Book Review Mondays

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Real Life: Preparing for the 7 Most Challenging Days of Your Life
by Phil McGraw

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

McGraw’s goal is, "to do two things: one, believe in yourself enough to know that these days might make you bend but not break...; and two, provide certain specific skill sets and mental and emotional strategies to make the most of our God-given gifts, traits, and characteristics." He could have subtitled the book, “coping skills for maintaining emotional balance.” The 7 most challenging days include: 1) the days between the peaks and the valleys, 2) the day your heart is shattered, 3) the day you realize you have lived your life as a sellout, 4) the day you realize you are in way over your head, 5) the day the body breaks down, 6) the day the mind breaks down, and 7) the day addiction takes over. Each section is totally independent of the others; thus, readers can select and choose those areas of the book most relevant to their lives. Each section of the book, too, contains exercises to identify your life status along with strategies to prepare for and/or deal with the seven great crises of life. As in all of his books, McGraw’s writing style is warm, comforting, and conversational. His stories are both interesting and captivating, and although many of his coping strategies are commonsense — if we would just sit down and think rationally about our problems or situations — they are helpful prompts and reminders. His writing is upbeat and encouraging as when he says, “But despite challenges like these, I’m optimistic. I believe that we can face mental illness and succeed in getting better” (p. 214). There are many people who can benefit from his style, approach, and suggestions.

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The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
by Steve Lopez

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

Steve Lopez, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, wrote a series of stories about a homeless man in his mid 50s, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, whom he heard playing a violin with only two strings on a street corner In Los Angeles. This book chronicles the relationship between Lopez and Ayers through complexities, challenges, and rewards. It turned out that Ayers possessed orchestra-level talent on several stringed instruments and had actually trained at the Julliard School of Music in New York City. Ayers’ future career as a musician was destroyed by a psychotic breakdown in the early 1970s possibly prompted by the intensely competitive atmosphere of Julliard, the fact that he was a black student on a nearly all-white campus, and the onset of mental illness (later diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia). Ayers wound up in Los Angeles where he discovered the statue of Beethoven (his musical hero), and he began serenading passers-by on his two-stringed violin. Well, hearing classical music being played by a homeless man, Lopez thought he could generate a couple of stories from this experience, and his stories evolved into this excellent book. Lopez befriends Ayers and gives him assistance, time, money, as well as access to resources. You must remember as you read the book that Lopez is a journalist, because the book reads like a series of newspaper articles — well-written, engaging, and easy-to-comprehend, and the book sheds light on mental illness, social work, the plight of the poor and the lack of government support, as well as friendship and the human spirit. The movie, starring Robert Downy Jr. (as Steve Lopez), Jamie Fox (as Nathaniel Ayers) was directed by Joe Wright and released November, 2008. This memoir is a masterpiece for the way Lopez focuses on the perils of living of the streets, the difficulty in achieving recovery, and the disorientation that schizophrenia causes. On a more macro level, you begin to understand how music can shape our understanding of our environment, how we can grow internally when we openly face new circumstances, and how our priorities change as we age and mature. Anyone concerned about the plight of the homeless, working in mental health or human services will find this book worthwhile. Everyone else, too, will find it compelling, heartwarming, uplifting, and thought-provoking. I recommend it with no hesitation or reservation, and suggest that it will make a great gift as well.

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Through our reading, researching, and writing, And Then Some Publishing (and our extended family of readers) mine volumes of books representing a wide variety of tastes. We use the books in our writing, test and try suggested techniques, and we read for enjoyment as well. We wouldn't spend the time reviewing the books if we didn't get something out of it. Read more reviews on other fantastic books at our BookWorksRules.com website.