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Posted: **02 Jun 2018, 18:06**

lavellan wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 14:09
AliceofX wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 05:15 I should probably start by saying that I've never been a fan of self-help type books. I don't really have much to compare this book to, but I'll probably stay away from this genre in the future. What I disliked most about the book was how arrogant the author came off. Maybe I'm just a huge cynic, but I don't believe our destiny is entirely in our hands. There are people who say, "What doesn't kill you make you stronger." To me, that just means you weren't hit hard enough. You could have easily been left cripled and broken, but you weren't. That brings me to the crux of the problem. Sure, the author, like all of us, worked hard to get what he has, but in the end he also had the luck to not be given a heavier burden than he could carry. But then to go on and preach that you can achieve anything if you just work hard ... The world doesn't work like that. The world isn't fair and just. In the end, all we can say is, "There but for the grace of God."

To be completely fair, it was a well-written book with interesting stories. The "myth I believed" at the start of every chapter always made me intrigued, and made me want to continue reading. But in the end I just couldn't get behind the overall moral of the book.
I agree as well. Toward the beginning of the book I was more interested as the stories seemed to be relatable to me, but as the story went on, he became a total narcissist. I enjoyed that he was willing to point out his flaws, but it seemed like he never really grew out of his self-centered ways. I disliked that the stories all followed the same formula where he encountered a problem, solved it, and then helped someone else. It became very repetitive after a while. It also is pretty easy to say that you can overcome anything when you’ve never encountered any true adversity in life. This book would be enjoyable to casual readers, but it wouldn’t be very helpful to people who have serious problems in their lives.

I have read and reviewed this book. I was looking for a word that suited the author's behavior and after I have come across your opinion, I have realized it was narcisstic. Thank you for this. I agree with your observation.

Posted: **15 Jun 2018, 08:08**

I really enjoyed And Then I Met Margaret. If you like to read short real stories with some meaning, this book is for you. I really liked the author sharing his life stories. I cried and I laughed at some of his stories. I liked the story about his hair the best. I liked the stories about his aunt as well. I didn't like the story of the African woman and the death of her child. It seemed like that story didn't fit in with the others. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Posted: **19 Jun 2018, 01:27**

I gave this book a 3-star rating. It was pretty relatable since the author is from a small town. He's also very ambitious and great at laying out what changed his perception of the world.

Posted: **22 Jun 2018, 07:30**

MsTri wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 15:01 I haven't read this, but 'Wow', @AliceofX; a self-help book that isn't very helpful, huh? And I know exactly what you mean. All my life, I've heard, "you can be anything you want to be", "follow your dreams", etc. Well, I can guarantee that I never intended to be poor and struggling all the time. Despite reaching reaching reeeeeeeeeeeaching and clamoring for my dreams, here I still am. I agree with you; sometimes life just doesn't give one the tools or opportunities one needs. It's all well and good to give the previous advice, but when so much of life depends on others, especially others in positions of power, what can one really do?

I agree, while we all have,i believe, unlimited potential the fact that that potential os easily squashed by those above us in power can be discouraging and hindering to say the least. While we all have potential for greatness that potential is not always left in our own hands thus we can only get so far when forced to rely on others to help us move forward.

Posted: **22 Jun 2018, 08:15**

Frankly speaking, I did not at all imagine liking a self-help book, but then again it is not an average self-help book. Some of the life-stories resonated with me, while some seemed a little superficial. From some of them I took lessons, and some of them I liked because I myself follow or at least try to follow the virtues they highlight. I have got one complaint though, that is the ''myth I believed'' vs 'altered perception' feature. While that is unique and capable of summarizing the lessons in most cases, some of them did not fully express the realizations the reader might expect from the chapters. In some cases they seemed too preachy, almost like the sayings of famous gurus the author mentions in the prologue. I personally would have selected different take-home messages for those chapters. Overall though the read was refreshing and had me convinced to follow some of the lessons. I would recommend to anyone, even those who do not like self-help book because this can also be taken up as a book that recounts life experiences in a humorous way.

Posted: **24 Jun 2018, 15:13**

I loved the book, I felt that the stories were truly genuine and inspirational, I rated this book 4 out of 4 stars check out my review for the details if you are curious of my rationale.

Posted: **23 Jul 2018, 11:39**

I did a review of this book. To me it was a great read because every single story had a life lesson to learn and so I rated it 4 out of 4 stars.

Posted: **21 Sep 2018, 09:24**

I haven't read this book, but going through the reviews of it, it seems to be split on whether or not the book would be enjoyable. A lot of people are saying it was a good book, where others are saying the author is narcissistic. I usually enjoy self-help books where the person is able to turn their life around. But I don't like when they are trying to preach their way of doing it.

Posted: **21 Oct 2018, 06:57**

The title is great, will be trying.

Posted: **21 Oct 2018, 09:36**

I haven't read the book yet but it is on my reading list to hopefully get to soon.

Posted: **21 Oct 2018, 09:51**

mac83 wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 09:24 I haven't read this book, but going through the reviews of it, it seems to be split on whether or not the book would be enjoyable. A lot of people are saying it was a good book, where others are saying the author is narcissistic. I usually enjoy self-help books where the person is able to turn their life around. But I don't like when they are trying to preach their way of doing it.

I have read the book and thoroughly enjoyed the author's stories and lessons he learned from different people. I did not get the sense that the author was narcissistic at all. You may like to read my review or others to help you decide if you want to read the book or not. It was a lot like Chicken Soup for the Soul type of book.

Posted: **30 Oct 2018, 07:35**

This book is multidimensional in the sense that it includes lessons from different people who the protagonist met. The chapters are short and interesting. It will be helpful to those who seek self-motivation.

Posted: **06 Feb 2019, 12:05**

AliceofX wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 05:15 What I disliked most about the book was how arrogant the author came off. Maybe I'm just a huge cynic, but I don't believe our destiny is entirely in our hands. There are people who say, "What doesn't kill you make you stronger." To me, that just means you weren't hit hard enough. You could have easily been left cripled and broken, but you weren't. That brings me to the crux of the problem. Sure, the author, like all of us, worked hard to get what he has, but in the end he also had the luck to not be given a heavier burden than he could carry. But then to go on and preach that you can achieve anything if you just work hard ... The world doesn't work like that. The world isn't fair and just. In the end, all we can say is, "There but for the grace of God."

I have seen a lot of these types of books lately. Authors who seem to have a blessed life with ordinary challenges like to preach that working hard can get you anywhere. I love to read about individuals who are truly broken, rising up and conquering. But I just can't take advice from those who haven't truly faced life-altering challenges. God's grace is truly what saves all of us.

Posted: **13 May 2020, 10:14**

I don't actually read a lot of self-help books because I find that it's often difficult for the authors to not come across as too self-centred or patronising. While White wasn't patronising I did get the idea sometimes that he held fairly high views of himself, which at times made it quite difficult to relate to

Posted: **07 Nov 2022, 04:37**

AliceofX wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 05:15 I should probably start by saying that I've never been a fan of self-help type books. I don't really have much to compare this book to, but I'll probably stay away from this genre in the future. What I disliked most about the book was how arrogant the author came off. Maybe I'm just a huge cynic, but I don't believe our destiny is entirely in our hands. There are people who say, "What doesn't kill you make you stronger." To me, that just means you weren't hit hard enough. You could have easily been left cripled and broken, but you weren't. That brings me to the crux of the problem. Sure, the author, like all of us, worked hard to get what he has, but in the end he also had the luck to not be given a heavier burden than he could carry. But then to go on and preach that you can achieve anything if you just work hard ... The world doesn't work like that. The world isn't fair and just. In the end, all we can say is, "There but for the grace of God."

To be completely fair, it was a well-written book with interesting stories. The "myth I believed" at the start of every chapter always made me intrigued, and made me want to continue reading. But in the end I just couldn't get behind the overall moral of the book.

This is interesting Alice, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger “ I like what you believe about it, I believe that what doesn’t kill you mutates and tries again

in the end as you have said everything we have is by God’s Grace, the author’s opinion on hard work pays off is something I found a little inconsiderate on my part… overral the book is a good read.

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