Reviews & Testimonials

Deeply affecting

Wish I'd had Martin Boroson's Becoming Me, A Story of Creation, illustrated by Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright, when my three-year-old asked "Is God real or pretend?" Visionary paintings and simple yet profound words present the mystical aspect of existence without the bog of religion. Both the artwork and central concept of creator-being-created proved too abstract when tested on small children, while deeply affecting sample adults. A beautiful book, best kept for the big questions, and an ideal gift for those of a spiritual bent.

The Irish Times

G.V. Whelan, August 19, 2000

Simplest and sweetest

[This book is]… the simplest and sweetest way to remind us that the divine is shining in us all the time and that “we” are ultimately, “me”.

Jack Kornfield, Buddhist teacher

Author of A Path with Heart

The emerging spirit of the 21st century

Becoming Me undoubtedly captures the emerging spirit of the 21st century.

Ervin Laszlo

Science Advisor to
The Director General of UNESCO

The magic of the childlike

We have as a resource for transforming consciousness the many profound ideas, so important, of transpersonal psychologists and other scholars. But with Becoming me we find an essential ingredient to so much serious work—the light touch and magic of the childlike.

Brian Swimme, Cosmologist

Author of The Universe Story

Every family bookshelf would be enriched by its inclusion of a dog-eared copy of Becoming Me

A sense of mysticism and awe drifts from the pages of becoming me which is cultivated by the gloriously coloured artwork of illustrator Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright and the narration provided by the creator himself. the majesty of creation and the marvel of humankind are painted onto a canvas of pictures and words. The simplicity and innocence of the text is captivating, reaching out to children ages four and up…multicultural, nondenominational, and non-sectarian, this small book says much in few words. Its spirituality is universalistic, embracing one world as created and loved by its one God. Every family bookshelf would be enriched by its inclusion of a dog-eared copy of Becoming Me.

The Anglican

Carol Segal, Children’s Corner, May 2003

Breaking down the barriers of religious and cultural differences

Becoming Me goes a long way to breaking down the barriers of religious and cultural differences, allowing us to see that we are in fact "one." 

Baroness (Floella) Benjamin

Writer, Producer, Actor, Politician

Profoundly moving

This wonderful book will help children imagine how they came into existence and consider their place in creation. Based on timeless spiritual insights, the simple words and radiant pictures are profoundly moving. Children inherently have the desire to question our connection with the world, and this book will help them to explore those ideas in a wondrous way.

Elysian Positive Parenting

Positive Books for Children

A tone of childlike wonder

Becoming Me by Martin Boroson, illus. by Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright, uses a tone of childlike wonder to imagine creation from the creator's point of view.

Publishers’ Weekly Religion Bookline

”Best Religion Books for Children”
November 7, 2000

Profound fun for all ages

From rich endpapers that suggest the golden oozing goo of creation to the gloriously hued chaotic mass at its end, we sense the relationship of color, light, and sound in the cosmic creation—and at the heart of it all is the voice of God. Daring? Yes. Presumptuous? No. There is a humility and simplicity-and just enough mischief-in the writing that makes it somehow plausible that the person of God has written this book, describing the enormous complexity of creation in terms of self-discovery. It resolves beautifully in the way that God becomes human, and how in human form we still forget that we are God. Profound fun for all ages, a delight for anyone who enjoys pondering imponderables.

Napra Review

Antoinette Botsford, Review Editor,
September/October 2000

The wisdom of the perennial spiritual teachings

This is a wonderful book. Combining deep personal experience and creative imagination, Martin Boroson has succeeded in conveying in a simple and easily understandable form the wisdom of the perennial spiritual teachings concerning the creation of the world we live in and our own nature.

Stanislav Grof, M.D.

Author of The Cosmic Game

Stands up to many, many readings

This book attempts to answer such questions as "Where do I come from", "what is my place in the world?" Written by an American philosophy graduate, it stands up to many, many readings—each as thought-provoking and as inspirational as before. Stunning oil and acrylic paintings accompany the text.

Children’s Books of Ireland (2002)

Gentle yet thought-provoking

Against canvases of large, dramatic brush strokes--the first in shades of brilliant blue, the next in splashes of yellow and orange--the words "once upon a time i was" begin this original and affecting book. In a tone of childlike innocence, the narrative voice embarks on a description of the creative urge: "I played by myself for ages. Then I started to get lonely. I wanted someone else to play with, Someone who wasn't me." Along with this desire comes the ability to transform into a multitude of different creations: "I can become all kinds of things that grow and swim and crawl and fly and run. One day I became you." Above these words appear snapshot-size paintings of a tree, a school of fish, insects, birds and mammals, respectively, followed by a full-page dawn-colored image of an unborn child surrounded as if by halos. "In time you forget all about me," the narrative continues, while the illustration shows a solitary figure turned away from a glowing tree, but "every so often, you wonder who you are." Gilvan-Cartwright's striking abstract paintings evoke the power and simplicity of children's art, while at the same time barring any coyness in the storytelling by dint of their sophistication. The visual rhythms created by the skillful book design further accentuate the impact of the text. Gentle yet thought-provoking, this will offer readers another way to contemplate the nature of the divine. ages 4-up.

Publishers’ Weekly

July 24, 2000

A vivid evocation of being

"Once upon a time. I was. There was nobody who knew that I was. But I was." So begins a story of creation and consciousness that explores the questions children—and all of us—ask: How did we come to be? What is our place in the world? Martin Boroson, a student of Stanislav and Christina Grof, has written a vivid evocation of being; Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright has illustrated it with paintings of great depth and richness.

One Spirit

August 2000

This compelling book bridges science and spirituality

The Big Bang Theory in science may be an outer reminder of the spiritual depth and breadth that each of us carries in the mystery of who we are. This compelling book bridges science and spirituality in ways that honor Einstein's insight that there is really no separation between science and mysticism.

Angeles Arrien, Anthropologist

Author of The Fourfold Way

A valuable stepping stone for intergenerational conversations

A simple, charming, and profound story of God's moving and changing presence in our world. A valuable stepping stone for intergenerational conversations about God and creation.

Rev Nancy E. Kannair

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Belmont, MA

Ravishing

The artist, Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright, is as gifted as the author in this ravishing children's book. It is all about creation, or is it all about God living within each one of us? Or is it all about the child existing within God? The brilliant colours of the oil paintings are a dazzling vision of the spirit of God, with simple images conveying the meaning of the words powerfully for even the youngest children to comprehend. This is a book for parents and children to think about and meditate on together. I suspect it may be the adults who take away the most!

Parish News

October 2002

Very wise and profound

If you ever want to give someone a lovely present I have a suggestion for you - Becoming Me - A Story of Creation. It is a lovely book - sweet and simple - still very wise and profound. It tells a very short and personal story of what it feels like to wake up to a higher spiritual understanding of the universe, wonderfully illustrated with pictures in the most fantastic colours. It is a book I can recommend for everyone in all age groups, from one-year-olds upwards.

International Breathwork Foundation Newsletter

Gunnel Minnet

Buy it and give it for your own happiness

Buy this book for yourselves, for your children and your grandchildren, and for everyone you know and love, or would like to love. It is the ideal birthday, xmas or any other present. Buy it for art lovers just for its illustrations; buy it for mystics just for its message. Buy it and give it, for your own happiness.

The Healing Breath

Joy Manné, Ph.D., Autumn, 2000

For children of all backgrounds and all ages

Written for children of all backgrounds and all ages, this hardcover, beautifully illustrated book is able to convey the sense and feeling of Grof's "Cosmic Game" and Ervin Laszlo's physics in a few child-friendly words. Somehow Boroson and his illustrator, Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright, let us enter into the paradoxical mysteries of being both the created and the creator. It invites us to flow with remembering through the roles which we assume in creating, witnessing, and playing/participating in this universe. The book is appropriate for children, grandchildren, students, therapy clients.

The Inner Door

Kylea Taylor, August 2000

A journey through the very mystery of life itself

Becoming Me is a little book that tells a very big story. Told in simple language with radiant full-colour illustrations, the book brings us on a journey through the very mystery of life itself, reminding us of our connection with the divine source of all creation. Accessible to both children and adults the simplicity of the words and pictures allows us access to the deepest realms of understanding too often shrouded behind complex theories and psycho-babble. Becoming Me is told with a tremendous open heart and with each turn of the page we stride deeper into ourselves discovering our place in the overall scheme of things and all the potential that that creates. A practitioner and lecturer in the field of transpersonal psychology, psychotherapist Martin Boroson succeeds in communicating essential spiritual truths in an easy to understand way that touches the very core of our being. The book also includes handy references for further reading by some of the current leaders in transpersonal/integral studies in the world today. A delightful and insightful book.

Source Magazine

Ciara Cronin, May 2000