Reviewed for Readers' Favorite.

Though she studied to be a theologian, trusting that it would offer her something deeply meaningful, poor Adie cannot figure out her life mission. Ivinela Smuilova has created a sympathetic character in Adie, one with whom many will likely identify, in Life Can Be a Miracle. Like so many, Adie struggles because, although bright and talented, surrounded by those who care for her and with a satisfying job that she is good at, Adie is lost. She is lost in a world in which she knows she has a calling, but knows not what that calling is. In her journey, she joins a group of other like-minded people who find that traditional therapy and counseling just causes more confusion. With their help and the use of some interesting exercises, Adie determines that she is not searching, she is finding. Once done, she is open to the clues revealed and discovers her calling.

At times, Adie’s was pessimistic, yet she repeatedly grasped those bits that life handed to her and found their greater meaning. In Life Can be a Miracle, many will discover the miracle of thinking your way out of a situation, changing the behavior of others through your own thoughts, reducing the impact of a problem by removing the seriousness of it, and how a higher power may be speaking through life’s smallest and seemingly most insignificant events. Ivinela Smuilova has created a story that will challenge readers to look at life from new angles and perhaps to try new ways. 

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Ivinela Samuilova

Thanks to Leila Summers for this review -

"This book will appeal mostly to people who enjoy reading self-help, psychology, metaphysical and spiritual books or inspirational novels with a message. It does not necessarily read as a typical novel, though there is an enjoyable storyline that surrounds the insightful information. The book was translated into English from Bulgarian and the translation and the writing are excellent.

The story revolves around Adie, a woman who is searching for her purpose and Alexey, an unusual psychologist who runs seminars that Adie attends. I was most interested to discover that Alexey is a real person whom the author received permission from to use his real name and share his distinctive methods. This made the book all the more interesting for me because the information is authentic, and after trying out some of the techniques myself, I found that they actually work!

Alexey’s seminars are sometimes described in detail which I found fascinating. It was almost as though I was attending the seminar myself, which would be impossible under any other circumstance, because Alexey Bachev lives in Bulgaria and speaks Bulgarian. I read many non-fiction books, articles and listen to various speakers on these topics, so for me this was a unique experience.

Here is an edited section from one of Alexey’s seminars - We all hold a mental map in our heads about what life is, how to live, who we are, what is possible, what is not possible and so on. This mental map determines our perception of the world, but what it shows us in not the world…It is like when you pour liquid into a container: the liquid takes the form of the container. In the same way, reality flows into our (mental) maps, and thus our maps shape our reality. When we fill our mind with something, like a problem for example, then our mental map will take the shape of the problem… In other words, the mental map that we hold shapes our reality that we experience… (But) we can go beyond the limits of the reality that we have shaped.

There are so many interesting insights that the book took me longer than usual to read, as I stopped to take notes and digest them. I do hope that the author considers translating her other novels in English so that I can read them too.

I think that this book will appeal to anyone who has an open mind, a sense of adventure and humor, an interest in psychology, believes that we can shape our reality, and would like to learn some different and fun ways on how to handle a problem"

-- Leila Summers, author