Self-Help Book Reviews

A timely consideration of the foibles, failures, and turning points that define our lives, Being Human: A User’s Guide – Past Performance is Not a Guarantee of Future Results by David Ellis is a revealing combination of memoir and self-help manual, and a testament to the liberatory power of self-knowledge.

As a psychologist of more than four decades, Ellis sets out to answer some of the biggest questions that have been brought before him over the course of his career. From uncovering the root causes of our myriad existential problems and seeing the positive side of mistakes to eliminating despair […]

A unique and effective blueprint for self-improvement that aims to simultaneously educate, amuse, and inspire, The Half-Full-Glass User’s Manual: Mindfulness Meets Playfulness: A Guide to Joy, Gratitude, and Guffaws by Richard A. Meyers is a breezy and thought-provoking guide to maintaining a healthy mental space.

Cleverly designed as a rediscovered philosophy (The Manual) linked to a long-lost tool (The Glass) that can grant access to a higher level of awareness (The Consciousness), the book insistently nudges the reader into a journey of self-discovery. With the central conceit that using The Half-Full Glass, which we all possess in some form, and […]

A methodical and compassionate companion for those seeking to improve their lives, Transcending Anxiety: From Fear to Freedom by Manal El-Ramly brings the stark reality of inner turmoil to light and offers practical strategies to overcome this lifelong struggle.

The guide begins with an introduction to a unique model of anxiety, detailing how it can manifest in our Four Bodies – physical, emotional, mental, and egoic. These four aspects of experience form our overall relationship to life, and the presence of anxiety or fear in any one aspect will present itself in different ways. The text then illuminates the critical […]

A timely reflection on the profound and sometimes painful process of becoming who you need to be, The Remembering: A Journey Back to Self by Peter Kennedy is a reminder that personal transformation is unavoidable – and endless.

Kennedy’s story begins with an intense account of his participation in a sacred ritual – a temazcal ceremony in a traditional sweat lodge in Brazil. After being spiritually stripped bare, and concentrating on how to achieve emotional freedom, his existence feels irreparably changed, “as if a veil had been lifted.” Through the lens of his sacred experience in the jungle, he is […]