Book Reviews

Jim Manganiello’s book opened my eyes to discovering who I truly am. I learned to view my thoughts and actions from an entirely new perspective, one unaffected by my upbringing and outside influences. Using the methods learned in this book, I was able to liberate myself from the obstacles within me that were holding me back from finding true happiness. Before reading this book and practicing the methods that Jim provides, I was not even aware these obstacles existed. Unshakable Certainty is a must read for anyone who wants to discover their true inner happiness.

Rita Heron, MS, Nurse Practitioner

In his book, Unshakable Certainty, Dr. Jim Manganiello provides us with a body of work that expedites profound psychological change and inner growth. His writing is elegant yet simple. It makes the theoretical framework in the book and the "Unshakable Certainty Process", a 5 Step Method Jim developed, accessible to a wide range of seekers – from individuals to seasoned clinicians. The Method has strong transformative power when practiced. I’ve used it in both my personal inner work and with patients in my clinical practice for many years.

As hopeful and inspiring as the book is, the actual experience of liberation from inner distress to peace and self-awareness is the gold to be mined through PRACTICE of Jim’s Method. The first 3 Steps are a powerful mindfulness practice ideally suited for westerners, that can be applied to our daily life circumstances. They deliver a calm, clear, free and self-assured state of Awareness. With practice, this state of "unshakably certain" awareness becomes stable, and then we live from it.

Steps 4 and 5 enable us to put our psychological house in order. They yield deep self-knowledge and create the inner conditions needed support a free, aware and confident experience of life. It is hard to comprehend the healing that is possible when one engages in sincere relationship with his or her wounds/pain/shadow, as experienced in Steps 4 and 5 of Jim’s Method.

As a psychiatric provider who continues to update her repertoire of therapeutic modalities and who prescribes medications, I wholeheartedly endorse Jim’s book Unshakable Certainty along with the profound knowledge base and dynamic 5 Step Process/Method it presents.

Jim’s Method has withstood the test of time in my personal and professional practices. It remains my `go to’ technique. It is through my numerous experiences using this technique that I can corroborate Dr. Manganiello’s assertions regarding the results the Method delivers. I highly recommend Unshakable Certainty to anyone committed to a happier, healthier and more deeply satisfying life for themselves, their loved ones and/or their patients.

Unshakeable Certainty provides a clear map for understanding the forces that shape us without being wrapped in the tribal jargon of psychology. It offers a simple and powerful method which becomes a lens through which to focus, see more clearly through the haze of personal history and to bring the power of that insight to bear on achieving the kind of life one wants to live. It is well organized and and connects the insights of the eastern wisdom traditions and western depth psychology in a way that helps one to tease out the faded echoes of past cause from the present cacophony of effects we so often must endure. In doing so it reveals a path which is a synergistic approach to achieve a greater inner harmony and sense of fulfillment. I heartily recommend Dr. Manganiello’s work to anyone serious about self-development and personal growth.

Unshakable Certainty is a highly recommended read for anyone desiring the tools to positively transform your life. Dr. Manganiello teaches you how to gain control of your life and realize your location, view and reality. Being aware of your location, view and reality awakens you to the possibility of other LVRs to consider. Once this occurs your perception of yourself, significant others, and our daily interactions changes and moves you toward living a life of confidence, calmness and happiness. Using Dr.Manganiello’s teachings, delivered through crisp stories and functional advice, you become inspired to actively pursue a life of growth. You will find that Dr. Manganiello assists you with improving your overall life, not simply fixing problems in isolation.

Dr. Jim Manganiello delivers an easy to understand approach of how to get back to the basic fundamental of living and to once again recognize our Unshakable Certainty… how to get back to the intuitive "knowledge" we posses which is far superior to information we learn along our life path. A must read for anyone who feels they have got off track and know life can be more wonderful than it is at the moment.

Jay Revere

Unshakable Certainty is the one book that stays on my desk to remind me that I can be more aware and more free – right now. It has been said that what we accept as waking life is really a form of sleep and if we could awaken from it we could transform our lives. Dr. Manganiello’s clearly presented and thoroughly explained method for "waking up" has helped me live with greater joy and conviction. It’s allowed me to connect with wisdom that’s inside of me. Just read a few pages and you will know what I mean.

James Levine

This book is much more than yet another self-help book based on psychological concepts and general ideas on how to improve your life. It provides clear strategies and step by step instructions for personal transformation by distilling the best of Eastern and Western knowledge. And it puts that knowledge to work in a powerful, yet easy to use practice, that will make you more aware, more conscious, and more alive. Unshakable Certainty is a masterful book by a masterful teacher.

John Stewart

Author | Evolution’s Arrow
Evolution, Complexity, and Cognition Research Group of the Free University of Brussels

For a long time I have been looking for a book that translates the great discoveries of the Eastern religious and contemplative traditions into tools and wisdom that can be easily understood and applied by Westerners. The Eastern traditions have accumulated a wealth of powerful knowledge and practices that can enable anyone to live a more creative, wise, peaceful and aware life. However this knowledge is buried in a multitude of confusing, contradictory spiritual traditions, each with their own jargon, myths and worldviews. In the past Westerners have had to spend decades wading through this material in order to understand it and adapt it to their needs and culture.

Dr. Manganiello’s book is the one I have been searching for. I will recommend it to any people I meet who are interested in a clear, simple and powerful approach to self-development. The book contains the key discoveries made over thousands of years by the Eastern traditions. But it presents them clearly, without jargon and unadorned by the cultural idiosyncrasies of their diverse origins. It extracts the principles underlying Eastern meditative practices and uses them to develop much simpler and straight-forward tools. It shows us how we can easily integrate these into our busy Western lives, to our great benefit.

Importantly, the book goes beyond the approaches developed by the Eastern traditions. It also incorporates the great discoveries made by Western Psychology. It produces approaches and tools that combine the wisdom of the East with the science and energy of the West. Too often the Eastern traditions have concentrated on transcending the world that we live and work in. In contrast Western psychology has often focused more on helping people to function more effectively in `real life’. Dr Manganiello’s book has synthesized these approaches. The result is a practical guide to living a more creative and wiser life free from fear, self-doubt and insecurity.

The book is also a great read. I found it simple, clear and well written. And it is also entertaining. Dr Manganiello has a great ability to develop and use illuminating metaphors as a way of communicating ideas that might otherwise be confusing and complex.

Christiane Northrup, M.D., ob/gyn physician and author of the New York Times bestsellers: Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause

"Unshakable Certainty is loaded with the kind of practical and timeless wisdom that can help anybody and everybody."