My lovely mother gifted me this, with good intentions. She is very aware of my various mental health struggles, and has done many many things to help My lovely mother gifted me this, with good intentions. She is very aware of my various mental health struggles, and has done many many things to help me; bringing me lasagna when I had no desire to cook or eat, sitting with me and letting me cry on her shoulder, sending me a card in the mail just to say 'love you,' letting me gab about therapy when I feel like talking, and sending me Ron Swanson gifs when I don't.
So her buying me a book that she thinks will help means the world to me, and I treasure her support.
I was hesitant, mostly because I prefer self-help that has a focus on practical, actionable advice and solutions. I don't mind if something is written from a Christian perspective, or uses Bible verses to illustrate a point. And hesitant or not, I'm typically willing to give anything a fair shake.
I just don't think this is the book for me.
Granted, I did only make it five chapters. But there were so many things just in the first 40 something pages that felt off to me. The writing of the Bible verses and vocabulary was very distracting, mainly in the number of parentheticals on the page. Do you really have to provide synonyms for "necessity" and "blessed?" It interrupts the flow of the writing.
And that wasn't the only detail that felt condescending - for example, explaining a concept on page seven, then summarizing the same concept on page eight. It felt like she didn't trust me as a reader to understand or interpret her writing.
Also, her example of handling our emotions and our actions when things don't work out how we wanted came across as very out of touch and not representative of an actual hurdle when it comes to mental and / or spiritual health. The slacks you wanted to wear to the airport were wrinkled? And the steamer didn't help? And your only other option was a dress and heels?
As someone who has never ever a single time in my life worn pants to the airport that weren't in the leggings / joggers / sweatpants family, I cannot stress to you how much I don't relate to this. But also, I shouldn't have to relate perfectly to an author's anecdote to be able to find it meaningful.
It also bugged me that there was (at least in what I read,) no real stepping stones beyond prayer and positive thinking. Telling someone who is fighting a losing battle with their own thoughts to think positive offers very little when it comes to putting that advice in action. There are no details on how affirmations work or how our brains can change, or even how to challenge some of our more damaging, automatic thoughts about ourselves.
I liked the sentence where she says not to be discouraged if progress seems slow. And I hate that a single, fairly obvious sentence is one of the few things I can place in the plus column for this book.
At the end of the day, I just wish I could have gleaned some hopefulness or encouragement from this. All it really managed to say was, "trust God and think positive!" And that's not a book; that's an inspirational quote-a-day desk calendar....more
DNF 15% in. I don’t have the time or energy to keep reading something that I can’t care about.
No rating, because I didn’t make it that far and I honesDNF 15% in. I don’t have the time or energy to keep reading something that I can’t care about.
No rating, because I didn’t make it that far and I honestly don’t have any strong feelings about it. It just kind of exists and I want to exist somewhere else away from it....more
I'd pretty much given up on enjoying Jade West's newer releases, but I can't resist the call of a free one click. Worth a shot anyway.
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Should’veI'd pretty much given up on enjoying Jade West's newer releases, but I can't resist the call of a free one click. Worth a shot anyway.
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Should’ve followed my instincts and stayed away. DNF at 10% when it literally made me want to barf. No rating because I’m clearly not the right type to enjoy this and I barely started it. But still. BARF....more
I’m basically in the worst reading slump of recent memory (thanks a lot, 80 hour work weeks.) So I’m setting this aside for hopefully another day, wheI’m basically in the worst reading slump of recent memory (thanks a lot, 80 hour work weeks.) So I’m setting this aside for hopefully another day, when I’ll pick it back up and feel the same spark I felt in the beginning.
Thanks to Edelweiss and BenBella books for the drc!...more
It's extremely rare for me to read a book (finished or not) and just leave it unrated. But that's what I'm going with this time.
I honestly think I migIt's extremely rare for me to read a book (finished or not) and just leave it unrated. But that's what I'm going with this time.
I honestly think I might not be smart enough for this book. Whether or not that's true, it's the feeling it invokes in me. The language is rich and dense, but it also isn't very accessible. It's like this gorgeous, lush garden but there's an insurmountable brick wall that keeps me from enjoying it.
Quite a few people will love this one, but I think I'm better off putting it down for good.
Thanks to Riverhead Books and Edelweiss for the arc...more
Ellen Gail
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