Emeralds of Oz: Life Lessons from Over the Rainbow

In the bestselling tradition of Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, a wise and inspiring collection of life lessons drawn from one of the most beloved movies of all time: The Wizard of Oz

After a lifetime in book publishing, Peter Guzzardi had edited a remarkable group of diverse authors, from Stephen Hawking to Deepak Chopra, from Carol Burnett to Douglas Adams, from Byron Katie to Geneen Roth. Yet everything he’d learned from working with them felt oddly familiar. One day it suddenly became clear: all that wisdom had its roots in a film he’d watched as a child, “The Wizard of Oz.”

That revelation led to this book. It’s a jewel box of insights drawn from Dorothy’s heroic journey from helpless in Kansas to powerful in Oz, then back to Kansas, transformed by what she found along the way. In Emeralds of Oz: Life Lessons From Over the Rainbow, we discover what the most-watched film in history has to teach us. With that knowledge we become free to embark on our own journey, having activated the power to direct our lives that we possessed all along.

Peter Guzzardi spent decades as an editor working with some of the wisest writers of our time—from Stephen Hawking and Deepak Chopra to Carol Burnett and Douglas Adams—yet he couldn’t shake the sense that everything he’d learned from working with them felt oddly familiar. One day, he had an epiphany: All that wisdom had its roots in a film he’d watched as a child—The Wizard of Oz.

In Emeralds of Oz, Guzzardi invites us to join him on a journey through the classic film, unearthing gems of wisdom large and small about longing, joy, compassion, fear, power, and having faith in ourselves. He also creates a practical Oz-based tool that we can apply to obstacles in our own lives. Now, like Dorothy, we can activate the magical power we’ve possessed all along.

Written with the grace and insight of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Emeralds of Oz is an instant classic, sure to inspire a fresh perspective on this legendary movie—and on our own lives.

“There’s no place or book like it.” - Geneen Roth, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Women Food and God and This Messy Magnificent Life

“I loved this book as much as I loved the movie.” - Carol Burnett

“A powerful, near-magical tool for navigating any difficult situation.”  - Deepak Chopra

“The nine Emeralds in this book provide a powerful, near-magical tool for navigating any difficult situation. I have been using them myself, and my life is even more effortless, spontaneous, and joyful.”  - Deepak Chopra

“Peter Guzzardi’s Emeralds of Oz opens your eyes and heart to a new way of being in the world. In loving detail he teaches you how not to be frightened of taking those first tentative steps into unknown territory. You learn to face whatever is going to happen with courage, brains and heart. He beautifully compares this journey with the one undertaken by Dorothy, Toto, The Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. I loved this book as much as I loved the movie.” - Carol Burnett

“The gems of wisdom in Emeralds of Oz range from mystical to commonsense and are as accessible as tapping one’s heels together and wishing for your heart’s desire.” - William Stillman, coauthor of The Road to Oz: The Evolution, Creation and Legacy of a Motion Picture Masterpiece

“Glinda’s famous words, ‘You’ve always had the power…’ stayed with me throughout many hard times. What a story The Wizard of Oz is! And now, because of Peter Guzzardi’s meticulous, playful, and wise mining of its gems, we get to revel in every turn of that yellow brick road. While the story itself continues to inspire, Emeralds of Oz takes us all the way home. There’s no place or book like it.” - Geneen Roth, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Women Food and God and This Messy Magnificent Life