Product Description

The Architecture of All Abundance is a combination of memoir and spiritual guidebook from the mother of singer-songwriter Jewel. Navigating the shark-infested waters of the entertainment industry, recovering from life-threatening illness, and rebounding from business failure, Lenedra Carroll has pioneered innovative principles for building success in the material world. Engaging stories deftly portray alternative ways to attain prosperity, love, good health, and a sense of purpose while living ethically and in harmony with others. Practical exercises make the seven principles clear and accessible for every reader.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90781 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Amazon.com Review
Lenedra Carroll, the mother and manager of singer/songwriter Jewel, offers a memoir that speaks to her spiritual theories on creating abundance. The Architecture of All Abundance, her "rag to riches" life story, starts out when the author is a young girl growing up poor in a small Alaskan village and winds up with Carroll becoming a successful CEO of a global entertainment enterprise. More than a memoir, this is more accurately an inspirational book on how you too can build a fulfilling life that includes plenty of spirit and prosperity. Carroll emphasizes the timeless truths of spiritual abundance--ones that readers have probably heard before: listen to your soul's voice, ask the right questions, make time for stillness, own the fear instead of avoiding it, remember that generosity generates prosperity. Yet, like any effective teacher, Carroll has the ability to package these nuggets of wisdom with just the right anecdote or just the right phrasing so that it finally sinks in. It's not uncommon to find provocative passages such as, "We can all realize that while the fear is real, it is also true that what we fear is like a mirage rising off the heat of a projected or past pain." Although her structure of alternating poetry, personal stories, and spiritual advice makes the book slightly disjointed, Carroll's eloquence as a narrator ties it together. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly
A gallery owner, glass artist and manager of her pop-star daughter Jewel's singing and movie career, Carroll explains how she achieved an abundant life and fulfilling career. Unfortunately, her fuzzy inspirational insights are better expressed elsewhere and take up far more space than her personal anecdotes, which, though few, are written with clarity and feeling. Carroll advocates practicing such spiritual principles as "courting stillness, committing to be creative, evoking our courage, asking better questions, challenging our context and remembering it as a dream" via meditation, quiet walks, time alone and so on. Creativity, Carroll suggests, lies in the ability to shift our "context," which she calls the defining factor of our lives. Moving into the realm of her daughter's career, Carroll relates how she helped 19-year-old Jewel focus her thoughts by continually asking her, "Is it time?" She emphasized that Jewel's career should develop organically, in tune with her psyche and creativity. Thus, instead of encouraging Jewel to begin with a demo tape, Carroll led her into a gig at a local coffeehouse, where she gained experience in front of an audience and was eventually heard by record industry representatives. Carroll stresses the power of all-encompassing "Love," which she calls the flower of the plant different from sexual love, the plant's seeds. Abruptly moving between concepts, Carroll's thoughts don't cohere, and the book is ultimately confusing. (Oct.)Forecast: Jewel's fans may find satisfying nuggets about their idol here, but little of this material will benefit the self-help audience. Nonetheless, a $50,000 marketing budget, a first serial in O, the Oprah Magazine, selection by One Spirit Book Club and promotion on Jewel's Web site will help sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Singer, artist, and business manager of daughter Jewel's singing career, Carroll is a multitalented New Age woman. Here, she begins by sharing some of her experiences growing up in Homer, AK, surrounded by offbeat, independent people. From there she went on to establish a nonprofit group called Higher Ground for Humanity and the Clearwater Project, an organization dedicated to providing safe drinking water for Third World countries. Clearly organized into seven sections "The Architecture of Life," "Stillness," "Prosperity," "Workplace," "Health," "Love," and "The Soul," her book progresses from silence and meditation to choosing a path that works, dreaming about that path, and finally finding employment in a field that makes the soul happy. What results is a thought-provoking study shining with refreshing ideas and wisdom that will appeal to readers of James Redfield's The Celestine Prophesy and The Tenth Insight. Recommended for public libraries. Lisa Wise, Broome Cty. P.L., Binghamton, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.