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What does it mean to live well in 2025? Not just exist. Not just survive on green smoothies and a curated Instagram feed. But live with purpose, clarity, and a sense of grounded joy? If you’ve ever found yourself spiralling down the rabbit hole of comparison, self-doubt, or soul-numbing overwhelm (and haven’t we all?), then Shoo the Noises by Anamika Mishra is the kind of book you didn’t know you needed, until now.

Let me say this straight up: this isn’t just another chirpy self-help manual stuffed with platitudes and productivity hacks. Mishra doesn’t lecture. She doesn’t preach. She whispers. She nudges. And when needed, she yanks you lovingly out of your slump and says, “Darling, wake up. Life’s too beautiful to be lived on autopilot.”

A Companion, Not A Coach

The book’s tone is warm, wise, and unmistakably real. Mishra is not here to dazzle you with theory. She’s here to walk beside you, a fellow traveller who’s stumbled, tripped, paused, and learned and now wants to share the map. The writing is intimate, like reading a journal entry from a friend who has done the emotional heavy-lifting and come out with hard-earned clarity. There’s a lived-in feel to her words, no fluff, no fakery.

Shoo, the Noises is built on a deceptively simple premise: cut the noise. The inner critic, the outer chaos, the self-sabotage disguised as busyness, the toxic comparisons, the unhealed wounds masquerading as ambition. All of it, shooed out the door.
The Detox You Didn't Know You Needed

From the get-go, she places her cards on the table. ‘Feeling stuck? Overwhelmed? Disconnected from your dreams?’ she asks, and then answers with kindness, structure, and soul. The book unfolds like a gentle yet firm detox, first the mind, then the heart, then the habits, and finally, the manifestation. But don’t expect magic potions or cosmic affirmations masquerading as shortcuts. Mishra’s magic is made of mindfulness, repetition, and conscious intention.

There’s something refreshingly old-school about this. In an age of 10-second reels and ‘manifestation for dummies’ courses, here is an author who patiently reminds you that the real transformation is in the unglamorous daily grind. It’s in learning how to sit in silence. It’s in choosing your thoughts like you’d choose your words on a first date.

Emotional Healing with Elegance

Some of the most powerful sections in the book are the ones where she talks about emotional wounds and resilience. There’s a quiet strength in how she handles pain, not as something to be shunned or masked, but as something to be acknowledged, even befriended. She speaks of healing not as a perfect ending but as a daily decision, to forgive, to let go, to try again. It’s this gentle philosophy that lingers long after the final chapter.

Habit, Mindfulness, and the Art of Showing Up

Mishra also does a commendable job of breaking down the mechanics of habit formation and mindfulness in ways that are easy to grasp but profound in implication. There’s none of the intimidating ‘wake up at 5 AM and do 50 things’ rigmarole. Instead, she offers simple practices that honour your pace, not someone else’s highlight reel. She urges the reader to stop outsourcing their happiness, to return to the body, to the breath, to the now.

Manifestation Without the Woo-Woo

What really made me sit up was her take on manifestation. Mishra reclaims this overused (and often misrepresented) concept and brings it back to its essence: intentional living. It’s not about wishful thinking or vision boards, it’s about energetic alignment. It's about clearing the inner clutter so that life can flow in.

She makes a compelling case that when we quiet the noise, the answers often reveal themselves.

The Strength in Softness

The prose flows gently, sometimes dipping into lyrical, almost meditative passages. While some may crave a bit more confrontation or edge, Mishra’s softness is her signature. She’s not here to shock you into change. She’s here to hold your hand through it. And that, in today’s hyper-noisy, hyper-critical world, is revolutionary.

A Map, A Mirror, A Meditation

If I had to sum up the book in one line, I’d say: It’s a mirror, a map, and a meditation. A rare combination.

Anamika Mishra’s Shoo the Noises is a timely, heartfelt offering in a world drowning in digital distraction and mental fatigue. It doesn’t promise you instant transformation or viral success. What it does promise is something far more radical, a return to yourself.

In an era where being busy is confused with being important, and burnout is worn like a badge of honour, Mishra’s voice arrives like a cup of chai on a monsoon afternoon, warm, steady, soul-soothing. You don’t gulp it down. You sip. You reflect. You breathe.

And slowly, you begin.

Book title: Shoo the Noises by Anamika Mishra  

Publisher: Bloomsbury India

Price: Rs 399/