In Am I doing this Right, Colleen Bordeaux shares a short list of questions we should be asking ourselves and how finding the answers to these questions will help us live better, more fulfilling lives. Sounds simple enough, yet it is immediately obvious how much time, thought, and research went into the careful crafting of each chapter, dedicated to one of seven questions. The advice in here is deep and life changing. The presentation of said advice is laugh-out-loud funny, relatable, and light. I could have breezed through the book in a day, but I’m so glad I took the time to slowly savor it over a few weeks, taking notes and striving absorb as many nuggets of wisdom as possible. There are many held within its pages. I even brought it with me on my honeymoon!
Perhaps I found it so inspiring and loved it so much because I’m also a thirty-something-year-old with over 17,000 unopened emails in my inbox and a history of overdosing on hot yoga. It’s more likely that I could relate to Colleen’s perspective, and learn from it, because of how genuinely and self-deprecatingly she shares her personal reflections from her relentless pursuit to live right. In her 32 years she’s read more philosophers and self-help gurus’ work than most of us could in several lifetimes. But don’t expect a “know-it-all” voice. Instead, it’s clear that Colleen shares every word in this book as a gift to others. She just couldn’t keep her thoughts and knowledge to herself, and I’m so glad she didn’t. It left me with a renewed appreciation for the beauty around me and more purpose in my day-to-day decision making. I’ve already started to notice positive changes in my own life just from taking the first simple steps she recommends.
You might think that philosophy has no place in book club, but I’d recommend adding this to your club’s want to read list - tout suite. It will take you and your members on a journey, bring you closer to each other, and provide a vision for a better version of the life you’re currently leading. I’m in a book club with mom and sisters. Once a year we choose a “self-help” book to explore together over the holidays. Am I Doing this Right will for sure be our 2019 pick.