DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM FIELD MANUAL

Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink   199 pages

https://slpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1399204116

reviewed by Rae C.

This is a great book if you have been reading motivation and self help books and you just want to start doing!  A lot of caveats though, for the average reader.

He's kind of crazy and goes off on some tangents- for example, in the middle of his (excellent) arguments for getting into Jiu jitsu, he goes off on a rant about firearms.

He uses a lot of battle and war metaphors, which can be tiresome. He recommends working out even when you have the flu. And I'd need a whole blog to get into my arguments about the so-called "paleo" diet (our early hominid ancestors were not eating bacon and butter, and fruits predate vegetables and are still a staple for peoples living in undeveloped areas).

He also says things like "some scientists say discipline declines with use" (or something like that).  I can find no evidence on line of any scientists saying this, but perhaps it was something along the lines of "once you do something to the point that it becomes a habit, it's not discipline anymore" which I did find online.

The thing I loved about this book was it was just so direct and kind of like having a Navy Seal screaming at you "Just Go After It!" And "How do you get up early? Set your alarm and get up when it goes off!" And "How do you work out everyday?  You just work out everyday!"

Basically, you begin to feel like you should put the book down and do some burpees and go to bed early.  He's right that a lot of people spend too much time planning and not enough time just doing. 

Recommended for anyone in a slump that can handle the white typeface on black pages, and the excessively macho and somewhat disturbing imagery.

It was Me All Along

It was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell    240pages

For my 2018 New Year’s resolution, I made an easy one; one that I know I could accomplish. Once a month, I would grab a book that’s been lingering on my shelf for ages, sometimes years.

My pick for January was this memoir, and now that I’ve read it, I could kick myself for not having read it sooner.

I can’t remember how old Andie was when a doctor told her that if she didn’t change her eating habits, that she would weigh 300 pounds by the time she was 20 years old. The doc wasn’t far off; she topped the scale at 268 pounds.

Suffering a lonely and miserable childhood, Andie found comfort in food. The anecdotes of her binge-eating were heartbreaking. When she went to college, she found some acceptance, but college life only added more pounds.  Her agonizing tales of exercise and diet were equally as heartbreaking.

The focus of how Andie managed to lose 135 pounds is captivating. Readers watch her learn to eats healthier, yet still have most of the foods she craved. The key is movement and moderation.

I was completely fascinated by Andie’s story. .It was Me All Along receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Sweet

Sweet, by Emmy Laybourne, 272 pages

Laurel is a little overweight, but pretty comfortable with her body and happy with her life.  But since her friend, Viv, who constantly obsesses over her weight, got her a free ticket to accompany her on the Solu Cruise to Lose, she can hardly refuse.  Solu is a new sweetener that guarantees rapid weight loss results, and while Laurel is too seasick to eat, she observes that the people around her are losing weight.  But they're also acting pretty strangely- almost like addicts.  And then... then it gets scary.

I liked this- I especially thought it had a really good ending.  As I closed the book, I prayed a little pray: "Dear Emmy Laybourne, please don't do that thing that so many YA novelists do where you can't leave a book alone and you feel like you have to turn it into a trilogy when it's perfectly fine just as it is. Amen."  But just now, looking it up on Goodreads, it has "Sweet #1" in parentheses after the title, which is disheartening.  But if you're looking for a good creepy or sort-of-horror-y YA read and you don't mind some kind of gross scene descriptions, try this one.