B

Great light and fun listen

Reviewed: 2021-03-04

FYI this is fiction. I loved the storyline, loved the characters, and the amazing narration that brought the characters voices. There's a lot of dialogue in this book so narration must have been quite a challenge, but it was amazing. Positive, feel good book, I laughed out loud several times. We need more books like this. I'll be looking for more books narrated by Marin Ireland.

Applicable summary of several key parenting books

Reviewed: 2021-02-28

I recognized the advice from other parenting books I had heard and read. I like how practically this book is laid out and I think I'll pick up a hard copy when I come across one. I liked the author's writing prompts. I did not like the narration. While the narrator's voice is pleasant, her tone ups and downs make it hard to know when sentences end. It made difficult for me to follow the flow unless my attention was 100% on listening.

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overdeveloped

Reviewed: 2021-02-22

Overdeveloped limited plot. The final sentence could open a new chapter, but the book ended on it.

Empowering, In moderation

Reviewed: 2021-02-11

Warning: this book is best enjoyed in moderation. Read one chapter at a time, alternate with another listen. I'm listening to this as a companion for DryFeb and it sure keeps me motivated. Sometimes it's a bit much and sometimes unrelatable for me, and the pseudoscience and extreme feminist parts are a bit of a turnoff for me, but 4 stars for daring to express the issues and proposing better solutions, and 5stars for empowering all women who will read/listen whether with alcohol or any other addiction whether acknowledged or not. Holly does an amazing job at narrating her own book. I do wish she audible book came with pdf material as the frameworks she presents would be really helpful if I could just refer to them. I just might have get a hard copy.

Tom Hanks narration is a treat

Reviewed: 2021-02-10

The narration by Tom Hanks is what makes this book a worthwhile listen. If you are looking for something light, pick this up. Otherwise, the story is just okay.

Meaningful, informative and applicable

Reviewed: 2021-02-01

Valuable description of challenges our teens face and how to guide them while protecting and reviving our connection with them. Narration was engaging.

still meaningful old school narrative

Reviewed: 2021-01-28

This is a great and concise retelling of the world, esp western world history. I didn't particularly enjoy the interviews and I wish they were in separate chapters so they could more easily be skipped. I am in my early 40s and this is interesting to me, although some quotes make me laugh. it makes me realize how much we've evolved our general thinking as a society, not always for the better. Most importantly, this book puts to light the patterns and cycles of human history.

Take some and leave some

Reviewed: 2021-01-25

I appreciate many of the topics addressed in this book, and the narrator is very clear (although her dramatic voice tone on some of the unfortunate consequences of bad choices is a bit much). I question the lack of logic in the causality articulated in early chapters. For example, if a significant portion of adults with anxiety disorders were first diagnosed when they were kids, I don't agree it implies that we need to protect our kids from anxiety, It could very well be the early label itself that causes the disorders later in life, or maybe there's no link at all, since there is no mention of how many who were Not diagnosed at an early age ended up with disorders later in life. I think If one looks for a disorder, one will find it, in every human being. We are imperfect and that makes us unique. it's about how we play with the cards were dealt and which new cards we pickup along the way, either on purpose or by chance. Also the author recommends some pretty drastic measures to control our teenagers, and while I get her point, I think it gets in the way of connecting and building trust with our teens which is key.
Still a worthwhile listen for sure, as one of many resources to understand our teens and the different perspectives used to help them navigate these formative years. And most importantly, she sheds light on how events and learnings are processed in the teenager's brain and why. This will help me be empathetic and be realistic with expectations of accountability and responsibility on their part. To be honest, it helps me accept some mistakes I made as a teen. You know those events you recall and wonder "What was I thinking?.." This book answers some of this.
This being said, the author isn't good at telling people what to do. There's a lot of arrogance in her parenting advice and it's hard to get past that. But the scientific pieces are revelating.

classic "au passé"

Reviewed: 2021-01-15

I wanted to listen to this book because it's a classic, and for it's Montreal nostalgia. My expectations were not very high, just hoping for some light entertainment here. I gave this book a chance all the way to the end of Chapter 10, but I give up. It's shallow, sexist , unecessarily violent and makes you huff "loser" too many times. The narrator reads à la Stewart McLean, with a tinge of arrogance in his voice and cannot pronounce french words and french names, which is irritating.

Good guidance to start relationships right

Reviewed: 2021-01-10

I got some great pointers on how to start relationships on the right note with boundaries on check. very specific. Surprising for a therapist to be giving so much "you should..." advice. I question how this protects authenticity and whether it's sustainable after.
in any case it's great pointers on red flags and how to handle them. But be advised that it's not particularly helpful for married couples, nor couples with kids where sticking to, implementing boundaries has consequences on others too.