November 27, 2023
The Light Bulb Effect:
Finding Peace After Life Has Broken You Into Pieces
Jennifer Michelle, MS
Aviva Publishing (2023)
978-1-63618-287-2 (softcover)
978-1-63618-288-9 (hardcover)
978-1-63618-289-6 (ebook)
New Book Offers Light Bulb Metaphor for Picking Up Pieces of Shattered Life
Jennifer Michelle’s new book The Light Bulb Effect: Finding Peace After Life Has Broken You Into Pieces offers a wonderful metaphor for how we can repair our brokenness and begin to spread our light to the world. Jennifer was inspired to write the book after she was tightening a green light bulb in her Halloween decorations and it shattered in her hand. She states, “I saw shards of glass everywhere and a problem that needed to be fixed. Just as that light bulb started out whole with a purpose, so did you. No one in this world is unbroken, but the exciting fact is that in your brokenness, you can find your light, your purpose, and your passion.”
Jennifer plays off the light bulb metaphor throughout the book, even including some history of light bulbs and inspiring quotes from Thomas Edison. All of it is used to help the reader realize that no matter how broken they may feel, they can be repaired. They are stronger than they think, and they can accomplish anything they want. To recover from being broken, we need to embark on a journey that is “intentional, authentic, and filled with vulnerability and self-kindness.” Like Edison who “failed” many times before he succeeded in creating a working light bulb, similarly, we need to embrace failure because it helps us refine our efforts so we can achieve what we want.
Learning how to shine your light can be hard, so Jennifer advocates finding a mentor to help you. That is what worked for her, and she wrote this book to serve as a type of mentor to get you started. As someone with a Master’s in Marriage and Family Counseling and the business owner of Family Counseling Services in Meridian, Idaho, since 2008, Jennifer has a lot of experience helping people. That’s quite impressive for someone who at one time thought she’d never even earn a college degree. She has succeeded, and she has helped many others to make their shattered lives whole, so she knows the same is possible for you.
Jennifer walks the reader through such topics as how to find your strengths, discover your authentic self, invest in your light, embrace your broken pieces, develop your leadership skills, work through life transitions, and create a sustainable future for yourself. Throughout the book, she offers powerful exercises to help the reader apply what they learned. For example, early in the book she asks the reader to remember what they dreamt about becoming when they were younger, what elements of that dream they still carry with them, and what steps they might take to make it a reality.
The light bulb metaphor continues as Jennifer discusses light versus dark. Too often, the darkness can trick us into believing we are alone. She encourages us to find others to share our light. At the same time, she offers tips for coping with or avoiding those who try to extinguish our light. She reminds us that Edison’s light bulb went through many developmental stages. So does our light. As we progress, our light will grow stronger and stay lit longer. When we learn to shine our light on things we thought we should be ashamed of, those things will also lose their power, just as something that appears scary in the dark becomes nothing to fear when it enters the light. In addition, when we shine our light, we encourage others to shine theirs until everyone’s light shines stronger, creating “a never-ending supply of strength and encouragement for all involved.”
We can strive to shine our light in numerous ways even amid life’s greatest difficulties. We can do it by checking in on the scripts and language we use with ourselves daily and removing those that are outdated. We can spread light by helping others. We can become servant leaders. As Jennifer states, “Leadership is more about ensuring those you lead have what they need to grow and be successful.” We can learn to let go of things that are holding us back. We can also learn to be gentle with ourselves, knowing it’s okay to have conflicting feelings as we make our transitions.
Personal relationships can be tricky because they give us a chance to shine our light but also give others a chance to take it from us. Jennifer discusses the importance of maintaining autonomy in your personhood and relationships. She knows that when you keep your individual light bright, it brightens your light as a couple, and it also allows you to shine brightly for your partner when their own light may be a bit dim, thus helping them to strengthen it.
The Light Bulb Effect will not only teach you how to heal your brokenness. It will teach you to shine your light so you become a beacon to all around you. Jennifer shows us how to go from being in pieces to finding lasting peace that will inspire others. As she states, “When you give of your light, you lose nothing. The act of giving will add to your strength.” You may feel broken, but you have a lot to offer this world. The Light Bulb Effect will help you learn to shine again.
For more information about Jennifer Michelle and The Light Bulb Effect, visit www.LightBulbEffect.com.
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD and award-winning author of Narrow Lives and The Best Place
