Tag: self help

Safest Family on the Block

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Brick, Jason. The Safest Family on the Block: 101 Tips, Tricks, Hacks, and Habits to Protect Your Family. YMAA Publication Center, 2025.

The first thing that struck me about Safest is the number of introductions in addition to the preface and foreword. There is an introduction for every chapter (all ten of them) as well as an introduction to the book by Larry Hagner, a foreword by Andy Murphy
Jason Brick has consulted a plethora of people for how to keep his family safe: a parenting coach, author, registered nurse, Federal Air Marshall, several CEOs and presidents of companies, a safety influencer, fire safety captain, army sniper, mental health clinician, babywearing expert; even a SWAT team crisis negotiator and a US Secret Service agent. There are twenty experts testifying to the validity of Brick’s information.
It all started when he became a dad for the first time and the advent of COVID.
Each chapter of Safest is barely longer than two pages so despite it being jampacked with information, it is surprisingly short. Brick will teach you how to stay safe in a myriad of different situations: fire and accident, automobiles, school, online, sex, relationships, communication, travel and crime. He debunks popular myths like stranger danger and has a special chapter on school bullying and your child’s online life.
Favorite portion of the book: the Golden Rules Action Plan, a checklist of things to do for a safe environment at the end of every chapter.

Favorite quote, “Even if your action isn’t optimal, it will still be better than doing nothing.” Amen to that.

Author fact: you could call Jason Brick a jack of all trades. He is a writer (obviously), a safety expert (duh), but he also is a traveler and a martial artist.

Book trivia: Safest was born out of a “show” with one hundred episodes.

Note to Self

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Nova, EV and Freya Sharp. Note to Self. Harbor Lane Books, 2025.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program I get to read interesting books from LibraryThing. This is one such book.

Think of Note to Self as a collection of tiny pep talks geared mostly towards women. Yes, you can read the entire book in one sitting, if you want. There are only fifty affirmations. I would caution against inhaling the whole book at once because every chapter becomes more repetitive as time goes on. The five clearest messages are 1) you are not alone, 2) every ending is a new beginning, 3) you are capable, worthy, and loveable, 4) it is okay to say no, especially if saying yes means sacrificing selfcare, and 5) breaking down only means building up or said another way, every ending is a new beginning. E.V. Nova and Freya Sharp take turns doling out the sage advice.
In short, this is a cool little book to pick up anytime you need a little pick me up. Tell your friends!
Author fact: Freya Sharp’s bio is a must read!

Likeable Badass

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Fragale, Alison. Likeable Badass: How Women Get the Success They Deserve. Penguin Random House, 2024.

Reason read: just for the fun of it.

Here are my takeaways: Fragale talks about fixing a bad reputation or a misconception about yourself right away. Don’t let a bad opinion linger. What if you have no idea? What happens if you have no concept of what people think of you, good or bad? What if you believe one thing and the opposite is true so you are actually the one with the misconception? Confessional: I do not know how to read a room. I had this friend once who never gave me any indication she was pulling away. She just vanished. There were no signs to tell me what I did or didn’t do. Ironically, this same person falls in with another piece of advice from Fragale and the norm of reciprocity. I would have to say that sometimes does not work. I sent this friend (the one pulling away) a package of expensive crafting paper. I never received so much as a confirmation of delivery; never mind a thank you or a reciprocating gesture. Like I said, the crafting paper was of high quality and shipping to another country was not cheap. My mistake for sure.
Anyway, back to Fragale. Another takeaway from reading Likeable Badass was the collection of connections. Keeping important people close in case you need them later. I get that. That’s what LinkedIn is all about.

Music: “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi (featuring Daddy Yankee).

I Lift, Therefore I Am

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Gezalyan, Manuel. I Lift, Therefore I Am. Identity Publications, 2025.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing I get to read interesting books.

Part journal, part self-help fitness manual, I Lift, therefore I Am is an attempt tp bring spiritual fitness to the masses. Encompassing philosophy, psychology, and expertise along with personal experiences, Gezalyan maps out all the reasons for exercising. It goes beyond looking good. Lifting weights does something for the mental side of taking care of oneself.
Something to take with a grain of salt (whatever that means), many trainers will tell you different things. In I Lift, Therefore I Am, Gezalyan wants you to be able to push past pain barriers. Meanwhile, my running coach dislikes the phrase “no pain, no gain.” He thinks that working until there is pain is stupid and irresponsible. Instead, he says “no pain…no pain.” Speaking of the subject of pain, I found it curious that Gezalyan mentions pain a few times in the acknowledgments. The love of his life kills his pain and his parents experienced pain.
Pros: Gezalyan has written a book for anyone. The tone of I Lift, Therefore I Am is conversational and casual. I liked that Gezalyan gives you permission to read his book any which way you want. You are not restricted to any particular order of information.
Challenge: It would have been beneficial to have the workbook built into the text rather than forcing one to wait for the supplemental (read separate) journal to be published later.
I would also caution people from taking advice from nearly half a century ago (Gezalyan has a thing for Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Confessional: Part of I Lift, therefore I Am focused on the physical appearance and it got me thinking. Let’s say I am 5’2″ and 250lbs. I may not look physically fit. I probably would be perceived as stereotypically fat. But. But! But, let’s just say I can bench press three times my weight and I run ultra marathons every six months. Am I still fat because I don’t look the part?

Author fact: Gezalyan calls himself unusual and I immediate thought “in the Cyndi Lauper kind of way?” Forgive me. I am a child of the 80s.

Book trivia: I Lift, therefore I Am is not intended to get you into fitness. — is merely seeking to change the perception of fitness.

Deep Work

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Newport, Cal. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Grand Central Publishing, 2016.

Reason: professional development in 2025.

Newport may seem like he is giving advice that everyone should know, but it is much more than that. It is difficult to shut out noise and concentrate on one thing at a time, but if you can do it, according to Cal Newport you will be more successful. Did you know there is such a thing as a mental athlete? I had no idea there are some world class mental athletes out there able to memorize tremendous amounts of material.
As an aside, I am also reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and there is some overlap with the advice regarding setting up routines and developing rhythms. All good stuff!

Confessional: I had to look up where Alan Lightman spent his time writing. When Newport said it was a “tiny island” off the coast of Maine, I knew it was not Monhegan Island, but was still very curious. Not to disclose the location, I will say I knew people from that area (they have since passed).

Author fact: Newport has a plethora of material out there. YouTube, blogs, Wikis, you name it.

Atomic Habits

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Clear, James. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results. Penguin RandomHouse, 2018.

Reason read: professional development for 2025.

Most of the advice in Atomic Habits may seem like common sense but really it is the advice that you don’t think to take. There are a myriad of tricks you can use to get ahead in life. Clear makes it abundantly easy to adopt many of them and he writes in a tone that is easy going and never didactic (he even throws in a Game of Thrones reference). Here are some of my favorites: think of getting ahead as a game, complete with competitive strategies and a well-defined playbook; reframe your why (saying “I do not smoke.” instead of “I am trying to quit.”) and you can learn a great deal by watching other successful people (what are their habits?). This last Clear advice is probably my favorite because I have always believed in what I call the Particle Theory. I honestly believe people come into your life for a very specific reason. When they leave your life as they often will, it is because you have used up their purpose or that reason for being in your life; you have gotten all that you could out of that relationship. I believe you will unconsciously pick up habits and personality traits from the people closest to you, whether you like it or not. How influential that person is to your life determines how steadfast the habit or trait will be.
If you are short on time, Clear also includes chapter summaries that are well thought out and detailed.

Favorite quote: “I sat in my car and cried as I flipped through the radio, desperately searching for a song that would make me feel better” (p 5). I have been there many times!

Music: Beyoncé.

Presenters Aren’t Robots

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Pettit, F. Annie. Presenter’s Aren’t Robots: a Practical Guide to Becoming a Fearless and Engaging Public Speaker. 2024.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review program for LibraryThing I get to read interesting books. This is one of them.

I struggle to call Presenters Aren’t Robots a full length book. There are only seventy-five pages of text. Chapter one doesn’t begin until page eleven, but that’s me reading it on my phone. Maybe the print version will be different.
Practical is the key word to Presenters Aren’t Robots. Most of the suggestions were intuitive. I learned a few things (it was cool to see AI art options mentioned) and relearned a few things (handouts are still a thing). Some information was micro-detailed (like explaining the colored buttons on a clicker for a presentation), while other information was vague (like no suggestions of software for presentations). I appreciated the speaker checklist the most. I am sure I will use it in the future. Aside from a few typos and font changes, I found Presenters Aren’t Robots to be a helpful and friendly book.

As an aside, why all the illustrations of robots if presenters aren’t robots? Are the robots the audience?

Author fact: Pettit mentors people in public speaking and she is a marketing research author.

You or Someone You Love

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Matthews, Hannah. You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula. Atria, 2023.

Have you ever been around someone so kind, so heart-open and emotionally connected that at turns they embarrass and inspire you? You squirm a little because they are so eager to display all the feels and worse, imparting those raw emotions onto you, but at the same time you admire their ability to be so free with their passions. I know I don’t know what to do when someone is even the slightest bit complimentary or caring and Matthews, within the very first pages of You or Someone You Love, seems overly gentle and loving. I do not need her to call me radiantly gorgeous or perfect. I know I am neither. I need to understand that Matthews wants to set her readers at ease. Her book is a minefield of controversy, pain, anger, shame, and guilt. She doesn’t want to intrude on the fragility of some readers while she unearths the feelings they might have buried deep down. At the same time Matthews wants her initial message to be clear, straightforward and reassuring. Simply: I. Care. For. You. The message is received loud and clear.
I wanted to go beyond healing and actually learn something from reading You or Someone You Love. Here are a few lessons: I had never heard of the Mississippi Appendectomy. I was excited to discover the Native Land map. I never knew one could donate breast milk. But! The ultimate truth: I didn’t expect to learn something about myself in the process. Well played, Matthews.
As an aside, why do we always apologize for our pain? I am bothered when someone apologizes for crying during an interview; when someone says they say sorry for their pain. I get irritated when people are ashamed of their tears and yet, I go to that same place. I apologize for feeling something beyond my control. The section called “Abortion is Pain” resonated. When Matthews was talking about the anticipation of receiving pain, I felt myself tensing, locking, tightening, and clenching in readiness of an imaginary pain yet to be delivered. Just reading the words made me wat to curl into a tight, tight, tight porcupine ball and play dead for all I was worth. But I kept reading and that made all the difference.

Quotes to become bumper stickers: “Hope is the thing I just keep doing” (p 167).

Playlist: “the Mother” by Brandi Carlile.

Wintering

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May, Katherine. Wintering: the Power of Reset and Retreat in Difficult Times. Riverhead Books, 2020.

I feel like this book comes from a place of privilege. How many of us can safely leave employment and snuggle into a season of wintering? I learned to manage my expectations in regards to what I am hoping to “get” out of reading Wintering. I found myself asking what is the difference between an entertaining story and one from which you are supposed to greatly benefit? I want to call Wintering a beautifully written memoir with a message and leave it at that. To think there is a self-help promise was almost too much to ask. Otherwise, if I don’t just call it a memoir, Wintering will be nothing more than a book with an identity crisis. Self-help or self-story? More of the latter is my honest opinion. It is a memoir about navigating a difficult season, if you take wintering in the literal sense.

Lines I liked, “But then, that’s what grief is – a yearning for that one last moment of contact that would settle everything” (p 60), “Even at the ripe old age of forty-one, I’m shy about asking if anyone’s free, lest I make myself look unpopular” (p 129), and my favorite, “My blood sparkled in my veins” (p 180).

A few comments about the favorite quotes. Everyone asked, if you had one more moment with a loved one, what would you say? It’s as if the questioner knows the answer to solving the mystery of regret is to have that one last moment of contact. What is wrong with not having anywhere to go (and no one to ask)? And lastly, I was a member of the Polar Bear Club in my high school days. We didn’t swim year round, but we did jump in Songo pond every spring, just after the thaw.

Setlist: ABBA, “Silent Night”, and “Wichita Lineman”.

People Person

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Williams, Sandy R. People Person: How to Talk to Anyone, Improve Social Awkwardness, and Communicate With Ease and Confidence. 2023.
Reason read: an Early Review pick from LibraryThing.

I decided I would not try to digest every piece of advice or tackle every suggestion Williams made in People Person. It was good enough to start small: smiling at everyone you meet, saying hello with enthusiasm and practice positive self-talk. I don’t know what constitutes a power playlist or how to surround myself with confident people (they are who they are). One of the best reasons to read a self help book is to discover other self help books that might fit you better. In reading People Person I discovered Ty Tashiro.
Warning – the consequences of not being a people person sounds like the warning label on a prescription bottle: if you are anxious, side effects include misunderstandings and missed opportunities; loneliness and depression.
Confessional: I am wary of any book that uses the word transformation. Another disappointment was a plug for reviews at the end of chapter four. Williams could have at least waited until the end of the book for such a self-serving plug.
All in all, I enjoyed People Person. This is the first self help book I have read in a long that I consider more helpful than not.

Back to Yoga

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Kelley, Steve. Back to Yoga: A Whole Body Routine You can Do Anywhere in 30 Minutes or Less to Increase Energy, Focus, Relief Stress, Lower Anxiety and Improve Flexibility, Balance and Strength. Amazon Books, 2023.

Reason read: I am a member of LibraryThing and occasionally I review books. This is one of them.

One of the first things you learn when starting to read Back to Yoga is that you will get a free gift if you jump through the tiny hoop of emailing the author. You also learn Back to Yoga is not written by a professional practitioner. All of Steve Kelley’s information comes from someone else. His biggest source of information is an article found in Medical News Today (a health website that pulls primary research from other sources). Did I mention you get a free gift when you email the author? Kelley makes it clear he offers no warranties or professional advice. The standard disclaimer: you must see a medical professional before starting his routine. Instead, the purpose of Back to Yoga is to show busy people that no matter their schedule or lifestyle, they can practice yoga. Despite that goal, Kelley never explains how to carve out that time.
As Kelley admits, there is a little redundancy to the information he does include (I call this stretching the content). Despite the redundancy I felt there was room for more information. I was disappointed by the number of poses included in Back to Yoga. Kelley only includes one routine of 24 poses. Maybe the idea is to practice these 24 poses until you master them? The best part of Back to Yoga is the section of illustrated poses. They drawings are cute and they were accurate and informative. Not sure what the QR code was all about as I did not scan it, but there was one on every illustration. By the way, if you email the author you will get a free gift. He mentions this no less than five times in Back to Yoga.
Author fact: Steve Kelley also wrote the Grow Your Business with ChatGPT book I reviewed last month. As always, I appreciate his humor.
Book trivia: I think I found a typo. Sync does not rhyme with inch so I think he meant to say cinch.

We Need To Talk

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Headlee, Celeste. We Need To Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter. Harper, 2017.

Reason read: a colleague came back from a conference with a bunch of books. What’s better than free books?

This is a great little book full of common sense advice about how to be a better conversationalist. It is not necessarily geared towards getting ahead in the corporate world, but it is helpful. Written by a “human nature expert” Headlee offers practical tips for listening and speaking with meaning. I appreciated the reminders about repeating oneself and using negative language. Even though she did not provide much information I haven’t heard before I would like to check out her TED talk. Out of all of the self help books on communication I’ve read, We Need to Talk was the most enjoyable.

Author fact: Headlee is cohost of a PBS television show called Retro Report.

Book trivia: Headless includes some tips on meditation.

Playlist: Barenaked Ladies, Michael Jackson, Verdi, Pucci, Mozart, and Wagner.

Limitless

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Otting, Laura Gassner. Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Yor Own Path and Live

Reason read: work

The emphasis of Limitless is this: do not be afraid to start your own business; do not be scared to leave the rat race of working for someone else; learn how to want to be your own boss. Most of the examples in Limitless are of high powered executives and/or people who can afford (literally) to take big risks. You never hear about the McDonald’s burger flipper who cashes it all in to open a soap store. Case in point – the lawyer who took an 80% pay cut to do something she loved. The other lawyer who quit her thriving practice to start a chocolate company in her kitchen (guess it wasn’t a galley kitchen with a one-burner stove). How many of us are called to lead an expedition to Mount Everest while working at Goldman Sachs? The example of the veterinarian who went from in-clinic appointments to home visits was the first real down-to-earth example with which I connected. That was a career adjustment I could get behind. Another observation: I would argue that gig-economy only works if a), you stored up enough reserves to see you through while you are trying to find your calling and b), you have a family network willing to support you during the paycheck gaps or c), you cobble together enough jobs to pay the bills without interruption.
The mantra is finding purpose. What if you don’t know your purpose so you wouldn’t recognize it if you saw it? The trick is to harness ambition. What if you have no idea how to do that? Of course the book ends with a bonus quiz, but in order to see the results or learn anything from them, you have to log into a website.

Book trivia: Limitless includes a list of books to read.

Always Eat Left Handed

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Bhargava, Rohit. Always Eat Left Handed:… and Other Secrets for Killing It at Work and In Real Life. IdeaPress, 2018.

Reason read: this was a work recommendation. Maybe because I am left handed?

Chapter titles are catchy like “Start Smoking.” He doesn’t literally mean start an unhealthy habit to get ahead in your career (although he started smoking for just that reason). He means be willing to take risks. He reminded me of the headmaster at my boarding school. His mantra was Take Risks, Take Risks. That has always stuck with me although I suck at heeding that advice. What if I am a healthy mix of taking and abstaining?
Chapters are punctuated with white illustrations on a black background. They are simple drawings on even simpler objects: an airplane window, a watch, toast with butter, an ipod playing music, a CV, Sharpie, jeans pocket, cauliflower, a high-heeled shoe, a pair of lips, a violin, a pile of books, a suitcase, cigarette, Lego, heart, eye crying, a string tied around a finger, Maybe this is a spoiler, but here are the corresponding lessons: choose your destiny, read books like choosing music for a playlist, read only what is important to you, take risks (did I already mention that?), and so on.

Playlist: Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran,

Chair Yoga

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Chapshaw. Chair Yoga: Gently Build Strength, Flexibility, Energy, and Mental Fitness in Just Two Weeks to Improve Your Quality of Life and Grow Old Gracefully. Chapshaw Publications, 2022.

Reason read: as a member of LibraryThing I am a member of the Early Review Program and I occasionally review books (mostly nonfiction). This is one such book.

Before I started reading Chair Yoga my mind was not really open to all of the different possibilities a chair could bring. I could only think of seating poses like neck rolls, ear to shoulder moves, and spinal twists. Starting with examples of elders who have used chairs in their yoga practice helped set the tone of the rest of the book. Further validation came in the form of illustrating more complicated poses like warriors one and two. Advice concerning different areas of ailment like osteoporosis. sciatica, and hypertension took Chair Yoga from a basic starter yoga book to a more solid reference.
Offhand comments: Can I just say this book had me at David Bowie? To open Chair Yoga with a quote from this musical legend was brilliant.
Maybe I am too biased on the subject of yoga, but I am not sure how anyone can think of yoga at any age as “too woo-woo”…whatever that means.
I am enamored with the idea of eight limbs of yoga. I think of an octopus every time.
It is a shame to say you don’t have to read chapter one and you need only to skim chapter two. Are you saying the words therein are pointless and not worth the reader’s time? Like any good syllabus, Chair Yoga maps out learning objectives for each chapter. There is even homework for assessment. While Chapter nine offers the two week plan read everything leading up to it. It is worth your while.

Book trivia: Illustrations to go with the text are helpful.