The law of attraction: You can reach any goal, acquire anything you want, and attain perfect health simply by thinking positive thoughts about your heart’s desires. On the other hand, negative thoughts can darken your door with failure, sickness, and loss. While this simplistic belief is not new, and some might even call it hackneyed, is at the heart of Rhonda Byrne’s mega-bestseller, The Secret.
The media and consumers flocked to her book and DVD, landing both atop bestseller lists around the globe. As you read this, publishers are rushing to put out similar self-help titles in hopes of quenching what seems to be the public’s insatiable thirst for magical success formulas. When something gets the general populace stirred up it this much, it has to be taken seriously: why this book, why this concept, and why now? Acclaimed author Karen Kelly sets out to answer this phenomenon in her new book, The Secret of The Secret: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Runaway Bestseller.
Kelly breaks her examination of The Secret into three parts. The first examines how Byrne’s work became so popular – experts in publishing and journalism weigh in why the DVD and book struck such a chord and what relevance it has to today’s social and political climate.
The second section breaks down the law of attraction’s historical, scientific and religious aspects. Kelly delves deeply into historical records and talks to experts from theology, psychology and quantum physics to reveal where the law of attraction originally came from and what’s credible and incredible about the claims Byrne makes about it. Was it “buried” by the powerful so the common man could not access the law’s power? Does science “prove” the law of attraction is fact? Did Jesus believe in it?
In the final section, Kelly looks at 9 historical figures mentioned in The Secret as using the law of attraction to discover if whether they actually did. They range from William Shakespeare to Albert Einstein, from Ludwig van Beethoven to Andrew Carnegie. Among her discoveries, Kelly found that many of the quotes attributed to these great figures by Byrne in The Secret, words that seemingly support their belief in the law of attraction, were either taken out of context, misinterpreted, or were never actually uttered by these legendary men.
The Secret book has spurred unbridled and passionate feelings on both sides of the argument. Critics have skewered its materialistic themes while fans establish websites and blogs so they can swap tales of miraculous successes. The Secret of the Secret’s sober-minded, provocative, and in-depth look at both sides of The Secret’s message and meaning will surely generate further debate among law of attraction practitioners and nay-sayers alike.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Kelly is a prolific author and journalist. She has collaborated on a number of non-fiction books, including Get Serious About Getting Married and Staring You!: The Insiders’ Guide to Using Television and Media to Launch Your Brand, Your Business and Your Life. She has written articles for The New York Times, Natural Health Magazine, Yoga Journal, and The Wall Street Journal. Kelly also worked as a Senior Editor at Warner Books and was Editorial Director of Daybreak Books, Rodale’s personal growth imprint, acquiring titles by Montel Williams, Darcy O’Brien, and Victoria Moran. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
