Tag: book-reviews

Book Report: The Let Them Theory

Um, I read this book. The good news is that The Let Them Theory, by Mel Robbins (who is very famous, just ask her), has an excellent thesis and provides sound advice for anyone struggling with self esteem, dealing with negativity, or looking for success.

The bad news is that her method would be adequately explained in a nice pamphlet or blog entry. I’m not sure it requires a whole book. That said, I grant that one of the most important techniques of self help books is repetition. To get a concept to sink into our stubborn human consciousness, we have to be exposed to it repeatedly. So I get it. I just could do without the formulaic repetition.

Each chapter is so similar that by the end, I could probably write one. Sorry to be so harsh. I think Let Them, followed by Let Me is a powerful tool for leading a happy productive life. I’ve used this technique myself, very often, over the past five or so years as I’ve crawled out of the shadows of some bullies, narcissists, and cruel people. It’s invaluable!

When someone says things behind your back, let them. When they lie to you or betray you, let them. Don’t beg and plead, just let them. Then you get to choose your reaction, because the only person you can control is yourself. I’ve said similar things in this blog before, though not as carefully crafted as Robbins puts it.

It’s probably worth putting yourself through the book just to hammer the technique into your head so that it becomes second nature. Most of us can use at least a refresher.

One concern I have, though, is that she spends a lot of time telling people to be laser focused on their goals and eliminate what distracts from them. She talks about spending years focused on one goal. If this works for you, if being wealthy or whatever is that important to you, go for it. But to me, I’ve found using the Let Them Theory has allowed me to stop focusing only on the future or wallowing in past mistakes and to enjoy what is right in front of me.

The journey of life brings contentment and peace. That’s more important than sacrificing joy—ideally one could work toward a goal AND enjoy the process.

My conclusion is that as a person, Mel Robbins doesn’t resonate with me, but I appreciate her good intentions and that she’s used her success to share this very helpful way of handling what life doles out. You might enjoy her book more than I did, so I encourage you to read it or listen to one of her talks.

Look Mel up on the social media app of your choice. She’s there. She’s a media enterprise!

Look, it’s a hummingbird in a weird pose.

Take care, friends and readers! Reach out and say something nice to a fellow human being just to be friendly. And let them respond however they respond.

Book Report: Eve

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Hey, look, I finished a book that I like enough to write about! I’d would wager (if I did that kind of thing) that any like-minded friend of mine would love Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, by Cat Bohannon, as much as I did. It has footnotes and endnotes, too, which hints at some thorough documentation, yet there’s lots of humor scattered throughout, so it’s not boring one bit.

I got it at the airport on the way to Hilton Head. Those nails are so two weeks ago!

Bohannon tells the story of “Eves,” who are archetypal women of the past whose developmental firsts made big impacts on the evolution of humans. All my La Leche League friends will love the chapter on breastfeeding, though perhaps some more intense fans of this method of feeding might find flaws. I didn’t, and I even learned a little.

fingernails
Newest nails. Call me the Eve of Girly Gender Neutral Confusion.

You learn a lot about the history of hominids, as well as how mammals developed, told charmingly through example animals. You get all wrapped up in their little lives as you see how traits we still have made a difference millions of years ago. The book is a lot of fun.

As are these blue flag irises. I’ll now stop with random photos.

I also have to hand it to Bohannan for being “woke” in the best possible sense. That woman doesn’t put down anyone, even inadvertently, and she navigates our world of gender dysphoria and sexual choices like the consummate professional she is. I was duly impressed, and if I were trans or XXY or whatever, I’d feel like I’d been talked about respectfully. But she doesn’t make things awkward–if she chooses a typical example, she always acknowledges possible exceptions. I hope her terminology holds up now that there’s a (scary as heck to someone who fought for women’s rights) sudden devolutionary trend in women’s rights and roles in the US.

My only criticism, if you can call it that, is that Bohannon doesn’t talk about the effects of hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women. I’d be interested to know if the current trend of using bioidentical hormones has a positive or negative affect on women’s health and longevity. Maybe that will be in her next book.

This is a hefty tome, for certain, but remember at least a third of it is end notes, bibliography, and index. You’ll wish it kept going.