Phyllis Ginsberg

This is going to be a very specific review pointed at a particular subset of people, so it may not be generally helpful, and I won't be including a rating for that reason.

If you are underweight and decide to look for some self-help information on how to change that, you know that it can be a bit of a minefield. A search for "gain weight self help book" will return multiple results on the first page helpfully giving you resources on how to lose it instead. Apps built to improve health give general lip service to the idea that someone out there wants to gain weight, but all of their periphery information will encourage you to eat less, and minimize your calorie intake still. So I can't say that I'm surprised at all that a book that doesn't really specify anything about losing weight and seemed to possibly be more broadly about health and nutrition does in fact turn out to assume that the reader is looking to lose weight, and seems to assume people who are "tired and hungry" are so because they are overweight and not active. That said, this book places less emphasis on specifics of losing weight than many, because its premise is to focus on mental wellness and generally healthy eating as a broad solution to the problem of an overall unhealthy life. There are therefore things in here that can be helpful to anyone looking to change habits generally. The information provided is pretty basic. There is stuff on having a good mental attitude and being kind to yourself, and chapters on nutrition and how to prioritize what to eat. The most novel part of the book is this thing called EFT tapping, in which the book explains how to tap different parts of the head while running through a series of scripts meant to help you face certain issues, absorb them, and turn them into positive action. The broad idea can be modified to address any issue, and the book provides a number of example sets for things like being tired, not wanting to sleep, not wanting to be deprived, and having body issues. The last quarter of the book is devoted to low calorie recipes.

The author uses her personal experience often when illustrating a point. It so happens that my life pretty much next to nothing in common with hers, which sometimes made me wonder if the advice applied. She is writing mainly for women who have had to grow up early on, who may have spent a large portion of their lives taking care of others, and maybe feel overextended or unable to spend a moment to carve out times for themselves. If that doesn't sound like you there are some things that she says that are just what other people may need to hear, but may not be what you need. There are also some moments that do cause some problems because this is a book that assumes the reader wants to lose weight. For example, drinking more water is suggested as a way to lower one's appetite. But drinking more water is also suggested as a way to increase appetite for people who are struggling to eat enough. So how does that work?

The formatting of the book isn't great, which basically translates to there being a lot of white space, so there's actually a lot less text in here than one might expect.

There is some sound if not basic advice about mentality and where you need to start if you feel you need to fix habits, and some good, gentle calls to action that help you start trying to actually make a change or two. I thought the tone for the book hit the right note. Unfortunately the specifics didn't speak to my desires for change, so I could only get generalized value out of it.… (más)

I got this book for free as part of the Early Reviewers.

First: This book is self-published. This is not in itself a condemnation, but literally every problem the book has would have been solved by a team of experienced editors working on it. And it has many problems.

And also: Have you ever experienced that weird combination of a total lack of new, helpful information plus the dryness of an academic paper? Or been simultaneously bored by bog-standard suggestions that literally everybody gives people who are tired or hungry all the time, while also confused by detailed technical discussions of therapeutic technique? Yeah.

I'm not sure I am the target audience for this book. I'm not sure who would be. I'm a layperson with an autoimmune disease that makes me tired all the time, and there were no helpful bits of information in here. This could well have been an email forwarded to me by an unhelpful relative. The best thing I can say about this book is that the problems with it were evident in the first paragraph.… (más)

Excellent self help book. I think a lot of people reach a point in their life where they realize they are running a rat race and have forgotten why. How does it affect your health? How does it affect your life? This week by week guide helps put things into perspective. Perhaps you are on the track you want to be, but if you are questioning your actions, such as I am, this book helps you to define your purpose in life. I love the pretest and post-test type questions. It is intended to be a year worth of weekly chapters to read, but I skimmed over the latter chapters in order to review it. I did receive this book as an early review copy.… (más)

I found this book to be a total mind and body care book. The author helps you to not only look at what you are putting into your body but how to care for yourself physically and mentally. One of the ways she does this is through a technique called (EFT) or the Emotional Freedom Technique of tapping. According to The Tapping Solution webpage" this is a combination of Ancient Chinese Acupressure and Modern Psychology that works to physically alter your brain, energy system and body all at once." The author's webpage states that, "by tapping on Chinese Meridian Points and saying phrases it’s possible to eliminate fears, phobias, and traumas." On the author's webpage and Facebook she has videos that will help to walk the reader through tapping. There is also a section at the back of the book with recipes to help the reader in their journey to health and wellness. I am glad I was given the chance to review this book and I feel like this is not the type of book that you read through and put down, maybe never to be picked up again. No, it is a book that I will be picking up many times to follow what Ms. Ginsberg has written. I believe this review is only the start of what this author and book will do in my life and in turn those around me.

I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers group in exchange for my honest review.… (más)