Live Before You Die

Rating:
Summary: This book makes me think about how I have been living
Review: Lots of funny examples of such a serious topic...psychology and learning how to live. The chapters point to areas of our lives in which, if we concentrate on, can help to improve the quality of each and every day. Some of these topics I was aware of, but Mark has an unusual way of presenting the information.
I have recommended it to my closest girlfriends so we can talk about some of the ideas.
THe pictures were an interesting addition to the chapters.
This is a good book for people that think they are neurotic. Like he says in the beginning, maybe we are not as messed up as the culture portrays us to be.

Rating:
Summary: Live Before You Die
Review: This book is well written, and surprisingly different from most self-help books. It is not the kind of book that tells you everything can be just fine if you take prescribed steps. Nor is it the kind, so popular today, in which one gets "yelled at" for failings. It covers material that will often be familiar to people who read books on stress management, but inevitably it treats its topics with a new twist. For example, Hood deals with relaxation training, but focuses on the daily use of "mini" relaxations, so readers are more likely to be able to apply relaxation methods to their lives. He discusses healthy versus unhealthy defense mechanisms, the health benefits of keeping pets, both of which will be familiar to students of stress management, but he also discusses the benefits of giving and acts of kindness as well as of patience and self-discipline.

Hood provides advice on dealing with work stress but focuses on developing one's strengths rather than working on one's weaknesses.

The author also does a nice job of dealing with the impact of toxic people on one's life, and he uses Dr. Laura as an example of such people, a criticism many of us see as long overdue.

This is an easy, quick and pleasant way to understand what is known about how to use the mind for health and psychological well-being. The advice given in this book has a good basis in scientific research.