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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
This really wasn’t for me. I found this book to be full of pseudoscience, vague mentions of questionable “studies”, and condescension. On a petty note, I hated how everything was described as a “salve”.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I listened to the audio book, which is read by herself (I love when the audio book is read by the author!). While I have some doubts about her approach to certain things, I loved to hear about her story, she has had a pretty interesting full-on life.
Fascinating book? Definitely a winding journey and I don’t really know how I feel about it. Going in, I didn’t know who the author was so it was kind of wild to find out her role in Australian media. She cited research and other things mentioned in The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck (which I didn’t like and couldn’t finish) and interviews from Louis ck so that wasn’t great. I also don’t love that the book title is a Chinese proverb when seemingly her only connection to Chinese culture is that she sees a Chinese medicine doctor. I know there’s a quick mention of a Chinese proverb in the book summary but I was hoping for a deeper connection and more consistent through line of Chinese culture. There are anecdotes where her privilege really shows ie when she gets stuck in France. Also, she kind of threw in a mention of a miscarriage at the end but never really expanded on how that impacts mental health? I think finishing the book, I’m overall a little confused about what I just read but I feel like that’s because the end felt jarring
challenging
slow-paced
It’s like having a friend who really gets you and can help you out of the darkness. I learned a lot about myself and about dealing with and even appreciating anxiety. I want my friends and family to read this, so they can understand me better, too.
There is a lot about this book that I appreciated and found incredibly potent, mostly the candid approach to mental health and attempting to be open and honest. HOWEVER, peppering statements of 'it's only my approach' gets belied by the (sometimes quite possibly damaging) phrases of 'medication doesn't work', 'anxiety makes you fat'. This book itself doesn't pretend to be the font of all knowledge, and for that I could forgive the anecdotal evidence if not for the editor's choice of quotes on the cover of this edition where the reviewers purport it to be scientific. Close but no cigar.
I mean it when I say this is the BEST book I’ve read about mental health and self growth. I swear the author was speaking into my soul. This was beautiful in more ways than I can communicate with words. I can’t believe this book isn’t talked about at greater length, I found this on a whim. Absolutely stunning
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced