Monday, March 26, 2012

My Own Worst Enemy Book Review



My Own Worst Enemy:How to stop holding yourself back is by Janet Davis, a new author to me. Honestly I picked this book because I didn't like the other choices so I wasn't really excited about reading this one either. I figured it would be another "encouragement but no real help or info" type of book. I was pleasantly surprised.

I LOVE how this book is written, the format. Davis will start out the chapter with a poem or saying and then ask a question or tell the reader to consider something. This could easily be a type of Bible study.
Here is an example of her trying to engage the reader in the material, "Make a list of ten words or phrases that describe the essence of you. Do no t include roles you play, things you do, or character qualities you have honed through the years. Include that make you uniquely you."

After each "consider" she moves on to tell a true story about someone she met or a certain time in her life. I really like hearing other people's stories instead of someone just telling me everything will be ok, you need to do these things to be happier but where is the proof? And it is always nice to know that there are others who struggle with things just like I do.

Here is where it becomes interesting! Davis will stop her story telling in the middle and start talking about a woman in the Bible. This part I really was surprised about because often times the little verses authors add don't make sense to me, if I'm honest about it. So she weaves in this story about the life of a woman in the Bible. Many of the stories I had never heard of before or really thought about from their perspective. Sure I've thought about Ruth's perspective on life but what about Naomi?

After reading a thought provoking story she found in the Bible, Davis finishes her earlier story about her friend or herself. At the end of each chapter she includes something called "Your Story" which is just a bunch of questions to help engage you more in the book.

I really enjoyed this book and it would be a good Bible study material for groups or just yourself. She really gets to how women feel about themselves and how to overcome certain things that overcome women on a daily basis. I would recommend this book to any woman I know.

You can read the first chapter here.

"I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers for this review"

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