Reviewed by Foluso Falaye for Readers' Favorite

Shelley F. Knight's Positive Changes is a compilation of thoughts and anecdotes designed to help readers see things more positively, despite the negative circumstances in their lives. The book contains exceptional real-life tales, thought-provoking quotations, insightful study findings, encouraging phrases, and direct counsel. Readers are recommended to choose what resonates with them from the book since it provides alternate concepts that might benefit individuals with different mindsets at different phases. Procrastination is addressed in the section Countdown Clock, which also reminds us that life is too short to spend it continuously putting things off. Shelley challenges the reader to begin making their impact on the world, even if it is just at a snail's speed, in Calling All Snails. Expect to find several more profound ideas throughout the book.

You can't help but be impressed by the perceptive book that author Shelley F. Knight has written since it has extremely practical and thought-provoking language that gives excellent suggestions for molding one's mind in many real-life scenarios. Because everyone's narrative is distinct and no single answer is likely to fix everyone's problem, the book, with its assortment of conflicting yet thoroughly logical concepts, is far more practical and realistic than most other self-help books I've come across. Positive Changes is never dull since it provides a well-balanced combination of unabashedly candid counsel, well-chosen quotes and facts, and personal tales that portray the author as a relatable mother, wife, and more. If you find yourself feeling unhappy while having a lot going for you, or if you just want to get rid of negative thinking, I highly recommend Positive Changes!

Reviewed by Joe Wisinski for Readers' Favorite

Your Best Life: Tactics, Tools and Insights to Create a Life of Fulfillment, Joy and Abundance by Mike X is a different kind of self-help book. Chapter titles include You Are the Master of Your Mind, Ten Magic Words to Heal Any Relationship, How to Make Every Day a Great Day, and 27 more. The author goes for what he describes as “breadth instead of depth.” That means that he doesn’t delve too deeply into any one idea but writes about many different concepts. The book is written in a light, breezy style and contains much white space. It also addresses readers directly, using the words “you” or “your” more than 2,500 times. The author has worked in many different fields during his life, including as a TV director, a marketing consultant, a research scientist, and more. This variety of careers gives him good insight into the human condition. However, readers need to be aware that there is considerable profanity in the book.

Everyone needs to read this book. Your Best Life is full of superb advice. Its information is powerful and has the potential to change lives. Some of the recommendations are clichés, but that’s fine. There’s a reason that certain advice gets repeated so often - it works. The author, who goes by the pen name Mike X, asks a lot of wise questions, encouraging readers to look at their own lives and attitudes. For example, after giving his definition of success he asks readers what their definition is. Unlike some self-help books, which can be difficult to slog through, this book is fun to read. That’s because of a combination of its excellent suggestions, the writing style, and the numerous photos, drawings, and other graphics. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Reviewed by Lois J Wickstrom for Readers' Favorite

Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within by Jocelyn Jones takes the reader through steps that are designed to reach the artist in each of us. Using stories from her own life and guiding the reader through meditations, Jones trains actors, and those wishing to be artists alike. She demonstrates how focusing on details helps us ignore preconceptions and assumptions and focus on what is truly there. The meditations she describes are as simple as watching your breath. Yes, Jones believes in the Law of Attraction, but you can ignore that and still get plenty of value from this book.

While reading Artist by Jocelyn Jones, I felt I was being let into the world of an actor. Her story of how Marlon Brando created the character of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire is so compelling that even the author, Tennessee Williams, was amazed at the actor’s ability to show how a woman could love a man who abuses her. The most valuable thing about this book is Jones' encouragement. She believes all her readers can be artists and produce something that will enrich life on this planet. Jones shows how the act of creating art can be a path to awakening a sense of purpose and aliveness. The clear instructions and well-chosen examples will help readers along their own path to creativity. I recommend this book to anyone who has thought about creating art in any form – acting, drawing, writing, or dance. The stories and encouragement here may be the very thing a budding artist needs to get started.

Reviewed by Jennie More for Readers' Favorite

Gaslighting by Deborah Vinall is a self-help book providing a step-by-step guide to identifying and dealing with being gaslit in relationships and, ultimately, how to recover from emotional abuse. She starts by helping the reader determine whether they are experiencing gaslighting by asking specific questions to guide them to a conclusion. Vinall lists the different types of gaslighters, their unique tactics to control and abuse their targets, and the process that victims must follow to accept what is happening, how to grieve the experience/loss, and how to exit if they wish to and work toward a new life in a healthier relationship. Setting boundaries, self-care, and rebuilding healthy self-esteem features strongly. Vinall provides exercises after each chapter so the reader can assess the situation and recover and mend.

Gaslighting by Deborah Vinall is an absorbing, powerful, and resourceful guide to recovering from emotional abuse and relationships where you were gaslit. Vinall takes a deep and complex topic and breaks it into easily digestible steps, with each chapter focusing on a single area to help the reader understand the information on this subject. The chapters follow a coherent progression that makes it easy for readers to follow and want to read the next chapter as it builds on the previous one and is the next step in the healing journey. Abuse is a daunting topic in general, but even more so for the target of abuse. Yet, Vinall’s supportive tone throughout makes reading this book a feel-good and refreshing experience that leaves the reader with a feeling of empowerment. I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone experiencing abuse as a first step to recovery, especially if they intend to practice all the exercises after each chapter.

Reviewed by Foluso Falaye for Readers' Favorite

Our world is filled with several distracting and attractive elements. The emergence of social media and the internet—which facilitates constant connection to the world—makes it harder to stay focused on a goal or even to choose the right ones in order to achieve a meaningful life. According to Brett Atlas, the most important things in life are time, relationships, and money. His book, Three Things Matter Most, provides a detailed guide that explains why this is so and how to prioritize these three most important aspects of life while surrounded by increasing distractions. Three Things Matter Most provides readers with different valuable life lessons that shed light on how to get your priorities right, the importance of saying no, how to meet people confidently, having the right attitude about money, and many more key insights.

As an avid reader of self-help books and a lover of philosophy and mindfulness, I completely agree with Brett Atlas' stance on the most important things in life, which is neatly laid out in this book. With insights from psychologists, ancient philosophers, and the author's personal experiences, Three Things Matter Most reveals the steps to take and the mindset to cultivate to achieve a life that is free from unnecessary baggage and time traps. Prepare for an enthralling, memorable read because the book contains several interesting stories and folklores. The action exercises and questions are structured to personalize the lessons and fast-track readers toward actual positive change. I can't emphasize this enough: Three Things Matter Most is perfect for readers who wish to find a meaning to life or wish to manage their time, money, and relationships better.

Reviewed by Michelle du Plooy for Readers' Favorite

Gavin Seah is a young author who believes that if people know the steps to follow to improve themselves, they will automatically become happier, healthier, more steadfast people. In his book True Humility, he feels that if he can teach a person to focus on what matters in life, they are halfway to peace and wellness, which are, in his experience, the fundamentals of true humility. Gavin couples his knowledge acquired through his life journey from childhood to adulthood to inspire and encourage a person to grow into a humble well-grounded individual. He bases his teachings on sayings he learned from Gandhi's inspirational writings. He tells about his growth and how he asks himself what he can do to make himself happy now. It’s all based on the ‘now’ Y_O_L_O (You only live once) principle which stems from self-indulgence. You do whatever makes you happy at the moment. You enjoy life at all costs with no regrets. This is the message Gavin would like readers to hear and follow through his stories.

He tells of how people should not pay attention to false humility in different forms, because it will lead to depression and in the end self-destruction. Instead, do the opposite and focus on and practice true humility. As people change and evolve one by one using this method, he believes the world will become a better more balanced place. I feel that Gavin Seah is one of many young authors trying to develop a better lifestyle through learning. His writings in True Humility are true and honest with a heartfelt touch of goodness, giving you the feeling that he stems from humble beginnings. He does not seem to feel the need to fit in, but rather to stand out in the crowd as an individual with a difference. Gavin’s writing is very inspiring for young and old, mainly because every story feels like you can relate to it in one way or another. He writes from experience and there is nothing better than true non-fiction through self-experience. I will be reading more from this author in the future. I can easily recommend this book to those seeking true inner peace and those who would like guidelines to follow on how to obtain it.

Reviewed by Daniel D Staats for Readers' Favorite

Dr. Nancy Stella deals with six fear traps that bother most people in her book Fear Traps: Escape the Triggers That Keep You Stuck. Through personal experiences and years of counseling, she has developed the Courageous Brain Process (CBP). This process is a six-step program to create new neuropathways in the brain to change how you respond to fear. The book contains a chapter for each of the six common fear traps (Being Alone, Rejection, Confrontation, Being Ignored, Failure, and Fear of the Unknown). Not only does she explain the fear trap, but she also includes a real-life case study before she explains how to use the CBP to overcome the fear. Finally, at the end of the book, Nancy includes guided meditations for each of the six traps. This book is beneficial for anyone struggling in one of the fear traps.

Every fear trap has its triggers. Nancy Stella teaches her readers how to identify triggers and then moves on to solving the fear traps. In Fear Traps, Nancy shares her Courageous Brain Process (CBP) model. CBP allows those who struggle with a fear trap to create new neuropathways and overcome the vicious grip of the fear trap. Psychology can be a technical subject, but Nancy knows how to explain the topics that can be complicated. In addition, she has over twenty years of experience working with clients. As a result, this book is simple enough to help everyone who struggles with fear. Nancy’s compassion for those who suffer comes through in her writing. There are no condemnations in this book, only positive encouragements.

Reviewed by Daniel D Staats for Readers' Favorite

Chauncey McGlathery is a man of many talents. In his book, The Hero’s Journey: Deliver Yourself from Evil, he shares his theories on improving yourself and saving yourself from the performance trap. His method includes embracing the performance mentality and using it for good. Chauncey believes (to paraphrases Shakespeare) that all life is a performance. He shares how he learned to love genuinely and that love allowed him to look to the needs of others. If one thinks life is all about themselves, they lose. Chauncey turned his lifestyle and philosophy around before he was able to start winning. His winning was because he began to head in the right direction. The correct style of living leads to generous giving. Chauncey learned that it is not about what he receives but about what he can give.

The Hero’s Journey: Deliver Yourself from Evil by Chauncey McGlathery describes his journey from the performance trap of love based on one’s performance to living to serve and help others. Chauncey shares his journey to reinvent himself into a more loving and kinder person. He writes in the first-person narrative. He shares how he came to realize the error of his ways and how he went about fixing himself. Chauncey writes in a style that will cause you to think. You will examine your own life to see if you might be living in some of the same traps in which Chauncey lived. Take your time reading this book and use it to help guide you into a new and improved lifestyle. Drawing on a life of stage performances, Chauncey teaches that the best way to live is by being generous and giving. Investing in others is the best investment one can make.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Do you believe you could be an artist? Are you creative? Or, do you believe that you “don’t have a creative bone in your body”? Or, perhaps you believe “you are not good enough”? This is a very serious syndrome, perhaps one that should be described as a “form of Post-Traumatic Art Disorder.” Believe it or not, we all have it within ourselves to be creative. How we find and use that creativity is unique to each and every one of us. And we need this creativity to help de-stress the rest of our lives: “We have placed personal fulfillment and the nourishment of our sacred inner selves on the back burner, and as a result, we find ourselves facing burnout and internal emptiness.” We need to find that inner self once again, the freedom to be creative in our own unique way.

Mary Potter Kenyon’s inspirational book, Called to Be Creative: A Guide to Reigniting Your Creativity, is part memoir, part self-help, and motivational. The author speaks to us like a friend, telling her stories, her mother’s stories, all the things in her life that inspired her and made her find her own creativity. She parallels her story and her inspirational notes with the one person who truly inspired her: her mother, a strong woman who worked hard to care for a growing family of ten, impoverished in the monetary sense but rich in faith and creative energy. As the author leads the reader through a step-by-step approach to encourage us to find our inner creativity, she shares with us countless stories, personal vignettes, cherished memories. She includes multiple quotes from great minds and lesser-known great minds, quotes that encourage creativity and seeking our inner creative power force. One of the more profound quotes she shares is from Oscar Wilde: “To live is the rarest thing in the world, Most people exist, that is all.” We need our creative inner self to blossom to help us do more than merely exist.

The author provides interactive worksheets to allow the reader to follow some of her proven steps. She provides numerous resources for further reading and aptly sums up her presentation with yet another compelling quote from her mother’s journals: “Whether my life and death was for good or for nothing, it is you who must say this. I leave you my death. Give it meaning. Remember me.” An engaging read and a powerful tool to spark our creativity.

Reviewed by Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite

Since his youth, author Geoffrey Saign has been on a journey of balance. Throughout his journey, the pathway of knowledge and understanding of mindfulness in various forms was being strengthened. As he became more experienced with the different teachings, he learned how to manage his stress and enjoy life more. His latest book, Smile More Stress Less: A Playful Method to End Anxiety, Be Calm & Achieve Happiness with Awareness, is a self-help tool and resource for you to learn from his trek on how to stabilize and control your stress and live life. You will learn how to create a paradigm shift of thought by focusing on and grasping where your thought patterns originated. The author takes your hand and carefully guides you through the process, procedures, and solutions for overcoming stress, particularly Self-Created Stress which is where his theory of HERE, Intelligence, Illusions and Mind comes in to help bring the point home.

Smile More Stress Less by Geoffrey Saign is a gem. Immediately it challenges you with the HERE, Intelligence, Illusions and Mind theory; it offers some examples to reflect how we think; it thoroughly explains the aspects of stress, its influences and impact; and it provides a quiz to determine your Self-Created Stress level. I believe that the games, questions, and exercises are essential because these got me fully engaged and involved in not only reading the material but in understanding how it applies to my life and living. With the right recipe, you can improve how you visualize and see the world around you. Just like I did, after reading this book you will smile more and stress less. Enjoy!