A review by lisawreading
Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick

3.0

Beth Lisick's "Helping Me Help Myself" falls into the growing category of "my year of xxx" books. You know, my year of cooking the entire cookbook, my year of following all the rules in the Bible, etc. In this case, the author wakes up one New Year's Day, decides her life isn't really going as well as she'd thought, and decides to devote the next year to improving herself by seeking out the top self-help expert in each of her problem areas. She spends a month on personal finance, a month on fitness, a month on creativity, and so on, invoking the works of John Gray, Suze Orman, Richard Simmons. The premise seems flawed from the start. It appears that the author can't decide whether she's actually bent on self-improvement, or simply looking for a new angle for poking fun. Her occasional revelations are mostly overshadowed by the ongoing snarkiness of the commentary. This is a fun read, most of the time, but I'm not sure what the author ultimately gained. Nice writing style with a sense of humor, but I wouldn't give this one a rave.