This book purports to be a 21-day step-by-step guide to help you with depression, anxiety, anger, and negative thoughts using cognitive behavioral therapy as a base. Unfortunately, the author doesn't seem to have an accurate understanding of what cognitive behavioral therapy actually is. According to Psychology Today, CBT “rests on the idea that thoughts and perceptions influence behavior,” and the CBT seeks to “treat problems and boost happiness by modifying dysfunctional emotions, behaviors, and thoughts.” To that end, the aim of CBT is “to identify harmful thoughts, assess whether they are an accurate depiction of reality, and if they are not, employ strategies to challenge and overcome them.” So as the word cognitive in the title of the therapy suggests, CBT is about the accuracy of thought patterns and seeks to improve it if they are not.
If this book were genuinely based on CBT, the author would have the reader look at their thought patterns for accuracy (perhaps for problems the person believes exist) and then guide to more affirmative, better ways of thinking if needed. This is not the case. These brief articles that make up the 21-day guide seem to be a grab bag of techniques taken from modern pop psychology and self-help. They may or may not have any cognitive patterning basis. Some ideas he mentions could be helpful to a person trying to understand themselves better or reach a more balanced emotional state, perhaps, but I wouldn't call it cognitive behavioral therapy.
Unfortunately, the book was riddled with errors in grammar, punctuation, and usage. Semicolons and commas seemed little understood. Much of the phrasing uses false subjects (there is/there are) and impersonal passive expressions (it expressions that don’t refer to a specific noun). Both of these constructions make the writing more wordy and less direct, distancing writer from reader. Some sentences are quite long and convoluted. The book needed a good copyeditor and proofreader.
If you're looking for a book that will give you a quick, practical take on cognitive behavioral therapy, I suggest you look elsewhere. If you're looking for a simple collection of self-help tools, you might find this book of interest.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.