How to Ditch the How-to

3.5 stars, rounded up.

In this book, Tieler Giles encourages people to consider the wisdom that the Bible offers for life, in contrast to self-help principles that lack the same understanding of human nature, and which cannot offer true grace, salvation, or Spirit-empowered paths towards life change. Giles explains a Christian view of the world, shares personal anecdotes, and compares and contrasts typical self-help principles with teachings from the Bible. She also concludes each chapter with some paradigm shifts or ...action steps, along with a memory verse that people may find helpful for reinforcing these ideas.

Although I enjoyed this book, I found it disappointing that Giles did not provide guidance for how people can still read self-help books while being discerning. I understand why she left the self-help world behind after her unhealthy immersion in it, but for many Christians, secular self-help books can be a useful source of information about psychology, life management skills, and emotional healing. I think that this book would be even more helpful if Giles had laid out advice and ideas for how people can faithfully engage with some self-help resources while still being faithful to Scripture and weighing the truth of what they hear.

This is a great book for Christians and spiritual seekers who are interested in exploring grace-filled, realistic alternatives to self-help ideas. This author's perspective will resonate with other people who have pursued self-help principles and worn themselves out on endless striving, and I would especially recommend this to single, professional women, who will relate to Giles's life stage and many of her experiences.

I received a free copy from the publisher, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This book discusses Giles journey of self-help and self-improvement methods that are popularly used within Western culture. Within her journey she realized that through each different strategy that she was using, she wasn’t finding the fulfillment, happiness, improvement or overall finding what she was hoping to within that season.
She then contrasts the message she was understanding from the self-help method with what the Bible has to say and overall the difference that was able to make in her life. Giles uses Biblical truth to help the reader understanding their identify in Christ and what that means related to their ...purpose.
This book would be a great read for somebody who is struggling with self-improvement and is looking to the world to understand how they can best improve. This can bring the reader back to remember the truth of who they are and their identity viewed through a lens of grace.

As someone who has jumped on the self-help wagon numerous times and still struggles to accept God’s grace, I found Giles’ both theologically and practically encouraging.

Giles shares openly of her search for self-help, even after coming to Christ. She is transparent in the ways she leaned on self-sufficiency rather than Christ’s work on the cross. With a conversational tone, Giles shares timeless truth in a friendly, yet, thought provoking way.

Each section ends with a final thought to embrace grace and memory verse. While I would recommend this book for any time- it is an especially good resource as we enter the new year and for many, begin to make plans and resolutions.

Perfect for self-study but would be really good for a small group study!