How To Be You by Jeffrey Marsh

How To Be You: Stop Trying to Be Someone Else and Start Living Your Life by Jeffrey Marsh

Review by Lauren

source: copy for review; all opinions are my own

Official Summary: This book is about how to finally give up on feeling bad about ourselves and discover the best person we can be.

An interactive experience, How to Be You invites you to make the book your own through activities such as coloring in charts, answering questions about how you do the things you do, and discovering patterns in your lives that may be holding you back. Through Jeffrey's own story of "growing up fabulous in a small farming town"--along with the stories of hero/ines who have transcended the stereotypes of race, age, and gender--you will discover that you are not alone, can deepen your relationship with yourself, and find the courage to take a leap that will change your life. 

Review: I've heard of Jeffrey Marsh, but I didn't know a lot about them when I was asked if I wanted to read/review this book. I immediately said yes though because I have a love for nonfiction books that are about getting to know yourself and finding the best you. I think we all need to spend more time with ourselves, finding the things we love, and learning to love who we are and who we can be. 

This nonfiction book focuses on a different topic for each chapter, ending said chapter with a fun do-it-yourself activity or assignment that helps you with the messages you just read about. For example, one chapter is about not trying to be perfect, because it doesn't exist. There is a space in the book where you write three ways you feel or treat yourself when you aren't perfect and felt you should be. At the end of the chapter, there are some questions about perfection that you are asked to answer. You can write in the actual book if you want, or grab a piece of paper and answer the questions! I like the interactive nature - I think that's good for anyone, but especially younger readers who might need these lessons a bit more than an adult who has had more time to adjust to life. Of course, there are plenty of adults who do think they should be perfect, etc. and this is great for them too! Grab a copy for yourself AND your kid. 

Marsh does a great job making sure that people realize this book is about them. They give personal stories about their life, which I appreciated, that showed what they'd been through and how they use these same "ideas and "lessons" in the book to make themselves better. But they aren't telling people to be them, they are telling everyone to be their true selves and that's a message we should all get behind!