Book Review: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now might be the most recommended mindfulness book of the past twenty-five years — the one that gets pressed into your hands the moment you admit to being stressed at a dinner party. I finally read it in early 2024, expecting the ah-hah read its reputation promised.

The ah-hah never quite arrived.

Eckhart Tolle’s core teaching: the mind’s constant chatter about past and future is the source of most of our suffering, and presence — the Now — is the way out. The book unfolds as questions and answers, circling that single idea from every direction.

What I Loved About The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

There are real gems in this book. A handful of its ideas about presence, and about watching your own thoughts instead of being them, have stayed with me, and I understand why it cracked something open for millions of people. When Tolle is on, he’s on.

What I Didn’t Love About The Power of Now

The structure, or the absence of one. The book wanders: ideas repeat, circle back, dissolve, and repeat again. If your brain likes an argument that builds (mine does), you’ll spend real effort just holding the thread. I found it rambly where I wanted it distilled.

I also kept comparing it to the books that had already covered this ground for me: The Mountain Is You and The Untethered Soul take on mindfulness and inner peace with more structure and, for my money, more insight. The ah-hah I wanted lives in those two.

Final Thoughts on The Power of Now

A solid read if the topic already has its hooks in you. There are gems here for the patient. But it wouldn’t be my first recommendation: start with The Untethered Soul, and come back to Tolle if you’re still curious.

My final score: 3 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Do I recommend this book? 🤷 If you’re curious — but read my two favorites first.

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