Awaken a Better You: 4 Simple Steps To Create the Life You Want

Part autobiography and part self-help, this title by life coach and Build a Better You founder and director Thompson shares his impoverished beginning, near-death experiences, and personal stories describing mental, physical, relational, and spiritual struggles, and the solutions he found along the way. Though the title is biblically based, it is not preachy and does not require prior knowledge of the Bible. Thompson presents four growth points—desperation, information, application, and transformation—in readable chapters, ending with prompts to talk, work, and write it out. Remaining chapters focus on transforming emotional, relational, physical, and spiritual health. Thompson encourages readers to take agency and make holistic life changes. While the book is well-written, it covers deep topics in a few short chapters, which may leave readers wanting more. While the introduction says: “You are a mess, yet deeply loved by God,” and he later explains that our brains are created to change, he disregards these statements in the final chapter. Here, he disallows the possibility for elected leaders or church goers to change, effectively undercuting the premise that anyone can change.