"Where has Oprah Taken Us"

Our culture loves its celebrities.  We buy tennis shoes, soft drinks and the like because of their endorsements.  We follow their movements whether we want to or not every time we visit the grocery store or turn on the television or computer.  We are fascinated by their success and enthralled by their personal struggles.

Celebrities have an impact (positively or negatively) on how we think.  Probably one of the most influential celebrities of our time is Oprah Winfrey.

"Where Has Oprah Taken Us?" by Stephen Mansfield is the story of Oprah Winfrey's personal path to her spiritual enlightenment and how she has taken literally millions of her viewers along this journey with her.  Starting with her Baptist upbringing, the story tells of how she rose to fame and chose to change her television program's focus from "shock-TV" to sharing and endorsing particular spiritual ideals, books, and "gurus".

Oprah has blended much Eastern mysticism into her own personal religious beliefs, arbitrarily selecting what "feels right" and discarding that which doesn't.  Because she has been so open about her past hurts, she has gained a "girlfriend" type of status with much of her audience.  That influence has prompted many to not only accept, but embrace the same merely because of her celebrity.

If you are up for a little mindless, easy, feel-good read, this certainly isn't it.  But I would highly recommend taking the time to read the short 219 pages.  I found the book to be enlightening and discussion-provoking.  If you are involved in a book club, I think this would be a great one for your group.

Photo source:  Amazon.com

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”