A (Not So) Enlightened Youth - My Uneasy Road to Awareness: A Guide to Finding Yourself from Within

by Koi Fresco

Half life story. Half guide to awakening. "A (Not So) Enlightened Youth" describes the life of Koi Fresco and his methodology towards changing one's life for the better.

From addictions to convictions and finally to a conscious awakening, follow the journey first hand as it transitions in real time. A journey that transforms into what Koi calls, "The Guide to Finding Yourself."

As a creator of educational content online, Koi has amassed millions of views on his videos regarding science, spirituality, philosophy and more.

This is Koi Fresco's first book.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Spirituality

196 pages, Paperback

Published June 7, 2016

Reviews

[Daniel Rash · Rating 5 out of 5]

A (Not So) Enlightened Youth is great story of how a teen, Koi Fresco, just like many found his way to awareness through the path of dhamma, battling his inner demons and having a unquenchable thirst for knowledge. I found this book to be truly inspiring, giving me the comfort that there is someone out there who has made the same mistakes/decisions as I did, yet completely turned his life around for the better. The first half of the book talks about Koi's life before he stepped unto the path of awareness and how each experience in his life influenced where he is now. The second half of the book is a guide how to find yourself from within in this culture and reality through different methods including the eightfold path, mindfulness, wellness, etc. I really LOVED this book because it talks directly to the kids/adults of the western culture, who mostly are unaware of eastern philosophy/practices. Koi addresses the reader personally,giving a wonderful guide on how to find your inner peace which can be extremely difficult living in such a materialistic, individualistic society. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to all young people AND adults who are seeking to find themselves and make the changes that are necessary to discover true peace and harmony. Also check out his youtube channel: Koi's Corner. Its pretty freaking enlightening :)

[Leesha Sha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Highly recommend!

[Natalie Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this very well written book the author Koi Fresco talks about how the new generation of people especially in he western world that we live in live very self centered and ego driven lives. He goes on about how the youth of today are more enthralled with perfecting their own personal physical image rather than the physical image and state of our own planet. He also talks about while technology is a good thing that we can all use to better our lives an human beings and even better the planet and the other people that we share our home planet with, it could also potentially be the down fall to our society. He also touches on the fact that it is such a shame that many people around the world choose to partake in the mass genocide of million of innocent animal lives everyday very well knowing that consuming theses products in not only bad for their own health both mentally and physically. But it is bad for the environment of our planet, and is extremely cruel and inhumane to the animals that are put through hell just to become a snack. He talks about how shameful it is that even though many people know about his they still choose to support these industries. He talks about how he believes the youth of today are the most uneducated generation so far when it comes to spirituality and morals.

[Jacob Petrossian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the first autobiography-esque half of the book to be very engaging. I felt it drop off a little towards the second half. I kinda thought "This guy is in his early 20's (like me) what does he know?" I feel like when he is 40 he will write a very different book. With more experience I would be curious to read that one!

Unfortunately the grammar mistakes made this book seem incredibly amateur. However, the stories within were quite cool.

[Sophie Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great. Its an easy read and could be picked up any time to remind yourself of the simplicity of life and how we can continue evolving as individuals. There are typos, grammatical, and spelling mistakes throughout the book but its well worth persevering as Koi/Vishuddha makes some insightful points.

[Kyle Lemons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Koi Fresco is a great spiritual teacher and guru. His writing is not professional, but his concepts are great. This book is half autobiography, half guide to personal growth. I look forward to his next book!

[Bonnie (bonnie.readsbooks) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. Reading this book felt exactly like reading some of my students' work. I wanted to correct every error. There are A LOT of errors. The backstory of the author has the potential to be really engaging if written with more maturity.

[Thais · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional

This is an eye-opening guide to living a more selfless, mindful life and finding out who you are in life and getting to the place you want to be. I recommend this book 100%! Must read.

[Harvy Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, pure and life-changing book. A must read. Pure humbleness and wisdom from the author.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful and inspiring book. So much love for Koi :)

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to overlook the grammatical errors and typos but that was a difficult task. I usually don't mind a couple grammar issues in self published books but this one had too many. The book was so flawed in that sense to the point that it took a couple seconds to grasp what he was trying to say. I think an editor would have really helped in this case.

Despite overlooking the grammatical errors, I was still left dissatisfied because the overall message is so cliché. On second thought, the message wouldn't have seemed as overdone if he had presented it better. I can confidently say that I know just as much as I did prior to reading this book. To me, this is the most unattractive quality for a book to have. If I don't learn or hear a new interpretation of a certain subject, what's the point?

He mentions that he wasn't much of a "school boy,” implying that he didn't pay attention during class. This is what I kept in mind as I read, but even with this in mind, that did not excuse the fact that I was reading something with the absence of anything profound enough to remember.

[Ryan Bolton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very inspirational and made me think. I found numerous comparisons between me and Koi as I am near the age he was when he began his spiritual journey. My only complaint is that there are many spelling and grammar errors throughout the book. In a way it makes the book seem more personal as it is obvious it was written completely by Koi. But at the same time it made it hard to read or understand at times and almost seemed like I was reading a text someone had sent me. Other than that I really enjoyed what I've read so far. The day I received the book in the mail I immediately read through Part 1 and as soon as I'm done writing this review I'm going to read the other half. I hope to see more from Koi (hopefully with better proofreading).

[Marlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars- loved both parts of this book. The first half was about Koi's life growing up and it was so interesting learning about everything he's been through and how much he has changed since only a few years ago. The second half was a "guide to finding yourself." I thought he explained his concepts really clearly and easily and he made some good comparisons. The only thing I have to say is the typos were hard to miss and it felt a little more like a rough draft than a final product. Maybe have someone look over it before you publish a book? But love ya Koi great first book ❤️

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm gonna be honest, this book was really poorly edited, or not even edited at all. At least 2-3 noticeable grammar mistakes on each page. That really distracted from the actual content of the book. Thoughts and ideas don't seem organized very well in Part 2 of the book. But overall, a good read to learn about Koi's life story and a VERY simple "guide" at the end. Wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone who didn't previously watch Koi Fresco's YouTube videos...

[Olexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Irena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would definitely have been 5 stars if it weren't for all the typos and grammatical errors!

[Mauricio Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good. I enjoyed it alot. I would recommend to any people who are going through rough times to read this book. Koi is a really great person in my opinion. The only bad thing were typos but overall it is a really good book.