Self-Help Book Reviews

The Real Matrix by Michael Evans

The Real Matrix by Michael EvansThe Real Matrix by Michael Evans is not about a technological Matrix, in which we’re caught in a computer simulation. However, we’re caught in a simulation all the same: one that’s built by upbringing, societal pressure, the media, and more that not only inform how we think, but lock us into a particular mindset. The Real Matrix lays out all the ways we’re conditioned and aims to break those bonds.

The book is at its best when its talking about big picture issues – such as the impact of religion or law on personal outlook. For example, the issue of […]

2018-05-09T10:22:02+02:00January 22nd, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |

Review: The Healthy Habit Revolution by Derek Doepker

The Healthy Habit Revolution by Derek Doepker

We all have habitual behaviors we wish we could jettison: biting fingernails, interrupting spouses, eating candy bars while watching reality shows. And of course there are many behaviors we don’t have that we wish we did: regular exercise, healthy meals, daily writing, perhaps? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could make those desired behaviors as habitual—as easy to do and as hard to avoid—as the troublesome ones?

Well, it’s not exactly easy, but if you follow the program Doepker sets out in this slim but thoroughly packed volume, you’ll almost certainly see changes. Everyone has something they’d like to do […]

2019-02-11T09:28:20+02:00January 6th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Rise from Darkness: Paths Out of Depression Toward Happiness by Kristian Hall

Rise from Darkness by Kristian HallRise from Darkness: How to Overcome Depression through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Positive Psychology: Paths Out of Depression Toward Happiness is Kristian Hall’s comprehensive guide to overcoming depression. Combining personal history, a guide for both sufferers and friends/family members, and step by step instructions about how to lift yourself or others from the scourge of depression, the book covers depression from every conceivable angle with great erudition and empathy.

The book’s main weakness is one of organization. Someone who is in the deep throes of depression may not have the patience to read the fundamentals of brain chemistry, for example. […]

2018-05-09T10:22:20+02:00January 4th, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |

Review: Ten Mistakes Made by Most Pulpit Committees by Don K. Clements ★★★★★

Ten Mistakes Made by Most Pulpit Committees by Don K. ClementsAmong the most important decisions that any church body must make, choosing the correct pastor is of the utmost consequence.  Jeremiah 3:15 states:  “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”  In a nutshell, this is the role of the pastor today.  The pastor is the leader of the church, the one who will direct the flock in the way it should go.  He provides encouragement and guidance and is entrusted with the most imperative of duties.  He must study The Word to discern God’s heart and instruct his congregation.  There […]

Review: Identifying And Overcoming Fear So That You Can Get The Job You Have Always Wanted by Deloris Cook ★★★★

Identifying And Overcoming Fear So That You Can Get The Job You Have Always WantedSelf-help books, whether they are about losing weight, building self-esteem, raising an autistic child, or any of any other popular topics, often seem to suffer from a basic problem. They contain a core of advice, and a lot of filler to make what might have been a useful lecture into a nice fat book. But the filler material—usually less-than-exciting case histories and far too much detail about the author’s personal struggles with the problem the reader is seeking advice about—rarely make for a page turner.

That is not a problem in Deloris Cook’s helpful and well-written manual Identifying And Overcoming […]

2015-11-13T12:39:24+02:00November 13th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Mountain Mantras by Kathryn Kemp Guylay ★★★★★

Boys and Other Lessons to be LearnedMountain Mantras: Wellness and Life Lessons from the Slopes, by Kathryn Kemp Guylay, is an inspirational and laugh-out-loud funny guidebook to overcoming life’s challenges.

The author utilizes personal stories to keep readers focused on two topics close to her heart: wellness and life lessons. She shares stories from her humbling adventures learning to ski as an adult. The book outlines her six-step framework to overcome obstacles. These strategies are meant to enable people to fully engage in their own life, while improving health and vitality.

It should be noted, that you don’t have to be a skier or in […]

2020-02-21T07:37:36+02:00October 14th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Cold Beer and a Hot Dart by Brandon Wolfe

★★★★½ Cold Beer and a Hot Dart by Brandon Wolfe

Cold Beer and a Hot Dart is the inspirational memoir by Brandon Wolfe as he travels from his comfortable home in Washington to the wilds of Australia, Polynesia and beyond, battling disease, cannibals, prostitutes, drug use, and other nefarious problems, as well as having the time of his life. A restless soul at heart, Brandon Wolfe is also a spirited storyteller, making Cold Beer at once a page turner and a moving meditation on finding your place in life.

Wolfe’s own summary of the novel is a very good indication of what you’ll find in the book:

Over a

[…]
2016-03-04T04:19:55+02:00October 6th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Burn Zones: Playing Life’s Bad Hands by Jorge P. Newbery

Burn Zones: Playing Life's Bad Hands by Jorge P. NewberyBurn Zones: Playing Life’s Bad Hands is Jorge P. Newbery’s autobiography about going from rags to riches to rags again, and still staying strong along the way. Becoming a real estate mogul at a young age owning over 4000 apartment buildings and a net worth of tens of millions, it all came crashing down with a botched investment in Ohio. Newbury was arrested and ended up $26 million in debt. That’s not a typo.

In racing parlance, a Burn Zone is the toughest part of a bike race, which tends to separate the wheat from the chaff. If anything, the […]

2015-10-09T07:50:10+02:00September 4th, 2015|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |
Go to Top