The first time I heard the name “Jenna Kutcher,” I was sitting in my bedroom researching all I could to up my photography game. This top wedding photographer in Wisconsin was offering a free webinar and I immediately joined in. I had my notepad in front of me with my color coded pens lined up next to it, ready to crush my next big job.
Then I next thing I know, Jenna quit as a photographer, and so did I (mostly).
Since that day, I have heard about this photo pro turned entrepreneur mentioned in multiple spaces. She shares about her podcast and her leadership trainings, hanging out with gurus like Amy Porterfield, and others.
But how did she get to the point she traded in her camera for a mic? She got real with herself and asked, “How Am I, Really?” Then followed her heart’s answer, and we got a really good book.
Before we dive in to the review on the book, here is a reminder of how I rate what I read (these will be on a scale of 1-10, 1 being low, 10 being high):
- Plot Structure: How well the story was put together.
- Language: Level of swearing, innuendos, verbal abuse, and other triggers.
- Violence: Level of fight scenes and gore.
- Sexual Content: Level of physical intimacy.
Disclaimer: The more I write, the more I critique books harder on plot structure and how the various elements work together. Thus my reviews reflect this. However, if you see a book appear on the blog, it’s because I enjoyed reading and thought you, as a fellow bookie, would enjoy it as well. As always, reading is subjective and what resonates with me may not resonate with you. And that’s OK! We’re in this to discover new books that are family appropriate and worth taking the time to read.
Book Description:
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“The perfect read for every person who has ever felt stuck between where she is and where she wants to be. In short? Everyone I know.” — Maria Menounos, New York Times bestselling author
The truth is, we lie. We lie to ourselves about how we’re really feeling and what we really want. Not anymore.
In How Are You, Really?, Jenna Kutcher teaches how to harness your power to take control of your life. You deserve more – and deep down, you know it. If, when you get really honest with yourself, you discover that you want more out of your life: more joy, more passion, more fulfillment, and more peace? This book is for you.
In today’s chaotic world, sometimes you might wake up and not feel like yourself anymore, and you don’t even know how you are… REALLY. You’re trying to balance it all: your family, your work, and your goals, but your emotions are all over the place and you don’t feel as confident and happy as you thought you would.
This book is a guide to reframing your entire life and finally finding your own sense of joy and fulfillment in a world telling you who to be. It’s about understanding what’s going on in your head and finding your way back to a life that is truly your own.
Your expert guide is Jenna Kutcher, who started from working a day job at Target to building an empire while living in a small town in Minnesota as a mom. In her inspirational debut book, she shares how she struggled with these same issues to find her identity and balance in launching a business, raising a family, and, eventually, starting her popular podcast The Goal Digger.
Join the millions of people who count on Jenna’s life and business advice every week because of her authentic example and deep understanding of how women think and strive to achieve their dreams. It’s time to ask yourself the question you’ve been avoiding: How are you, really? It’s time to find your answer, and start living.
My Review:
I LOVED reading this book. It’s one of the best set-up self-help books I’ve come across in a long time, with plenty of teaching moments tied into deep questions. If you make the effort to dive deep into this book, I know you’ll come out of it a different person. I did.
This book came to me after I attended Selfpublishing.com’s annual conference, Author Advantage Live, where Jenna Kutcher, a keynote speaker, shared her author journey of publishing this book. Since then, it has since sat on my shelf, waiting for the right moment to be read.
After reaching a point of burnout from my work responsibilities, I found myself sitting at my desk, staring at my bookshelf, and the cover of this one caught my attention. So I cracked it open and asked some hard questions.
How am I? Really?
As the world tells us that in order to get what we really want, we need to empower ourselves (a beautiful notion and movement in and of itself, certainly), my question is: When did we ever allow ourselves to lose the power?
Jenna Kutcher
As a writer, I couldn’t help but admire how Jenna pulled me into her stories by sharing those little details that made me as a reader connect with her. She has a beautiful way of writing and every word rings in her voice.
Other things to admire about this book were how well-laid out the chapters and teaching points were. She walks you through understanding where you truly are to how to help yourself get to where you want to go. Whether you plan to chase your dream of writing a novel or you just want to find more joy in the life you’re living.
How I rated this series:
- Plot Structure: 9/10; This self-help book is fantastic. From great guiding questions to stories that vividly illustrate her points, it is a well done book. The only thing that would have made it better for me would have been to break up the questions at the end of each chapter with space to write answers.
- Language: 2/10; There is mild usage of swear words.
- Violence: 1/10; No violence issues with this book.
- Sexual Content: 1/10; No explicit content in this book.
Conclusion:
I highly recommend How Are You Really? if you are feeling stuck, burned out, or lost. Jenna Kutcher is a great speaker and teacher and one I have followed for a long time.
You can check out more about the author by visiting her site https://jennakutcher.com. She also has links to her podcast, The Goal Digger.
