Return to the Light Within: How I Woke Up, Rediscovered Who I Am, and Found Happiness

Dmitria Burby’s Return to the Light Within: How I Woke Up, Rediscovered Who I am, and Found Happiness vulnerably recounts her personal journey from a high achieving career to becoming a spiritual healer. This memoir conveys Burby’s struggles with separating her self-worth from her productivity levels, guilt from her ambitions, and overwhelming anxiety revolving around her life’s purpose.

The memoir begins by highlighting the question of “Who am I?”, an answer many think they know but as Burby reveals do not. Her personal journey began with this question as she realized she could not answer what her purpose was and why she was unfulfilled. Living a seemingly picture-perfect life with a beautiful family and a very successful career, Burby struggled with these feelings, suppressing them. The more she pushed away from this unhappiness with “busyness”, the worse she became and developed severe anxiety. After taking medications and seeing therapists, Burby realized she needed to start a journey of self-discovery if she ever wanted to feel happy.

This journey, however, did not come easily. With a high-demanding job, it was hard for her to prioritize herself over her deadlines and she chose to switch jobs realizing this was essential for her growth. As the reader will find out, this switch was a catalyst for her learning on work culture, leadership, comfort zones, and empathy to others. In hindsight, Burby is able to look back and see both of these jobs as steppingstones to her ultimate purpose and path.

As the memoir continues an emphasis is placed on the experience Burby has with a shamanic healer. This healer helps her release repressed emotions and burdens from her childhood to the present, permanently changing Burby’s life. By cleansing her of the negative energy she was feeling, Burby finds the courage to shift her definition of success, changing her entire life’s focus. Instead of tying her confidence and worth to external success, she now finds the strength to see these traits as a personal path.
Burby starts focusing more heavily on her children, marriage, mindfulness, mediation, and overall rebirth into a stronger, better version of herself. She is able to journey into her future with a renewed sense of clarity, finally being able to answer the question of “Who am I”. The more in tune she becomes with herself, she is able to help other people experiencing similar trials and is able to connect with the spiritual realm on a higher level. Personally unfamiliar with shamanic healing methods and visions, I found this memoir both educating and refreshingly authentic. To anyone struggling with their personal journey of growth and healing, this memoir is a worthwhile read.