Sean Russell’s Love, Light & Other Beautiful Lies is a poetic memoir that gently unravels a decade-long spiritual journey with raw honesty, lyrical introspection, and a good dose of humility. It’s a collection of reflections, poems, and emotional snapshots that chart the evolution of a seeker from the bright-eyed idealism of early awakening to the weary, tender wisdom of a man who’s stared down his own illusions and kept walking. The book moves in reverse chronology, starting with recent revelations and working its way back through the darkest nights and earliest stirrings of transformation.

What I loved most is how deeply human this book is. It doesn’t put enlightenment on a pedestal or try to sell transcendence as a shiny object. In “new age,” Russell pokes fun at his own spiritual ego, saying, “an all-loving divine form of a human, blessing the world with a radiant and unique light you were so proud to hold.” I’ve definitely been there, thinking I’m above the mess when I’m just knee-deep in a more glittery version of it. The humility with which he revisits his younger self made me feel less alone in my own mess.

The writing is honest, graceful, and gut-punching when it wants to be. It’s not showy. It’s not trying to be clever. It just is. “Everything becomes a crust,” he writes in “where we meet,” talking about how even the most sacred routines can become cages. There’s something really beautiful about how he holds space for contradiction. You can feel his former self trying so hard to be perfect, and current him just… breathing through the cracks. That contrast is where the magic lives. Poems like “growing up” and “written in blood” pulled me in with their clarity and they didn’t try to dress up the pain, but they didn’t wallow in it either. They just told the truth.

And then there are these moments, scattered all over, where he really opens the door and lets you into the most awkward, neurotic, precious parts of the journey. Like in “cheeseburger with a side of epiphany,” where he watches people grilling meat and realizes his judgment is really just loneliness in disguise. This one felt really relatable. These aren’t poems trying to impress you. They’re more like conversations you have at 3 a.m. when no one’s pretending anymore.

Love, Light & Other Beautiful Lies isn’t just about spirituality. It’s about being alive. Messy, contradictory, beautiful life. I’d recommend this to anyone who’s ever gotten lost in their own reflection, anyone who’s tried to meditate their way out of being human, or anyone who’s looking for a reminder that awakening is not a straight line, it’s a spiral, a stumble, a dance.

Pages: 166 | ASIN : B0DWJZJCV5