Excellent self help book. I think a lot of people reach a point in their life where they realize they are running a rat race and have forgotten why. How does it affect your health? How does it affect your life? This week by week guide helps put things into perspective. Perhaps you are on the track you want to be, but if you are questioning your actions, such as I am, this book helps you to define your purpose in life. I love the pretest and post-test type questions. It is intended to be a year worth of weekly chapters to read, but I skimmed over the latter chapters in order to review it. I did receive this book as an early review copy. ( )

Brain Makeover was an easy-to-read self-help book that gives weekly activities to rewire your brain for more positive thinking and a happier life. I thought the ideas were helpful and worthwhile and I really enjoyed going through the weekly exercises. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to find some help dealing with overwhelm or stress, who are looking to have a more positive outlook on life and feel more gratitude in the everyday hustle and bustle. ( )

Here is a quote that sums up the theme of this book very well (and also shows that it might have benefited from a bit more editing): "The brain doesn't know the difference between if you actually did something or just thought about it." In other words, you can get all kinds of stress chemicals flowing through your brain and body, or you can get good, pleasant, happy feelings - just by changing your thoughts. This basic approach will be recognized by anyone who is familiar with CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy).

The author presents 50 topics/activities (one for each week of the year, plus introductory and concluding weeks, with a pre-test and post-test). Each one challenges you to do something every day that week to promote more positive and healthy thoughts. For example, "Make Space for Something New," "Put Yourself on Your To-Do List," "Spend Time in Nature." Most of these are things we know we should be doing, or are common sense, and a few are a bit more "out there" - for example, her EFT tapping technique. There is no requirement to do these in order or to do all of them or to follow the calendar year. You are supposed to actually describe and check off what you did each day, and then journal about how it made you feel.

So be aware that this is largely a workbook with many blank pages for the reader to record activities and feelings. If you would feel ripped off buying a book that is half empty, then don't buy this one.

But you may choose to see this book as half full! The author's introductions to each topic are consistently interesting and helpful, and she asks specific questions (not just "how do you feel?" for each one). So despite the workbook aspect, I think most people would find some benefit to reading it straight through or dipping into it for inspiration or motivation from time to time. However, it would probably be best suited for someone who wants to work through these exercises with a friend, support group, or therapist, or who has a lot of motivation to do it on their own.

The author has a website where you can get a good sense of her approach. ( )

I received this book from Library Thing Early Reviewers. I requested the book because the description indicated that it would help the reader be more happy and less stressed and anxious. Who wouldn't want to be happier and less stressed? I was hoping this book would be similar to The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It is similar in that the focus is becoming happier within the time frame of one year. The author of The Brain Makeover is Phyllis Ginsberg, who has more than 30 years of experience as a marriage and family therapist. The format of the book is simple. Read one chapter per week, and you will complete the book in a year (52 chapters, 52 weeks in a year). The first week you will take a beginning assessment that includes rating your level of happiness, health and stress. In Week 51, you take the same assessment--hopefully with better results. This book is an easy read with short chapters so any reader should have plenty of time to read one chapter a week. The challenge is to actually complete the activities for each week. Ginsberg provides a topic for improvement each week and very practical ways to make these improvements. It is essentially a workbook, with assignments for each day of the week. Examples of topics include taking time for yourself, clearing clutter, deep breathing, eliminating perfectionism. Each day, you record something about the topic of the week and at the end of the week, there is a place to journal about the changes you've made that week. If you are interested in vignettes and examples or research and data, this is not the book for you. If you'd like to take action to change yourself and appreciate a simple and straightforward plan laid out for you, then you will definitely appreciate this book. I received an Ebook version of the Brain Makeover, which is not useful for implementing the program. A paper copy is necessary because you must write in the book, filling in your activities each day and your reflections for the week. It is difficult to rate the book without completing at least a few weeks of activities but I imagine that it would be helpful for readers who dedicate themselves to the author's suggestions. ( )