This was the first book I received through the Goodreads First Reads program. While definitely outside my preferred genre, I was intrigued by the title and had a personal connection since I once tried something similar myself.
First the good news. However you ultimately feel about this book, you can't help but admire the author's perseverance. Few who have suffered as she has, surviving separate bouts of colon and breast cancer, could manage to maintain such a positive attitude. The idea of her "try something new every day" challenge is daunting and requires more commitment than most of us could ever imagine. I know - I tried and failed several years ago.
I enjoyed reading about some of the challenges and particularly enjoyed the blurbs at the end of each section, offering medical/scientific validation of her considerable anecdotal evidence.
On the down side, the book is fluffy and rah-rah to the point of distraction. Although some must have been life changing, none of her challenges are addressed in more than a superficial manner. I wanted more depth.
I also thought the book suffered through lack of chronological presentation. This would have been a much more powerful story if we saw the ups and downs as they occurred throughout the year. How did the challenge evolve over time? Her attempts to present this thematically were quite weak.
To be fair, I visited her blog and found that it contained much of what the book lacked.
In the end this was a great personal triumph for the author, an entertaining blog, and a book with unfulfilled promise.
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