I Know I’m In There Somewhere: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Her Inner Voice and Living a Life of Authenticity (Penguin USA, 2003)
“It is every woman’s birthright to live from her true self. Yet instead, women live their lives standing outside themselves, always ready to judge their feelings, their thoughts and their bodies from an external standard and find themselves wanting.”
Women today, more than at any time in history, can do anything and be anything they want to be. So why do so many women still feel like they “lose themselves” somewhere along the way?
Instead of trying to “improve” themselves and change their thoughts and belief systems, Dr. Brenner shows women how to become grounded in an unshakeable source of self-esteem and integrity – their own Inner Voice.
Filled with lively case studies, surprising insights, loads of practical advice and 27 simple yet powerful “innercizes” to help you access and live from your inner voice, this “self-acceptance” book offers women a whole new way to relate to themselves, improve their relationships and create the lives they truly want. Let I Know I’m in There Somewhere show you how to get back in touch—or stay better in touch—with your true self, so you remain in the “driver’s seat” of your life.
What People Are Saying
I’ve been in the human potential field for over 30 years and I’ve rarely seen a book that excited me as much as this one. There is a quiet revolution here, a revolution in the way we approach our own development as human beings.
In a refreshing change from the usual “here’s what’s wrong with you and here’s how you fix it” approach, Brenner answers this question: What would growing and changing be like if they were done from the perspective that there is nothing wrong with us to start with? With inspiring real-life stories and practical, inviting exercises, she guides us through a path of inner acceptance that includes honoring what we know, sensing the wisdom of our bodies, and honoring our true desires.
Most of the time when I read self-help books I ignore the exercises. But Brenner’s exercises (she calls them “Innercises”) are so tempting, I found I was doing them effortlessly. They are deeply validating, including one on how to start from what you DO know (you know more than you think you do!). I was in a workshop last weekend, read one of the exercises out loud, and everyone in the group found it so inviting that we spent the next half hour doing it together. The glowing faces when we finished were a testament to the ease and empowerment found all through this book.
This profound, beautiful, and nurturing book is so packed with inspiration, I find myself going back to every section again and again. There is so much here, I feel I can only scratch the surface in a review. Spirituality, relationships, career, manifesting our dreams… Yes it is for women AND it is for all of us. We all need to reclaim what we really know and who we really are.
~ Ann Weiser Cornell, Oakland, CA
I just finished this book and doing all the wonderful “innercizes.” The author is so accepting, so celebrational of individuality and diversity, so gentle, so supportive, and so visionary, and her heart and wisdom shine through every helpful, healing, powerful word. Dr. Brenner’s many intertwined ideas are beautifully organized, and are enjoyably, simply, compellingly and clearly shared. I look forward to sharing this book with many friends. I’m so grateful for all the lovely doors it has opened within me.
~ Nancy Pace, Frederick, MD
A well-thought-out and intriguing guide for women who strive to accept themselves and live accordingly. I Know I’m in There Somewhere offers an alternative stance for women who wish to become grounded, harness their self-esteem and unleash their integrity
In a down-to-earth style as if she’s personally chatting to you, Helene guides readers through the processes needed to firstly find your inner voice, learn to listen to it and finally live from it. One of the aspects that makes the book both enjoyable and encouraging is the numerous real-life examples of women who’ve been out-of-touch with their inner voices, but managed to reacquaint themselves through using Helene’s approach. These are interspersed throughout the text with feeling and compassion, adding a new perspective that really brings the theory to life.
Additionally, there are lots of aptly termed “innercizes” – practical exercises to complete that aim to help readers access and live from their Inner Voice – and these, too, help put things into perspective.
In essence, this book is a real antidote to the typical “you need to change” self-help book that many people have had more than enough of. It’s inspirational, positive, helpful and, above all, its messages and suggestions are fully achievable.
~ Rachel Newcombe
Wow! I Know I’m in There Somewhere has actually truly saved my life and possibly my marriage. I think it should be required reading for every parent and teenager, boy and girl. (I’m 38 with four children.)
When my youngest child started to go to pre-school recently, I discovered, like many of the women in your book, that I was very unhappy. My husband and I had become just parenting partners and we had no relationship. I started to believe my unhappiness was my husband’s fault and that I didn’t love him anymore. I happened upon the book and picked it up because the title was exactly how I felt.
By the end of reading the intro I knew the book was for me. I realized I wasn’t unhappy because my husband was controlling, but because my inner self was NEVER allowed to develop. I have 38 years to catch up on. I’m working on finding my inner voice now, and my husband is totally supportive. It’s been a Godsend.~ E.R., Florida
~ Laurie Radheshwar
I always thought that something like “the truth” doesn’t exist, but for me, I Know I’m in There Somewhere simply feels like the essential truth about what is going on in a woman’s soul.
Reading it, I often had the impression of somebody holding me protectively in her hands. It felt like being in a shelter, very safe where I could expose my real self, look at it, accept and learn to love it. Reading I Know I’m in There Somewhere, I felt fully understood for the very first time in my life.
~ G.Z., Munich, Germany
Helene, your book has been an instrument of power. Those words do not adequately capture your work and wisdom, it simply cannot be defined by words. It has marvelously created an entire new level of being. Your ever-so-gentle guidance of love, compassion and self-acceptance has me radiating from within. It’s the only book that has agreed with my innermost being and been accepted by my heart most effortlessly. So much these days is focused on fear, improving, changing, moving, do this, do that… what a gift this book is!
– Christine Hartalis, Australia
~ Stanley Wilson,Mill Creek, WA