Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want [Paperback]

As the previous Sher book that I read, this one is well written, goes really easy and contains a lot of good insight as far as analyzing personal experiences of the author. That part, imo, is 100% bona fide. But then we get to those energetic, very categorical pronunciamentoes, incantations, and quasi-religious "you can do it" pep talk, and that's where it gets more questionable. The author posits a lot, but where is supporting evidence? Personal history cases, how do I know it's not all made up? Are those real people? Were they interviewed again, 20 years later, to see where they are now, and are they successful, and if so, how much of their success is due to Sher's techniques and how much to something else? I mean, it all seems blatantly deficient in the scientific method department. The fact that the book is published is no proof of concepts offered therein. At the same time, Sher proposes a number of rather radical ideas here, so be careful if you decide to implement them headlong. For example: she completely - no make it COMPLETELY - ignores the factor of time. She goes, you try this, if it's no good, you try something else, and again and again, at least you're accumulating life experience. My man, that's very true about experience, but consider this: you try something at 20, and next time you'll be 30, another try, boom, you're 40. I don't say don't do anything, I say the author's oblivious to that side, so don't be too quick to jump in if you got a mortgage... that usually happens after you reach 30. Another thing, she puts a lot of weight on exploring your, for lack of better word, "inner depths" in order to find general direction. But what about the fact that you simply don't know a lot? The problem is, an individual's progression in life is much more complex and his exposure to different things is much more important that mining the dormant childhood fantasies. Which intersects with the time factor I've mentioned above. So, from that standpoint, the book is simplistic, it ignores important and rather obvious things.

OK, to summarize it all: it's a useful book (the analytical component is flawless) to read if you're very deliberate in interpreting it and super careful in acting out the advice. Otherwise, be careful. It's not really any kind of scientific research, and the author is unlikely to be accountable in any way for the results. The author is a lady who switched jobs herself and it's completely unclear from this book what credentials she can claim to the line of work she's supposedly in at the moment, other than the low quality of social services in NYC that enabled her to enter a field for which she's not qualified professionally - and even that assuming what the book says about it is true, of which I'm certain not at all. I also came to question the mass of glowing reviews here, after all, didn't the things I've mentioned occur to anyone else?

I first read WishCraft in 1990. I was homeless and emotionally destitute, in the worst part of my mid-life crisis, and clutching at straws to find ways to rebuild my life. A friend whose couch I was sleeping on suggested I give it a read, and I did.

I have since rebuilt my life. I have the wife of my dreams, a home overlooking Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong and a brand-new, bright and shining son, all of which I treasure.

This is two "five year plans" down the road, and I still use the book's tools as an outline for planning and shaping my life. It is not the only tool I use, but it is invaluable. It provides a reference for me to determine and adjust my life's goals.

Like any such book, I don't believe you should marry it. It is not a bible. Rather, it is a guidebook, and especially suited for those of us who have not had any training is creating life strategies.

Why should we spend most of our working lives in jobs we don't like? This book really helped me see I could make a living at what I loved.

I used to be a Legal Assistant. Now I'm now a working singer and actress, with a computer consultancy on the side. I am very happy and doing work I love.