Nonfiction

A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World

A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World

  • Downloads：8557
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-04-22 06:51:54
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Derren Brown
  • ISBN：0552177105
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Enlightening， thought-provoking and illuminating。 Derren Brown asks questions about the world， and his intelligent curiosity benefits us all。'
ELIZABETH DAY


In A Book of Secrets， internationally bestselling author Derren Brown shows us that it is in those
moments when we are faced with adversity that we can find life's most lasting rewards。

In thirteen fascinating chapters， Derren takes us on a personal journey - to the scene of a childhood humiliation， to lonely evenings on tour， to being paralysed by shyness at a dinner party， to navigating middle age and to finding love。

Sharing moments of anger， frustration， loneliness and loss， Derren reveals how it's possible to find consolation and compassion。 Even in our most challenging times we can find meaning and grow。

'Derren Brown is a mine of wisdom， humanity and kindness - everything we need to sustain and nourish ourselves。'
ALAIN DE BOTTON

***** 'This is the most I've seen Derren lay himself bare'
***** 'Funny， moving and always， always meaningful'
***** 'Derren's best book to date and the best book I have read this year'
***** 'Everything you need in this is a gem。 I can't wait to read it a second time'

Download

Reviews

peppersocks ，

Reflections and lessons learned:“Of course， then， we repeat ourselves， and arrive at the same situations again and again。 To experience relief from this cycle we need to release the magnetic power of much of the past。 Trying slowly to face the future， we acknowledge that despite our feverish goal-setting， we cannot control what lies ahead。 More effectively， as we have discussed， our attention must atsome point come to fall gently upon ourselves， and the seeking of an inner congruity which starts Reflections and lessons learned:“Of course， then， we repeat ourselves， and arrive at the same situations again and again。 To experience relief from this cycle we need to release the magnetic power of much of the past。 Trying slowly to face the future， we acknowledge that despite our feverish goal-setting， we cannot control what lies ahead。 More effectively， as we have discussed， our attention must atsome point come to fall gently upon ourselves， and the seeking of an inner congruity which starts within and extends into the relationships of our life。 The new orientation is towards growth rather than repetition and regress”“Ooo， a new book by Brown with a mysterious and enticing title - this will be a good one”… three chapters in…”ahhh… errrm？！”…8 chapters in “aha… I see now…maybe？！”I’ve followed the career of Brown at a distance with some trepidation of the skills and trickery， but I can’t deny the gentle clever personality that comes through in the books。 Wonderfully considered， and even though it felt that this was going a bit of an unusual direction to start with， it soon came back with an awful switch from NY city living and performing to UK lockdown and loss。 At times did it feel a bit smug， but again， his honest and out there personality easily nullifies these moments back down to mere descriptors and a yearning to establish connection and setting。 Very wordy， but how can any of us stop or question this fabulous confident and composed mind 。。。more

Mancman ，

Very thought provoking， and uses everyday examples to hammer the point home。 Slightly bloated in places， but with a genuine desire to change people’s lives。The author shares more than I’ve experienced in his prior book。

David Llinares ，

Overall a good book。 Digging deep in what sometimes can be uncomfortable to acknowledge， say or accept。The downside for me， is in some moments the way is written it's too linguistically pompous （nothing to do with the author or what is saying and more with my mood when I read。 English is not my first language）。 It's a good book to go along after reading Happy！ from same author。 🙂 Overall a good book。 Digging deep in what sometimes can be uncomfortable to acknowledge， say or accept。The downside for me， is in some moments the way is written it's too linguistically pompous （nothing to do with the author or what is saying and more with my mood when I read。 English is not my first language）。 It's a good book to go along after reading Happy！ from same author。 🙂 。。。more

Catherine ，

Always an enjoyable challenge to read a Derren Brown book。 It is a book that you can pick up and get something new from it every time you read it。 It has helped me to challenge my perspective especially now that I am middle aged！ 😊

Wendy Garnham ，

Quite a dense read- had to re-read sections to get the gist。 Some excellent points made but it felt like hard work to get through this

Emma Cox ，

Building on from 'Happy，' Derren fills in the gaps which Stoicism fails to fill。 An interesting and at times quite personal book。 Building on from 'Happy，' Derren fills in the gaps which Stoicism fails to fill。 An interesting and at times quite personal book。 。。。more

David Grimstone ，

This one was hard going but ultimately worth it。 Over the years， Derren Brown has moved away from exposing the often （and surprisingly） mundane mechanics of many of his most astounding feats of magic and misdirection and started to concentrate instead on philosophy and psychology in a very introspective way。 This really started in his book ‘Happy’ but is ultimately fleshed out here as he tackles a number of deep and moving subjects， including the meaning of life （largely around the death of his This one was hard going but ultimately worth it。 Over the years， Derren Brown has moved away from exposing the often （and surprisingly） mundane mechanics of many of his most astounding feats of magic and misdirection and started to concentrate instead on philosophy and psychology in a very introspective way。 This really started in his book ‘Happy’ but is ultimately fleshed out here as he tackles a number of deep and moving subjects， including the meaning of life （largely around the death of his father during the first COVID outbreak） and what tend to be our ultimate goals around relationships， ageing and finding true happiness。 This is a really profound book and exceptionally heavy。 Derren dramatically changed his narrative voice somewhere after Trick of the Mind and Confessions of a Conjurer， so this one in particular reads like an author taking off his public persona mask and actually writing as the human being beneath it。 Powerful stuff and quite upsetting in places but also kinda wonderful。 。。。more

Steven ，

“Sometimes becoming who you are involves getting over who you think you should be”Damn Daniel

Adam Chamberlain ，

"We embrace ambiguity because it acknowledges the sentience of others and the staggering expanse of our ignorance。 Its denial motivates a neurotic compulsion to reinvent the world in our image。 Its acceptance， on the other hand， is the task of growing up。"A deeply affecting and thoughtful volume characterised by his sharp， self-deprecating sense of humour and fine way with words， as is consistently the case with Derren Brown's writing。 I found so much that resonated and/or moved me deeply herein "We embrace ambiguity because it acknowledges the sentience of others and the staggering expanse of our ignorance。 Its denial motivates a neurotic compulsion to reinvent the world in our image。 Its acceptance， on the other hand， is the task of growing up。"A deeply affecting and thoughtful volume characterised by his sharp， self-deprecating sense of humour and fine way with words， as is consistently the case with Derren Brown's writing。 I found so much that resonated and/or moved me deeply herein， and perhaps not least as I am in the same period of midlife as the author。 Time and again， the topics he lands upon are ones that I have considered for myself， and for which he reveals his own experience and wisdom alongside curated thoughts from great thinkers throughout history。 Through its personal reflections set against such philosophies， this book is genuinely revelatory with its lessons of how to live with ourselves， alongside others， and how best to 'be' in the world。 I will reflect upon and revisit this tome often， I am certain， for its "glimpses of clarity offered by the gentle untangling of threads"。 A vital book， then， it gets my highest recommendation。 。。。more

Emma Thurgood ，

It took me part of the book to get into Derren’s style of writing， as it requires a slower reading-and-thinking style to the rushed style I’m generally used to。 Plus it felt a bit all over the place at first。 Once I did acclimatise， I found the book profoundly enjoyable， and through its wonderful philosophical and psychodynamic ideas found myself understanding parts of myself I hadn’t before。 The chapter about relationships felt particularly ground-breaking。 I loved Derren’s compassion throughou It took me part of the book to get into Derren’s style of writing， as it requires a slower reading-and-thinking style to the rushed style I’m generally used to。 Plus it felt a bit all over the place at first。 Once I did acclimatise， I found the book profoundly enjoyable， and through its wonderful philosophical and psychodynamic ideas found myself understanding parts of myself I hadn’t before。 The chapter about relationships felt particularly ground-breaking。 I loved Derren’s compassion throughout the book and the humour that makes it so readable- the methods to ‘address domestic tensions’ were excellent， and I’m going to try the ‘Prayer time’ technique the next time my boyfriend is being a narcissistic pig。   Sent from Mail for Windows  。。。more

Nathan ，

Absolutely wonderful as an audiobook， as always Derren has a charming and animated voice which really brings his words to life。 For the people complaining about it being too verbose， have you not heard that man speak？ He has an authentic poetic streak about him so giving a low rating this book because of his verbal fluency is ridiculous…Russell brand is an example of a far more superfluous communicator but that’s one of the things that makes him endearing in the first place。 If you enjoy simplis Absolutely wonderful as an audiobook， as always Derren has a charming and animated voice which really brings his words to life。 For the people complaining about it being too verbose， have you not heard that man speak？ He has an authentic poetic streak about him so giving a low rating this book because of his verbal fluency is ridiculous…Russell brand is an example of a far more superfluous communicator but that’s one of the things that makes him endearing in the first place。 If you enjoy simplistic drudgery there are literally hundreds of thousands of dull authors out there to scratch your itch but he isn’t one of them。 This type of book doesn’t need a rigid and definitive structure either as that doesn’t serve its function， it’s ok to enjoy meandering thoughts and have some insight into his brilliant mind。 。。。more

Thomas Dixon ，

A bit wordy sometimes， but warm， inspirational and very reflective on how to be more kind in a strange confusing world。

Hayley ，

Thank you to Transworld Publishers for sending me a copy of 𝐀 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 by Derren Brown， which is an interesting memoir， from someone I've admired for a long time。-𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐯𝐞？ 。。。 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥， 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠。 𝐍𝐨𝐭， 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞， 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠。-Similar to his other books， and work in general， Brown challe Thank you to Transworld Publishers for sending me a copy of 𝐀 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 by Derren Brown， which is an interesting memoir， from someone I've admired for a long time。-𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐯𝐞？ 。。。 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥， 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠。 𝐍𝐨𝐭， 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞， 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠。-Similar to his other books， and work in general， Brown challenges the reader's perceptions throughout A Book of Secrets。In Happy， he reiterated that there is no one true definition of happiness， and the same is true for any quick win or shortcut we try to take in being content。Life isn't perfect， and as humans none of us are perfect either。-𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝， 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨， 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰， 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲， 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲。-Brown shares his own imperfections and challenges in life。One story he regales the reader with that stayed with me， is how shy he can be in certain company; we see the showman on stage performing regularly and expect that confidence to exude the same way off the stage as on， but life isn't like that。In fact， as an introvert， sometimes people think you are arrogant and standoffish in these scenarios， when nothing could be further from the truth！-𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬， 𝐈'𝐦 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐲。 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭: 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐟， 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝， 𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝。 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞。-Brown shares insight into his experience of the covid-19 pandemic， sharing the passing of his Father， and the strange unreality that we have all been facing recently。But he also argues for the benefits of friction， and stress， and reiterates how even in what feels like the worst times， these emotions that are often viewed as negative are precisely what help us grow as people。-𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞， 𝐢𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬， 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞。-I'd definitely recommend A Book of Secrets to fans of Derren Brown， and readers who enjoy memoirs。I imagine this also works really well as an audiobook， especially as Brown narrates it himself， and I would definitely read more from him in the future。 。。。more

Oismiffy ，

Not quite a DNF but I think I only read about 60% overall。 Should have been 2-stars， but to be fair I’ve assumed the unread 40% contained something that was worth a star to someone。Quite a disappointment。 Admittedly I’m not a fan of biographies or self-help books， but I’ve read a few of Derren’s other books and enjoyed them。 This however was boring and a bit self-indulgent。It was also too wordy， and I often couldn’t understand the point that was being made。 It could well be that I’m not as intel Not quite a DNF but I think I only read about 60% overall。 Should have been 2-stars， but to be fair I’ve assumed the unread 40% contained something that was worth a star to someone。Quite a disappointment。 Admittedly I’m not a fan of biographies or self-help books， but I’ve read a few of Derren’s other books and enjoyed them。 This however was boring and a bit self-indulgent。It was also too wordy， and I often couldn’t understand the point that was being made。 It could well be that I’m not as intelligent as I thought， and others may find it a work of excellence。 Doubt it though。 。。。more

Rebecca ，

In some ways an odd， eclectic book that can feel at times like it’s all over the place， but I’ve absolutely loved it， and came to see towards the end that what initially felt disjointed was actually very cleverly structured。 Brown contemplates some life lessons in a vivid way， which draws on philosophy， sociology and psychology in order to guide his thinking。 It builds on Happy， with a healthy dose of Stoicism， but also draws attention to where Stoicism fails us， particularly in terms of human i In some ways an odd， eclectic book that can feel at times like it’s all over the place， but I’ve absolutely loved it， and came to see towards the end that what initially felt disjointed was actually very cleverly structured。 Brown contemplates some life lessons in a vivid way， which draws on philosophy， sociology and psychology in order to guide his thinking。 It builds on Happy， with a healthy dose of Stoicism， but also draws attention to where Stoicism fails us， particularly in terms of human interactions。 He uses his own experiences whilst writing the book to great effect。 During the writing of ‘A Book of Secrets’ Brown is initially working away from home on a Broadway show， enters lockdown， loses his father， and moves house。 The chapter which deals with the loss of his father is possibly one of the most moving things I have ever read， and the chapter which deals with his approaching middle age is extraordinarily thoughtful。 Some will get frustrated with Brown’s colourful， flowery style of writing。 I enjoyed it， but only once I realised the best way for me to read this book was slowly and delicately， often re reading paragraphs to think them over。 This definitely won’t be for everyone though。 At one point I considered giving this just 4 stars simply because I enjoyed Happy more， but that wouldn’t do justice to this thought provoking， sublime and very touching book。 One of just a handful of books that I’ve finished but want to reread again within the year。 。。。more

Hannah Robinson ，

Reading this book felt like Derren was taking you on a journey with him from start to finish。 A fun mix of philosophy， biography and self-help。 I admit， like others， I had to take advantage of my kindle dictionary during the earlier chapters but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of it， and I found myself needing it less as the chapters went on。I thoroughly enjoyed this book， and the stories and ideas shared throughout。 Reading this book felt like Derren was taking you on a journey with him from start to finish。 A fun mix of philosophy， biography and self-help。 I admit， like others， I had to take advantage of my kindle dictionary during the earlier chapters but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of it， and I found myself needing it less as the chapters went on。I thoroughly enjoyed this book， and the stories and ideas shared throughout。 。。。more

Sean Welsh ，

A very clever book and if anything too clever for me。 But we’ll written and some very good insights。

Lacer ，

This was a bit of a weird book。 Still， it's got a very firm five stars from me for the last few chapters， which were like the book/audiobook （I half read - half listened to this one） equivalent of Derren Brown walking into my bedroom （where I was reading/listening to the book）， pulling up a chair and going “right， this is what’s going on in your life， it's fine， it's normal， have you thought about thinking about things this way？”。 Basically， buy this book/audiobook if you're having a bit of a mi This was a bit of a weird book。 Still， it's got a very firm five stars from me for the last few chapters， which were like the book/audiobook （I half read - half listened to this one） equivalent of Derren Brown walking into my bedroom （where I was reading/listening to the book）， pulling up a chair and going “right， this is what’s going on in your life， it's fine， it's normal， have you thought about thinking about things this way？”。 Basically， buy this book/audiobook if you're having a bit of a midlife crisis and persevere through the first chapters。 The first chapters are okay; the whole book is sort of like a diary， starting with Derren wondering around New York during the day， writing in coffee shops before performing on Broadway at night， then moving on to the COVID lockdowns （those chapters were rather moving） and then onto the process of moving into a new house。 The book is a bit random， but it's good。 。。。more

Vicky ，

3。5 stars。 Some nuggets of wisdom but I found it got more waffly as it went on。 I couldn’t work out if I found the overly flowery descriptions endearing or pretentious。

Tee ，

This book was too wordy and felt like the topics were loosely strung together。 I enjoyed the parts that were more autobiographical but some of it read too much like a research paper in a subject I struggled to follow rather than the semi-self-help book it marketed itself as。

Claire ，

I deliberated between giving this either a 4 or 5 star rating。 Because even though it was an immensely involving view at life and everyone’s part in the world， I did find it at times a bit ‘wordy’。 But this is Derren Brown！ Someone who I’ve had the pleasure to meet numerous times （lovely guy） and who I always find that anything he has to say to be not just interesting but funny， moving and always， always meaningful。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0