Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self

Overview
Sarah Ban Breathnach's Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self continues the gentle, reflective path she opened with Simple Abundance, turning from gratitude and domestic rituals toward the deeper work of discovering who you truly are. The tone is intimate and conversational, blending autobiographical glimpses with practical guidance designed to help readers recognize and remove the layers that obscure their authentic selves. The book frames authenticity as a process of excavation: deliberate, gradual, and often tenderly unsettling.
Rather than promising overnight transformation, the text offers a steady methodology for self-inquiry. Ban Breathnach invites readers to examine inherited beliefs, social expectations, and habitual patterns that keep them living beneath their potential. The emphasis is on reclaiming inner authority and creative power through small, consistent practices that build self-knowledge and courage.

Core Themes
A central theme is the distinction between the self that has been shaped by others and the deeper self that holds original longings and gifts. Ban Breathnach encourages recognizing the difference between adaptive behaviors that once served a survival purpose and authentic desires that speak to a richer, more creative life. Honesty, self-compassion, and curiosity form the ethical backbone of the approach.
The work also explores the interplay between creativity and authenticity. Creativity is presented not merely as artistic output but as a way of living that honors intuition, play, and personal expression. By reconnecting with creative impulses and tending to inner life through ritual and reflection, readers are shown how to shift from reactive patterns to intentional choices.

Structure and Practical Tools
The book intersperses narrative passages with concrete exercises, prompts, and short rituals aimed at stimulating reflection and action. These tools include journaling prompts to probe limiting beliefs, guided imagery and visualization to access buried yearnings, and practical exercises for setting boundaries and simplifying life. Each practice is designed to be attainable, encouraging steady progress rather than perfection.
Many of the suggested activities are inward-facing and solitary, emphasizing the importance of listening and witnessing one's own experience. Others invite small, outward acts, setting aside time for creativity, rearranging a space to reflect personal taste, or crafting a ritual to mark a transition. The cumulative effect of these practices is intended to build clarity, resilience, and a sense of inward direction.

Tone and Audience
The voice throughout is warm and maternal without being prescriptive, addressing an audience largely composed of women seeking grounded spiritual and psychological guidance. Ban Breathnach writes with a mix of memoir-style confession and cheerleading, offering personal anecdotes as proof that change is possible. The approach is accessible to readers new to introspective work while still offering depth for those more experienced in self-examination.
There is a steady undercurrent of encouragement: authenticity is presented as both attainable and practical. The book reassures readers that excavation can be done alongside daily life and that small acts of honesty and self-care accumulate into meaningful shifts.

Impact and Resonance
Something More resonated with readers who appreciated the blend of literary grace and usable advice, reinforcing Ban Breathnach's reputation as a voice for domestic spirituality and soulful living. The book complements the themes of Simple Abundance by moving beyond gratitude into purposeful self-discovery, and it has continued to find readers seeking resources for inner work that feel intimate, humane, and doable.
Its lasting appeal lies in its insistence that authenticity is not an abstract ideal but a cultivated condition: accessible through reflection, practice, and a willingness to excavate the self with patience and compassion.