Girl, Wash Your Face - Rachel Hollis

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Rachel Hollis tackles 20 lies people (particularly women) believe, some truths that can counteract them, and some tips on what helped her through the debunking in her life.

I wanted to love this book. I really did. Especially since everyone I know has loved this book. But I just didn't. I didn't love it so much that I almost abandoned it multiple times, but kept pushing through because there must be some reason everyone else is giving it 4 and 5 stars. And there was some redemption at the end when a few of the topics were deeper.

I will admit, I had some reservations going in to the book. I listen to the podcast Hollis does with her husband, Dave, and her communication style just really isn't my cup of tea. I keep listening because I can relate to Dave Hollis's approach a bit more. So that might have colored my reading as well.

I have gone back and forth between 1 and 2 stars on this review. There were a couple of nuggets I took away, but I think the things the things that grated me in reading outweighed those. The whole book comes off as a long humble-brag. Rachel Hollis has certainly accomplished a lot in her short life thus far. I don't discount that. The tone of the book was off-putting to me though.

Her story of her then boyfriend/now husband was alarming. The mistreatment she allowed herself to endure for months to keep him followed by a clear demarcation and boundary setting by telling him not to contact her again. Then hours later accepting him back into her life, jumping to their marriage. Now I'm hoping we aren't getting the full picture and there was a lot of good boundaries set and couples therapy between him showing up at her door and their marriage. But I don't really know that because it's skipped over. The book basically reads: I called and told him not to contact me again...He showed up at my door...He's my husband.

Scriptures taken out of context. Wanting a thousand dollar purse because it "represented the kind of woman I dreamed of becoming." What kind of women is that...the superficial kind who determines who women are based on a purse? Saying not to set limits to your dreams and then having several dreams of her own to accomplish before 40. It goes on.

There were some basic truths I could get on board with in some of the chapters. But the delivery wasn't for me. And the other issues in the book were just too much for me to settle on more than a star.

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Never Give Up Hope: Waging War with Cancer - Craig Davis

Never Give Up Hope: Waging War With Cancer by Craig Davis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author, Craig Davis, has survived brain cancer not once but three times. This is his story.
In exchange for an ARC, I have promised my honest opinion.
The writing isn’t stellar, but Craig doesn’t claim to be a writer. And I did read an ARC; that I understand has changed drastically between the ARC and final release. So I’m assuming this has improved and that many of the jumps or parts that left me with questions have been corrected.
It is definitely heartfelt and passionate in his belief of God healing him each time. You get a little background on his life, and then Craig steps you through the high and low points of his journey from the initial diagnosis in 2012 to the most recent the summer of 2018. He focuses on God’s fingerprints throughout it all. And I love that. While you’re in the midst of trials, it’s sometimes hard to see Him moving. But hindsight…it shows his handiwork all over the place.
I love Craig’s faith and passion. The hope that he wants to pass along to others who are fighting their own battles – whether they be cancer or something else.
I enjoyed the Facebook posts that were inserted throughout the text to give an “in the moment” look at what was happening.
Definitely a book that’s worth a read. And at just over 100 pages, it’s a quick read at that.

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This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today - Chrissy Metz

This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today by Chrissy Metz
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Chrissy Metz is one of the stars of the hit TV series, This is Us. Love the series. Didn't love her book.
I couldn't decide if it was trying to be a self-help book or a memoir (so shelved as both). It probably did a better job being a memoir than self-help, but part definitely had more the self-help feel. Those sections were very trust and confidence in self, if you believe it and speak it and do good, your dreams will come true. While I agree that self-confidence and trusting your gut are good to an extent, this was a bit out there for me.
I did enjoy reading about her path to success in Hollywood.
Triggers: Some language

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Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything - Anne Bogel

Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book wasn't quite what I expected. I don't really know what I expected. Maybe more literary references tied into personality types? But it was still good.
Definitely a book you want to read with pen and paper in hand to jot notes, personality tests to take, etc.
I'm looking forward to diving into the resources section at the back and discovering more.

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo

Publisher:
  Ten Speed Press
Release Date:
  October 14, 2014
Market:
  Secular
Genre:
–Non-Fiction; Self-Help; Organization;
Length:
–213 pages
My Rating:
   1.5/5

 

 About This Book (from Goodreads)

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing.

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list).

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this international bestseller featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

How and Why I Acquired This Book

I learned about this book on several blog sites.  Everyone is so excited about it.  And I love all things organization.  So I was geeked out to get a copy from the library and dive into it.

CRITIQUE

Oh, to be so disappointed.  I’m really in a funk after reading this book.  I wanted, expected, longed for it to be so much.  And it just wasn’t.

I don’t know if it was the whole your belongings and your home and other inanimate objects have feelings and thoughts and expressions that put me off.  Or if I’m really a hoarder because I love storage and organization solutions.  Or if I just didn’t find much of practical use for my life.  And while I think the idea of keeping only those things that “spark joy” in you has merit, there are a lot of things I own (like anything to do with cooking or cleaning) that don’t spark joy in me at all but are fairly necessary. 

I’m still confused by one huge thing.  Marie Kondo says tidying (the decluttering part at least) should happen quickly and all at once.  However, in another part of the book, she says it should take 6 months.  Big difference there.  Although all at once (as in one – or even two – days) is probably fairly impractical for most people.

That being said, I did have some take-aways I plan to put into practice. 

I was pretty convicted by the “sometimes means never” for unread books.  We probably shouldn’t get into the many books on my shelves waiting to be read (or if I will get rid of them).  Yikes. 

While confused about what quickly and all at once decluttering means, exactly, in terms of time, I do agree with that as well.  After all, I’ve been “working” on my 40 Bags in 40 Days decluttering list for more like 40 weeks.  Okay, not quite that long.  But almost (hangs head in shame).  So to get on a roll and keep sorting through and continue getting rid of things makes sense to have the momentum to carry you through a whole house full of stuff.

I also will be implementing some of her clothes folding techniques.

All in all, it was a short book.  So I’m not horribly aggrieved by the amount of time I spent reading it.  I do sort of wonder what I’m missing since everyone who recommended it on their blogs raved about it and said it was life changing. 

What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast - Laura Vanderkam

Publisher:  Portfolio/Penguin

Date: June 2012

Genre:  Self-Help, Productivity

Length:130 (plus an additional 48 pages in the Appendix detailing 4 individual's time studies and recommendation)

My Rating: 3.5/5

This book consisted of three "What Most Successful People Do..." books:  before Breakfast, on the Weekend, and at Work.
I gleaned several good ideas for from the first two.  I need to create a List of 100 Dreams and ummmm...get up earlier.  :)
I found the "at Work" book to be more of a rehash in some ways and just not super applicable to me in my current SAHM life.
I am definitely going to be conducting a week long time study on myself.  I know there are things I need to look at and adjust through the new lens of Vanderkam's productivity suggestions.

When Pleasing Others Is Hurting You - Dr. David Hawkins

Synopsis from B&N:  Christians are called to be servants. But people who forfeit their God-given calling and identity in order to please others move from servanthood to codependency. How can they get back on track? Clinical psychologist David Hawkins offers a Christian perspective on healthy relationships and the pitfalls of being a people pleaser

Readers will resonate with the real-life illustrations of people who no longer know what they think, want, or feel. Suggestions for redirecting unhealthy relationships empower readers to rediscover their own value and personal contribution.

This book was so simple yet so profound.  People pleasing is something I have regularly struggled with.  And more recently I find myself swinging between pleasing and doing everything possible not to please.

There are definitely areas in life where I struggle more than others.  This book helped me to pinpoint that and reminded me that boundaries are a good thing – even when others don’t respond in a positive way to them.  However, I can’t enforce my personal boundaries unless I first determine what they are.  And that the boundaries can change during different seasons of life.

Definitely one to read.