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"The Imprint Journey" is like two books in one. The first section is Liliane Desjardins’ personal story of growing up during World War II in Croatia, watching the Catholic Church bless German soldiers, and seeing Nazis take her father away to a concentration camp. The fear and her family’s dysfunctional beliefs that she experienced during her childhood would still affect her decades later and an ocean away living in Canada. After marrying and becoming an alcoholic herself, her near death resulted in her transformation and recovery. The second section of "The Imprint Journey" is a dissection of just what an imprint is, and how to overcome imprints and replace them with effective and productive, life-affirming thought-patterns.
The Imprint Journey: A Path of Lasting Transformation Into Your Authentic Self
Liliane Desjardins
Loving Healing Press (2011)
ISBN 9781615990870
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (3/11)
There has never been any doubt in my mind that we are all products of our environment as well as of our genetics. And both of those factors, whether we like it or not, lead us to some rather peculiar behavioral patterns or, probably even more accurately, the repeating patters of such behavior. What has never been quite clear to me though was exactly why and how we keep repeating such actions, which are all too oftentimes very destructive and/or self-destructive. The best answer I’ve found so far is the one provided by Liliane Desjardins in her book “The Imprint Journey,” which I have been privileged to read before it was even published.
What exactly are imprints? Let me quote the author herself. “You might wonder what are IMPRINTS: they are our emotional map, the deep-seated beliefs and values stored in our brain’s limbic system. In spite of everything we know, our imprints govern our life at the subconscious level.” If you are anything like me, this would be enough to make you curious. Do yourself a favor and delve deep into “The Imprint Journey,” even if you usually do not read self-help books. I bet you will be amazed at how often the book will strike a nerve, and how many of those will be very, very raw indeed.
“The Imprint Journey” starts with a deeply personal, courageous and touching personal story, in which the author tells us about her early childhood in what is today Croatia, and what was back then war-torn Yugoslavia, followed by the untimely death of her mother, the immigration path leading her family to France and later to Canada, her struggle to find her true self and the dysfunctional life she led, all the way to a suicide attempt which resulted in a near-death experience and a gradual change in attitude adjustment.
Following the rather chilling first part is Part II, which provides one with a deeper understanding of what imprints are, how they are created and maintained and how they can – and should! – be changed so that an individual can be transformed and reach the Authentic Self. The techniques are illustrated by a series of true life stories from a variety of subjects, who dealt with many kinds of adversity and addictions.
Never judgmental, never preachy and never overly technical, “The Imprint Journey” is one of those rare books that will make you think and re-evaluate who you are and why you are acting the way you are. If you are lucky, you will gather enough courage to deal with the issues that bother you. All the tools are there, you just need to find the courage to make that first step...
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