Home is not where you are, it is inside you. "Welcome Home" by Najwa Zebian

Title: Welcome Home: A Guide to Building a Home for Your Soul

Author: Najwa Zebian

Reviewer: Richard Sesek (educator, wantrepreneur)

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Topic/Intent of book: This is a book about emotional healing and self-acceptance. The book is built on the metaphor of a building a home. Using her own self-acceptance journey, she demonstrates how to address toxic self-perceptions and “rebuild” your home. Your “home” is just that, yours – you are not the labels others use to describe you (e.g., female, Muslim, Lebanese, etc.).

I selected this book because: This book was recommended by Diana Abbasi who has read all (or nearly all) of Zebian’s books. It came highly recommended as way to better understand yourself and grow into the person you are meant to be.

Recommendation: I recommend this book for readers seeking to heal, particularly after some traumatic event/emotional loss or those suffering from burnout. The book suggests many reflective activities that help the reader improve their sense of self and to not rely on others for their self-worth.

Major lessons from this book: Self-love is not about simple affirmations, it requires effort and boundaries. I have not been good about setting personal boundaries and I often find myself worrying more about solving other people’s problems rather than focusing on what I need. She asserts that forgiveness frees you, and, this is primarily forgiveness to yourself, not others. Forgiveness is not about condoning or forgetting transgressions (including to self), it is about acknowledging them and moving on. Take ownership of your life with “I” statements, shift to how you felt/experienced things rather than a narrative of what others have done to you or events that happened to you. For example, rather than “he hurt me”, reframe to “I feel hurt when he does X.” This makes you the narrator of your story and allows you to focus on what it is, the behaviors and situations, that actually impact you. Sometimes these underlying factors are obvious, other times they require additional reflection.

Book Inspirations: It’s not selfish to take of yourself. I aim to do a better job of prioritizing what I need. In fact, if I do that, I’ll be better able to take care of those people that matter to me and waste significantly less time on persons and activities that do not enrich my life or the lives of those I love. I am glad that Diana recommended this book! The author has lots of content online and I plan to watch some of her videos and talks.