one worth hearing.  To see more of Iman, follow her on YouTube and Instagram.

Have a great weekend!