29 Gifts

September 29, 2009
Just a month after her wedding, 31-year-old Walker was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; two years later, she was bitter, isolated, and addicted to both pain medication and self-pity. In need of help beyond drug detox, Cami takes the advice of a South African healer: give away something every day, for 29 days. Walker soon learns that being mindful of giving also means being open to gifts from others, and that gratefulness and mutual generosity is the key to a better, more rewarding life. Glimpses into Walker's day-to-day difficulties-work, family life, constant therapeutic treatment and addiction recovery among them-crop up among the stories of her daily gifts, grounding the work (based on Walker's Web site) in personal details. But the meat, an admirable reworking of The Secret (in that it should actually help someone, at least gift recipients), speaks largely to those already initiated into the cult of positivity.