Review of 'Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Have you ever read a very promising book only to get halfway through and feel like you've been reading about what the book has to offer you, rather than having read the offerings themselves? This book is a reminder that relying on PhD in the author's name isn't a long term strategy.
This book left me with the (probably wrong) sense that it was written for people who don't need help with serious issues.
Example: "Finally, as her pain started to subside, she began to trust others, and that her past no longer had anything to do with her present. The last time I heard from her, Emily was engaged to a wonderful man who deeply loved and appreciated her, and whose love and appreciation she could finally allow herself to receive."
Now this is probably a fairly common story about the power of therapy, and someone who grew through …
Have you ever read a very promising book only to get halfway through and feel like you've been reading about what the book has to offer you, rather than having read the offerings themselves? This book is a reminder that relying on PhD in the author's name isn't a long term strategy.
This book left me with the (probably wrong) sense that it was written for people who don't need help with serious issues.
Example: "Finally, as her pain started to subside, she began to trust others, and that her past no longer had anything to do with her present. The last time I heard from her, Emily was engaged to a wonderful man who deeply loved and appreciated her, and whose love and appreciation she could finally allow herself to receive."
Now this is probably a fairly common story about the power of therapy, and someone who grew through many sessions of interactive therapy with a qualified doctor providing therapy. But it's not presented as that. What did Emily do? She just told herself, "I love and accept myself exactly as I am" according to Dr. Neff.
There is good in this book, but it feels like panning for gold, slinging mountains of slop over your shoulder until you find a nugget. I believe there is a lot of useful stuff in this book, and I appreciate the perspective, but it's blatantly untrustworthy.