interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."


Opinion dressed up as science, 21 Oct 2008
Sue Gerhardt's style of argument can be summed up as follows. Some of the people with problem A also have B. One possible explanation for B is C. C might be linked to experiences in early years. Therefore problem A is caused by not being loved enough as a baby. This is used to explain every problem from asthma to unemployment.

Starting with the simple and uncontroversial point that babies who are cared for tend to do better than babies who are not, Sue Gerhardt's obsession with her view of how mothers should behave towards babies distorts everything from then on. She only quotes bits of scientific studies that she can use to support her ideas, ignoring contradictory evidence even if it is in the same studies she quotes. She hardly ever considers any alternative explanation than her own and even on the rare occasions she does raise a doubt, she dismisses it simply because it doesn't fit with her view of the world.

Some scientific studies quoted in the book have only the most tenuous connection to the paragraphs preceding them and seem only to have been included to pad out the references page and create the impression that this book has some basis in science. Her `case studies' sound more like excerpts from trashy novels than scientific studies. I think Sue Gerhardt's approach to proper research is typified by the fact that she feels qualified to make judgements about the families of the killers of James Bulger based on what she had read in the newspapers.

Most people I know who have started this book haven't even been able to finish it because they have been so appalled by the sweeping generalisations, stereotyped views and idiotic conclusions. If you want to read a book about child rearing, read one based on evidence rather than this collection of opinions written by a women who doesn't even appear to understand the science she is quoting.


Why love matters is a conversation starter, 10 Mar 2008
Taking the book with me on the bus or at the Waitrose checkout or at the barbers shop or Sussex University its title attracts attention. In the brief encounters which follow I enjoy speaking to parents whose infants obviously enjoy what's going on with the adults. I'm able to affirm that the love care and attention they give the child in those early years do make a difference and will set her up for life. To older people, and I am elderly, I speak of the 'forgiving space' that Sue Gerhart gives me in which to understand my chequered life. As Kierkegaard said 'Life must be lived foward, but it can only be understood backwards.'

An eye opener, 22 Jan 2008
I'm expecting my first baby in Feb-2008. I was looking for books about babies psychology, it's true that there are many things you know by instinct but many others are part of medical research, also important to consider.
I read the reviews of this book and that made me buy it immediately!. I loved it since the beginning, although it gives lots of technical info in the first chapters,I found it important as well, to understand in depth the rest of the book.
It's a great eye opener for all parents, parents to be, teachers and everyone in general, interested to understand babies and human behaviour... to improve our lives and the lifes of our loved ones.
100% recommended.

Rock solid scientific evidence and easy-to-folllow advice, 20 Dec 2007
The book is great. It presents many scientific data without being boring or worse incomprehensible for lay-people and it gives plenty of good advice. I myself have a four month old son and I have greatly profited from the book. Many parents who come to visit my wife and me find my son sociable, smiling and happy. In my opinion this book is a must for parents and people who work in nurseries and in general with newborns and small children.

Little bit too technical, 04 Sep 2007
I thought this book was good but I found it difficult to read because of all the references to brain chemistry. It is interesting to know how your behaviour towards your baby affects their development, and how it occurs in the brain, but I found there was too much focus on this and not enough focus on how to love your baby in the right way. A lot of people have said it should be a recommended book for all new parents, but I think the 'average' parent would struggle to understand most of the terminology in the book. However, I do feel more knowledgeable now I have read it and will never leave my baby to cry for prolonged periods due to what the book has told me, and now I love my baby as much as I can during the day and I do feel she benefits from it, she is a really happy baby. Perhaps a watered down version of this book should be available to new parents.

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."


Opinion dressed up as science, 21 Oct 2008
Sue Gerhardt's style of argument can be summed up as follows. Some of the people with problem A also have B. One possible explanation for B is C. C might be linked to experiences in early years. Therefore problem A is caused by not being loved enough as a baby. This is used to explain every problem from asthma to unemployment.

Starting with the simple and uncontroversial point that babies who are cared for tend to do better than babies who are not, Sue Gerhardt's obsession with her view of how mothers should behave towards babies distorts everything from then on. She only quotes bits of scientific studies that she can use to support her ideas, ignoring contradictory evidence even if it is in the same studies she quotes. She hardly ever considers any alternative explanation than her own and even on the rare occasions she does raise a doubt, she dismisses it simply because it doesn't fit with her view of the world.

Some scientific studies quoted in the book have only the most tenuous connection to the paragraphs preceding them and seem only to have been included to pad out the references page and create the impression that this book has some basis in science. Her `case studies' sound more like excerpts from trashy novels than scientific studies. I think Sue Gerhardt's approach to proper research is typified by the fact that she feels qualified to make judgements about the families of the killers of James Bulger based on what she had read in the newspapers.

Most people I know who have started this book haven't even been able to finish it because they have been so appalled by the sweeping generalisations, stereotyped views and idiotic conclusions. If you want to read a book about child rearing, read one based on evidence rather than this collection of opinions written by a women who doesn't even appear to understand the science she is quoting.


Why love matters is a conversation starter, 10 Mar 2008
Taking the book with me on the bus or at the Waitrose checkout or at the barbers shop or Sussex University its title attracts attention. In the brief encounters which follow I enjoy speaking to parents whose infants obviously enjoy what's going on with the adults. I'm able to affirm that the love care and attention they give the child in those early years do make a difference and will set her up for life. To older people, and I am elderly, I speak of the 'forgiving space' that Sue Gerhart gives me in which to understand my chequered life. As Kierkegaard said 'Life must be lived foward, but it can only be understood backwards.'

An eye opener, 22 Jan 2008
I'm expecting my first baby in Feb-2008. I was looking for books about babies psychology, it's true that there are many things you know by instinct but many others are part of medical research, also important to consider.
I read the reviews of this book and that made me buy it immediately!. I loved it since the beginning, although it gives lots of technical info in the first chapters,I found it important as well, to understand in depth the rest of the book.
It's a great eye opener for all parents, parents to be, teachers and everyone in general, interested to understand babies and human behaviour... to improve our lives and the lifes of our loved ones.
100% recommended.

Rock solid scientific evidence and easy-to-folllow advice, 20 Dec 2007
The book is great. It presents many scientific data without being boring or worse incomprehensible for lay-people and it gives plenty of good advice. I myself have a four month old son and I have greatly profited from the book. Many parents who come to visit my wife and me find my son sociable, smiling and happy. In my opinion this book is a must for parents and people who work in nurseries and in general with newborns and small children.

Little bit too technical, 04 Sep 2007
I thought this book was good but I found it difficult to read because of all the references to brain chemistry. It is interesting to know how your behaviour towards your baby affects their development, and how it occurs in the brain, but I found there was too much focus on this and not enough focus on how to love your baby in the right way. A lot of people have said it should be a recommended book for all new parents, but I think the 'average' parent would struggle to understand most of the terminology in the book. However, I do feel more knowledgeable now I have read it and will never leave my baby to cry for prolonged periods due to what the book has told me, and now I love my baby as much as I can during the day and I do feel she benefits from it, she is a really happy baby. Perhaps a watered down version of this book should be available to new parents.

Provides a positive push... but is ultimately devoid of 'real' insight, 22 Nov 2008
First thing to point out, I didnt read the book until a long time after I had successfully managed to quit by reading 'The Nicotine Trick'. Curiosity got the better of me to see just why Carr was the de facto smoking guru. From my perspective this book has succeeded mainly from the positive message it instils in the reader and from persistant hammering home of the message. This can and has worked for many, but many aspects of the Easyway method have now been shown as bunk by Chris Holmes' marvelous book. It is definately worth a read, but in my opinion your money would be better spent on 'The Nicotine Trick' or 'Nicotine The Drug That Never Was'. These go further to the root of the problem rather than being mainly motivational (as Easyway is), and help you come out the other side understanding smoking better, and, providing the tools to quit successfully.

Ignore the 1 star givers!!!!, 20 Nov 2008
Read this book in 3 days and quit just like it said on the tin, been 3 weeks now and I already know i'll never smoke another cigarette in my life, and that feels amazing to say. Just like to also say that you MUST have an open positive mind to read this book, believe all that you are going to be told because 99% is true! If you start to disagree (you ARE kidding yourself) or have the opinion or feeling of "this won't work for me", "i'm too CLEVER for this to work on me", or "i knew all this already" (which I promise you don't, you may know some of it but not ALL of it, esp the STRESS/RELAXATION/BOREDOM part, because if you did you wouldn't smoke :0) like reading the 1 star givers posts seemed to have, then this won't work. However, if like me, you desparately want to stop then just give in to the book. Its not hypnotic like some 1 star givers have suggested, its just cold hard facts (a lot of which you will NOT know), and the reason for the repetition is that it is EASY WAY for the brain to store information (reasons for not smoking information in this case). Call it brainwashing if you want, but if it stops you from smoking then surely it HAS to be Positive Brainwashing if ever such thing exists. Allen Carr has made a lot of money from this, but hell he deserves it, he may have prolonged more lives than any top surgeon could ever wish for. READ IT, GIVE IN TO IT, DON'T GIVE UP, STOP.

It works, 04 Nov 2008
I have been a 20-40 a day smoker for just over 20 years I have never realy tried with any great conviction to quit, I have tried to cut down but never give up even tho for the last 9 years I've hated smoking and what its done to my family. I started reading the book and half way through I new I was going to give up, Its hard to explain but it was almost like a revelation; the blinkers have been removed I can now see all the benefits of NOT smoking. Highly recommend this book even if you only have a 50% chance of succeeding it has to be worth it for the cost of the book.

Tried, Tested and Failed - But I Loved It!, 27 Aug 2008
Having read this book I should say from the outset that this method did not work for me, however, I have lent the book to over 5 friends of mine (Sorry!) and all have managed to as soon as finishing the book!!

I can honestly say that this is a very honest and well thought out method for quitting and am very happy I read it, because, ever since finishing it, whilst I haven't managed to break the habit... I have hated every cigarette since!!!

Well Done!! If your a smoker... Please try this!!!

If the penny drops you will quit, 22 Aug 2008
I read this book nearly 4 years ago and i aint smoked since.
It's impossible to explain the magic of this book,and if the penny drops you cannot fail to quit.I tried them all patches, gum,willpower and just kept beating myself up.There really is something magic about this book i can't explain.read it over 1 or 2 nights and like i say if the penny drops you will quit.
Good luck

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."


Opinion dressed up as science, 21 Oct 2008
Sue Gerhardt's style of argument can be summed up as follows. Some of the people with problem A also have B. One possible explanation for B is C. C might be linked to experiences in early years. Therefore problem A is caused by not being loved enough as a baby. This is used to explain every problem from asthma to unemployment.

Starting with the simple and uncontroversial point that babies who are cared for tend to do better than babies who are not, Sue Gerhardt's obsession with her view of how mothers should behave towards babies distorts everything from then on. She only quotes bits of scientific studies that she can use to support her ideas, ignoring contradictory evidence even if it is in the same studies she quotes. She hardly ever considers any alternative explanation than her own and even on the rare occasions she does raise a doubt, she dismisses it simply because it doesn't fit with her view of the world.

Some scientific studies quoted in the book have only the most tenuous connection to the paragraphs preceding them and seem only to have been included to pad out the references page and create the impression that this book has some basis in science. Her `case studies' sound more like excerpts from trashy novels than scientific studies. I think Sue Gerhardt's approach to proper research is typified by the fact that she feels qualified to make judgements about the families of the killers of James Bulger based on what she had read in the newspapers.

Most people I know who have started this book haven't even been able to finish it because they have been so appalled by the sweeping generalisations, stereotyped views and idiotic conclusions. If you want to read a book about child rearing, read one based on evidence rather than this collection of opinions written by a women who doesn't even appear to understand the science she is quoting.


Why love matters is a conversation starter, 10 Mar 2008
Taking the book with me on the bus or at the Waitrose checkout or at the barbers shop or Sussex University its title attracts attention. In the brief encounters which follow I enjoy speaking to parents whose infants obviously enjoy what's going on with the adults. I'm able to affirm that the love care and attention they give the child in those early years do make a difference and will set her up for life. To older people, and I am elderly, I speak of the 'forgiving space' that Sue Gerhart gives me in which to understand my chequered life. As Kierkegaard said 'Life must be lived foward, but it can only be understood backwards.'

An eye opener, 22 Jan 2008
I'm expecting my first baby in Feb-2008. I was looking for books about babies psychology, it's true that there are many things you know by instinct but many others are part of medical research, also important to consider.
I read the reviews of this book and that made me buy it immediately!. I loved it since the beginning, although it gives lots of technical info in the first chapters,I found it important as well, to understand in depth the rest of the book.
It's a great eye opener for all parents, parents to be, teachers and everyone in general, interested to understand babies and human behaviour... to improve our lives and the lifes of our loved ones.
100% recommended.

Rock solid scientific evidence and easy-to-folllow advice, 20 Dec 2007
The book is great. It presents many scientific data without being boring or worse incomprehensible for lay-people and it gives plenty of good advice. I myself have a four month old son and I have greatly profited from the book. Many parents who come to visit my wife and me find my son sociable, smiling and happy. In my opinion this book is a must for parents and people who work in nurseries and in general with newborns and small children.

Little bit too technical, 04 Sep 2007
I thought this book was good but I found it difficult to read because of all the references to brain chemistry. It is interesting to know how your behaviour towards your baby affects their development, and how it occurs in the brain, but I found there was too much focus on this and not enough focus on how to love your baby in the right way. A lot of people have said it should be a recommended book for all new parents, but I think the 'average' parent would struggle to understand most of the terminology in the book. However, I do feel more knowledgeable now I have read it and will never leave my baby to cry for prolonged periods due to what the book has told me, and now I love my baby as much as I can during the day and I do feel she benefits from it, she is a really happy baby. Perhaps a watered down version of this book should be available to new parents.

Provides a positive push... but is ultimately devoid of 'real' insight, 22 Nov 2008
First thing to point out, I didnt read the book until a long time after I had successfully managed to quit by reading 'The Nicotine Trick'. Curiosity got the better of me to see just why Carr was the de facto smoking guru. From my perspective this book has succeeded mainly from the positive message it instils in the reader and from persistant hammering home of the message. This can and has worked for many, but many aspects of the Easyway method have now been shown as bunk by Chris Holmes' marvelous book. It is definately worth a read, but in my opinion your money would be better spent on 'The Nicotine Trick' or 'Nicotine The Drug That Never Was'. These go further to the root of the problem rather than being mainly motivational (as Easyway is), and help you come out the other side understanding smoking better, and, providing the tools to quit successfully.

Ignore the 1 star givers!!!!, 20 Nov 2008
Read this book in 3 days and quit just like it said on the tin, been 3 weeks now and I already know i'll never smoke another cigarette in my life, and that feels amazing to say. Just like to also say that you MUST have an open positive mind to read this book, believe all that you are going to be told because 99% is true! If you start to disagree (you ARE kidding yourself) or have the opinion or feeling of "this won't work for me", "i'm too CLEVER for this to work on me", or "i knew all this already" (which I promise you don't, you may know some of it but not ALL of it, esp the STRESS/RELAXATION/BOREDOM part, because if you did you wouldn't smoke :0) like reading the 1 star givers posts seemed to have, then this won't work. However, if like me, you desparately want to stop then just give in to the book. Its not hypnotic like some 1 star givers have suggested, its just cold hard facts (a lot of which you will NOT know), and the reason for the repetition is that it is EASY WAY for the brain to store information (reasons for not smoking information in this case). Call it brainwashing if you want, but if it stops you from smoking then surely it HAS to be Positive Brainwashing if ever such thing exists. Allen Carr has made a lot of money from this, but hell he deserves it, he may have prolonged more lives than any top surgeon could ever wish for. READ IT, GIVE IN TO IT, DON'T GIVE UP, STOP.

It works, 04 Nov 2008
I have been a 20-40 a day smoker for just over 20 years I have never realy tried with any great conviction to quit, I have tried to cut down but never give up even tho for the last 9 years I've hated smoking and what its done to my family. I started reading the book and half way through I new I was going to give up, Its hard to explain but it was almost like a revelation; the blinkers have been removed I can now see all the benefits of NOT smoking. Highly recommend this book even if you only have a 50% chance of succeeding it has to be worth it for the cost of the book.

Tried, Tested and Failed - But I Loved It!, 27 Aug 2008
Having read this book I should say from the outset that this method did not work for me, however, I have lent the book to over 5 friends of mine (Sorry!) and all have managed to as soon as finishing the book!!

I can honestly say that this is a very honest and well thought out method for quitting and am very happy I read it, because, ever since finishing it, whilst I haven't managed to break the habit... I have hated every cigarette since!!!

Well Done!! If your a smoker... Please try this!!!

If the penny drops you will quit, 22 Aug 2008
I read this book nearly 4 years ago and i aint smoked since.
It's impossible to explain the magic of this book,and if the penny drops you cannot fail to quit.I tried them all patches, gum,willpower and just kept beating myself up.There really is something magic about this book i can't explain.read it over 1 or 2 nights and like i say if the penny drops you will quit.
Good luck

Dont let the title put you off, 05 Oct 2008
This is a wonderfully honest and open book.The four authors are experts in their respective fields of psychology,psychiatry,psychotherapy and meditation so you know right from the start your in good hands.There are too many books out there written by so called experts that really do more harm then good this however is a breath of fresh air.

You dont have to be depressed to find value in this book in fact the authors recommend steering clear of it if you are suffering with a bout of depression.Read this book when you have some clarity in your mind,try to implement the techniques and maybe a clear mind will become more common.This book will show you how to befriend your feelings even the bad ones and you will look at the breath in a whole new light.The body scan is introduced and also the three minute breathing space and at the end of the book is an eight week mindfulness program that i personally found helpful and intriguing.This book is accompanied by a CD of guided meditations that will prove to be invaluable.This is a must read for anyone interested in mindfulness or looking for some relief from the "black dog".
There is light at the end of the tunnel!!


Simply Fantastic, 24 Sep 2008
Before I start I just have to say that this book is FANTASTIC and is a really exciting step forward in the treatment of depression. At last - a non-drug approach to one of societies most overwhelming problems: Depression.

As a person who has suffered from depression in the past and as a therapist, I truly enjoyed this book from start to finish. It told me all I needed to know about mindfulness and taught me the process in a very comprehensive yet easy to follow way.

I had read several books on mindfulness by various authors before receiving this book. Compared against the others that I read, I found this one to be the most clear, so even if you do not suffer from depression, but are looking to learn mindfulness, this book could be just what you are looking for. The other bonus with this title is that it is not repetitive like similar titles I have read - it just tells you what you need to know.

Some observations that I would make though are as follows.

1. There were a few spelling and grammar mistakes throughout, however they didn't affect my `reading flow', so this should be an issue.
2. The layout of the separate sections could have been better laid out. It shows you how to follow an 8 week program in the end of the last chapter. I would have liked to seen it laid out so that you read and practice a section at a time rather than learning everything before you start.
3. There is a warning in a couple of places in the book that warn you not to us the program in is entirely now if you are experiencing an episode of clinical depression. This somewhat confused me as the title of the book is `The Mindful Way THROUGH Depression.
4. The book comes with a CD... It was recorded using the voice of one of the authors, Jon Kabat Zinn. The meditation entitled `The Body Scan' seemed a little rushed. As a personal preference, I used an old CD that I had from Jon that was much better quality for me and worked well.

These were the only negative things that I picked up and wanted to include them to make this review as balanced as possible. There were so many things right with this book though that the comments above are small concerns against all the things that you will get out of reading it.

So in conclusion: this book is easy to follow, very inspirational and motivates you to learn mindfulness and overcome your depression. It is simply fantastic.

Warmly,

Richard MacKenzie
Author of Self-Change Hypnosis

wonderful, 07 Jul 2008
This book is an excellent guide to the technique of mindfulness. The principles of mindfulness are essentially very simple but amazingly effective. It's something that we all forget to do, and this book serves as a powerful reminder to bring our attention away from our thoughts and into our experience. The authors are free of academic jargon and are clearly passionate and extremely knowledgeable about the benefits of mindfulness, and the book is clearly not just for people who might be suffering from depression. I recommend it highly along with Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now, and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which uses mindfulness as a way of living in the present and becoming free of the future and the past.




The Penny Dropped, 14 Jun 2008
Having suffered depression for 2 years following a particular incident and very bad year this book allowed me to connect my emotional and physical systoms. Explaining in plain english what to do to stop the self turmoil. I am not saying this offers a cure but it certainly offers everyday coping mechanisims that are easy to introduce and stop decline. Highly recommended.

Good Sound Advice, 02 Jun 2008
This book holds advice that will help anyone. The wisdom of the practice of Mindfulness Meditation is the key. I highly recommend it along with 'Sacred Space' by Elizabeth Bailey.

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."


Opinion dressed up as science, 21 Oct 2008
Sue Gerhardt's style of argument can be summed up as follows. Some of the people with problem A also have B. One possible explanation for B is C. C might be linked to experiences in early years. Therefore problem A is caused by not being loved enough as a baby. This is used to explain every problem from asthma to unemployment.

Starting with the simple and uncontroversial point that babies who are cared for tend to do better than babies who are not, Sue Gerhardt's obsession with her view of how mothers should behave towards babies distorts everything from then on. She only quotes bits of scientific studies that she can use to support her ideas, ignoring contradictory evidence even if it is in the same studies she quotes. She hardly ever considers any alternative explanation than her own and even on the rare occasions she does raise a doubt, she dismisses it simply because it doesn't fit with her view of the world.

Some scientific studies quoted in the book have only the most tenuous connection to the paragraphs preceding them and seem only to have been included to pad out the references page and create the impression that this book has some basis in science. Her `case studies' sound more like excerpts from trashy novels than scientific studies. I think Sue Gerhardt's approach to proper research is typified by the fact that she feels qualified to make judgements about the families of the killers of James Bulger based on what she had read in the newspapers.

Most people I know who have started this book haven't even been able to finish it because they have been so appalled by the sweeping generalisations, stereotyped views and idiotic conclusions. If you want to read a book about child rearing, read one based on evidence rather than this collection of opinions written by a women who doesn't even appear to understand the science she is quoting.


Why love matters is a conversation starter, 10 Mar 2008
Taking the book with me on the bus or at the Waitrose checkout or at the barbers shop or Sussex University its title attracts attention. In the brief encounters which follow I enjoy speaking to parents whose infants obviously enjoy what's going on with the adults. I'm able to affirm that the love care and attention they give the child in those early years do make a difference and will set her up for life. To older people, and I am elderly, I speak of the 'forgiving space' that Sue Gerhart gives me in which to understand my chequered life. As Kierkegaard said 'Life must be lived foward, but it can only be understood backwards.'

An eye opener, 22 Jan 2008
I'm expecting my first baby in Feb-2008. I was looking for books about babies psychology, it's true that there are many things you know by instinct but many others are part of medical research, also important to consider.
I read the reviews of this book and that made me buy it immediately!. I loved it since the beginning, although it gives lots of technical info in the first chapters,I found it important as well, to understand in depth the rest of the book.
It's a great eye opener for all parents, parents to be, teachers and everyone in general, interested to understand babies and human behaviour... to improve our lives and the lifes of our loved ones.
100% recommended.

Rock solid scientific evidence and easy-to-folllow advice, 20 Dec 2007
The book is great. It presents many scientific data without being boring or worse incomprehensible for lay-people and it gives plenty of good advice. I myself have a four month old son and I have greatly profited from the book. Many parents who come to visit my wife and me find my son sociable, smiling and happy. In my opinion this book is a must for parents and people who work in nurseries and in general with newborns and small children.

Little bit too technical, 04 Sep 2007
I thought this book was good but I found it difficult to read because of all the references to brain chemistry. It is interesting to know how your behaviour towards your baby affects their development, and how it occurs in the brain, but I found there was too much focus on this and not enough focus on how to love your baby in the right way. A lot of people have said it should be a recommended book for all new parents, but I think the 'average' parent would struggle to understand most of the terminology in the book. However, I do feel more knowledgeable now I have read it and will never leave my baby to cry for prolonged periods due to what the book has told me, and now I love my baby as much as I can during the day and I do feel she benefits from it, she is a really happy baby. Perhaps a watered down version of this book should be available to new parents.

Provides a positive push... but is ultimately devoid of 'real' insight, 22 Nov 2008
First thing to point out, I didnt read the book until a long time after I had successfully managed to quit by reading 'The Nicotine Trick'. Curiosity got the better of me to see just why Carr was the de facto smoking guru. From my perspective this book has succeeded mainly from the positive message it instils in the reader and from persistant hammering home of the message. This can and has worked for many, but many aspects of the Easyway method have now been shown as bunk by Chris Holmes' marvelous book. It is definately worth a read, but in my opinion your money would be better spent on 'The Nicotine Trick' or 'Nicotine The Drug That Never Was'. These go further to the root of the problem rather than being mainly motivational (as Easyway is), and help you come out the other side understanding smoking better, and, providing the tools to quit successfully.

Ignore the 1 star givers!!!!, 20 Nov 2008
Read this book in 3 days and quit just like it said on the tin, been 3 weeks now and I already know i'll never smoke another cigarette in my life, and that feels amazing to say. Just like to also say that you MUST have an open positive mind to read this book, believe all that you are going to be told because 99% is true! If you start to disagree (you ARE kidding yourself) or have the opinion or feeling of "this won't work for me", "i'm too CLEVER for this to work on me", or "i knew all this already" (which I promise you don't, you may know some of it but not ALL of it, esp the STRESS/RELAXATION/BOREDOM part, because if you did you wouldn't smoke :0) like reading the 1 star givers posts seemed to have, then this won't work. However, if like me, you desparately want to stop then just give in to the book. Its not hypnotic like some 1 star givers have suggested, its just cold hard facts (a lot of which you will NOT know), and the reason for the repetition is that it is EASY WAY for the brain to store information (reasons for not smoking information in this case). Call it brainwashing if you want, but if it stops you from smoking then surely it HAS to be Positive Brainwashing if ever such thing exists. Allen Carr has made a lot of money from this, but hell he deserves it, he may have prolonged more lives than any top surgeon could ever wish for. READ IT, GIVE IN TO IT, DON'T GIVE UP, STOP.

It works, 04 Nov 2008
I have been a 20-40 a day smoker for just over 20 years I have never realy tried with any great conviction to quit, I have tried to cut down but never give up even tho for the last 9 years I've hated smoking and what its done to my family. I started reading the book and half way through I new I was going to give up, Its hard to explain but it was almost like a revelation; the blinkers have been removed I can now see all the benefits of NOT smoking. Highly recommend this book even if you only have a 50% chance of succeeding it has to be worth it for the cost of the book.

Tried, Tested and Failed - But I Loved It!, 27 Aug 2008
Having read this book I should say from the outset that this method did not work for me, however, I have lent the book to over 5 friends of mine (Sorry!) and all have managed to as soon as finishing the book!!

I can honestly say that this is a very honest and well thought out method for quitting and am very happy I read it, because, ever since finishing it, whilst I haven't managed to break the habit... I have hated every cigarette since!!!

Well Done!! If your a smoker... Please try this!!!

If the penny drops you will quit, 22 Aug 2008
I read this book nearly 4 years ago and i aint smoked since.
It's impossible to explain the magic of this book,and if the penny drops you cannot fail to quit.I tried them all patches, gum,willpower and just kept beating myself up.There really is something magic about this book i can't explain.read it over 1 or 2 nights and like i say if the penny drops you will quit.
Good luck

Dont let the title put you off, 05 Oct 2008
This is a wonderfully honest and open book.The four authors are experts in their respective fields of psychology,psychiatry,psychotherapy and meditation so you know right from the start your in good hands.There are too many books out there written by so called experts that really do more harm then good this however is a breath of fresh air.

You dont have to be depressed to find value in this book in fact the authors recommend steering clear of it if you are suffering with a bout of depression.Read this book when you have some clarity in your mind,try to implement the techniques and maybe a clear mind will become more common.This book will show you how to befriend your feelings even the bad ones and you will look at the breath in a whole new light.The body scan is introduced and also the three minute breathing space and at the end of the book is an eight week mindfulness program that i personally found helpful and intriguing.This book is accompanied by a CD of guided meditations that will prove to be invaluable.This is a must read for anyone interested in mindfulness or looking for some relief from the "black dog".
There is light at the end of the tunnel!!


Simply Fantastic, 24 Sep 2008
Before I start I just have to say that this book is FANTASTIC and is a really exciting step forward in the treatment of depression. At last - a non-drug approach to one of societies most overwhelming problems: Depression.

As a person who has suffered from depression in the past and as a therapist, I truly enjoyed this book from start to finish. It told me all I needed to know about mindfulness and taught me the process in a very comprehensive yet easy to follow way.

I had read several books on mindfulness by various authors before receiving this book. Compared against the others that I read, I found this one to be the most clear, so even if you do not suffer from depression, but are looking to learn mindfulness, this book could be just what you are looking for. The other bonus with this title is that it is not repetitive like similar titles I have read - it just tells you what you need to know.

Some observations that I would make though are as follows.

1. There were a few spelling and grammar mistakes throughout, however they didn't affect my `reading flow', so this should be an issue.
2. The layout of the separate sections could have been better laid out. It shows you how to follow an 8 week program in the end of the last chapter. I would have liked to seen it laid out so that you read and practice a section at a time rather than learning everything before you start.
3. There is a warning in a couple of places in the book that warn you not to us the program in is entirely now if you are experiencing an episode of clinical depression. This somewhat confused me as the title of the book is `The Mindful Way THROUGH Depression.
4. The book comes with a CD... It was recorded using the voice of one of the authors, Jon Kabat Zinn. The meditation entitled `The Body Scan' seemed a little rushed. As a personal preference, I used an old CD that I had from Jon that was much better quality for me and worked well.

These were the only negative things that I picked up and wanted to include them to make this review as balanced as possible. There were so many things right with this book though that the comments above are small concerns against all the things that you will get out of reading it.

So in conclusion: this book is easy to follow, very inspirational and motivates you to learn mindfulness and overcome your depression. It is simply fantastic.

Warmly,

Richard MacKenzie
Author of Self-Change Hypnosis

wonderful, 07 Jul 2008
This book is an excellent guide to the technique of mindfulness. The principles of mindfulness are essentially very simple but amazingly effective. It's something that we all forget to do, and this book serves as a powerful reminder to bring our attention away from our thoughts and into our experience. The authors are free of academic jargon and are clearly passionate and extremely knowledgeable about the benefits of mindfulness, and the book is clearly not just for people who might be suffering from depression. I recommend it highly along with Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now, and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which uses mindfulness as a way of living in the present and becoming free of the future and the past.




The Penny Dropped, 14 Jun 2008
Having suffered depression for 2 years following a particular incident and very bad year this book allowed me to connect my emotional and physical systoms. Explaining in plain english what to do to stop the self turmoil. I am not saying this offers a cure but it certainly offers everyday coping mechanisims that are easy to introduce and stop decline. Highly recommended.

Good Sound Advice, 02 Jun 2008
This book holds advice that will help anyone. The wisdom of the practice of Mindfulness Meditation is the key. I highly recommend it along with 'Sacred Space' by Elizabeth Bailey.

Interesting read, 27 Mar 2008
Fairly well written, and as someone who has no prior background in this field, it was easy to understand and descriptive enough to be interesting. it was not too technical that i got bogged down with terms, unlike some other neurology books i've read.

A little disappointing, 19 Mar 2008
An interesting book though I have to admit I didn't enjoy the writing style. I find Sacks to be overly academic (I'm in the medical field myself) and his use of technical jargon can be somewhat off putting. Unlike the popular work Phantoms of the Brains Sacks seems uninterested in explaining the ideas in scientific terms in any great detail, he instead takes a more anthropological approach and merely details the cases. Whilst the cases themselves are off considerable interest I found his analysis to be lacking. His writing style didn't sit well with me, though this may be more my fault than his, and ultimately I didn't find myself much wiser after having read the book.

The book is still worth reading, however for a non-medical reader I'd recommend the far superior Phantoms of the Brain before approaching this work as it'll help you understand a lot of what Sacks talks about. There were, within the book, one or two cases that viewers of House M.D. would recognise.


A Fascinating Read, 15 Feb 2008
A neurologist, Oliver Sacks, discussed and brought to light the neurological disorders in case by case in this book with an interesting choice of the title: "Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat." This is the first book by Sacks that I have read, and I found his writing style to be quite enjoyable.

Not only that, this book contains an extraordinary collection of cases of individuals with neurological disorders that brings one to understand a bit on how human brain works. While this book was first published in the early 1970s and the understanding of the human brain mechanism has changed and increased since then, I found this book to be very insightful.

Out of all the cases I have read from this book, I found the following cases (or stories) to be of great interest to me: "Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," "The Man Who Fell Out of Bed," "Witty Ticcy Ray," "Cupid's disease," and "The Autist Artist."

This book is a fascinating read and deeply recommended.

A lovely book, 03 Feb 2008
I first came across Oliver Sacks in a doctor's waiting room. There, lying on the table, was a copy of his first book, "Migraine". Since I suffer from bad headaches, I picked it up and started reading. Thoroughly intrigued by the elegantly written case studies it contained, I asked the doctor if I could borrow it, took it home, and finished it that evening. I then began to notice that Mr. Sacks periodically wrote articles for the New Yorker on strange neurological cases, and every time one came out I read it with delectation. So when I saw Mr. Sack's book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" at my local bookstore I bought it immediately.

I was not let down. The book is a fascinating compendium of neurological case studies, classified into four parts: Losses, Excesses, Transports, The World of the Simple. Mr. Sacks takes us on a journey through a series of neurological disturbances with extreme effects. Initially, one reads them with appalled fascination, with a feeling of being at the Circus staring at the Bearded Lady or the Elephant Man; I was forcefully reminded of Sylvia Plath's lines in "Lady Lazarus":
The Peanut-crunching crowd
Shoves in to see

Them unwrap me hand in foot --
The big strip tease.

But Oliver Sacks writes soberly and with great compassion about his cases, and drags us away from mere peanut-crunching voyeurism to finally contemplate what the cases tell us about what it means to be us.


Neurology cases at its best, 31 May 2006
Romantic science is the way forward, it has all the classical science terms and names of the deficits as to still keep it factual, but more importantly has the element of human contact and understanding the patients as people. If you read this book you shall see that in some cases of neurology such as autism, that we wouldnt find out their concrete talents and only think of them as hopeless beings, this is evident in allmost all the chapters, to fully appreciate and understand their illnes one must reach them on a humane level. Do you know what proprioception is? to explain it as our sixth sense, which it is, is eye opening itself, and thats only one chapter.

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."


Opinion dressed up as science, 21 Oct 2008
Sue Gerhardt's style of argument can be summed up as follows. Some of the people with problem A also have B. One possible explanation for B is C. C might be linked to experiences in early years. Therefore problem A is caused by not being loved enough as a baby. This is used to explain every problem from asthma to unemployment.

Starting with the simple and uncontroversial point that babies who are cared for tend to do better than babies who are not, Sue Gerhardt's obsession with her view of how mothers should behave towards babies distorts everything from then on. She only quotes bits of scientific studies that she can use to support her ideas, ignoring contradictory evidence even if it is in the same studies she quotes. She hardly ever considers any alternative explanation than her own and even on the rare occasions she does raise a doubt, she dismisses it simply because it doesn't fit with her view of the world.

Some scientific studies quoted in the book have only the most tenuous connection to the paragraphs preceding them and seem only to have been included to pad out the references page and create the impression that this book has some basis in science. Her `case studies' sound more like excerpts from trashy novels than scientific studies. I think Sue Gerhardt's approach to proper research is typified by the fact that she feels qualified to make judgements about the families of the killers of James Bulger based on what she had read in the newspapers.

Most people I know who have started this book haven't even been able to finish it because they have been so appalled by the sweeping generalisations, stereotyped views and idiotic conclusions. If you want to read a book about child rearing, read one based on evidence rather than this collection of opinions written by a women who doesn't even appear to understand the science she is quoting.


Why love matters is a conversation starter, 10 Mar 2008
Taking the book with me on the bus or at the Waitrose checkout or at the barbers shop or Sussex University its title attracts attention. In the brief encounters which follow I enjoy speaking to parents whose infants obviously enjoy what's going on with the adults. I'm able to affirm that the love care and attention they give the child in those early years do make a difference and will set her up for life. To older people, and I am elderly, I speak of the 'forgiving space' that Sue Gerhart gives me in which to understand my chequered life. As Kierkegaard said 'Life must be lived foward, but it can only be understood backwards.'

An eye opener, 22 Jan 2008
I'm expecting my first baby in Feb-2008. I was looking for books about babies psychology, it's true that there are many things you know by instinct but many others are part of medical research, also important to consider.
I read the reviews of this book and that made me buy it immediately!. I loved it since the beginning, although it gives lots of technical info in the first chapters,I found it important as well, to understand in depth the rest of the book.
It's a great eye opener for all parents, parents to be, teachers and everyone in general, interested to understand babies and human behaviour... to improve our lives and the lifes of our loved ones.
100% recommended.

Rock solid scientific evidence and easy-to-folllow advice, 20 Dec 2007
The book is great. It presents many scientific data without being boring or worse incomprehensible for lay-people and it gives plenty of good advice. I myself have a four month old son and I have greatly profited from the book. Many parents who come to visit my wife and me find my son sociable, smiling and happy. In my opinion this book is a must for parents and people who work in nurseries and in general with newborns and small children.

Little bit too technical, 04 Sep 2007
I thought this book was good but I found it difficult to read because of all the references to brain chemistry. It is interesting to know how your behaviour towards your baby affects their development, and how it occurs in the brain, but I found there was too much focus on this and not enough focus on how to love your baby in the right way. A lot of people have said it should be a recommended book for all new parents, but I think the 'average' parent would struggle to understand most of the terminology in the book. However, I do feel more knowledgeable now I have read it and will never leave my baby to cry for prolonged periods due to what the book has told me, and now I love my baby as much as I can during the day and I do feel she benefits from it, she is a really happy baby. Perhaps a watered down version of this book should be available to new parents.

Provides a positive push... but is ultimately devoid of 'real' insight, 22 Nov 2008
First thing to point out, I didnt read the book until a long time after I had successfully managed to quit by reading 'The Nicotine Trick'. Curiosity got the better of me to see just why Carr was the de facto smoking guru. From my perspective this book has succeeded mainly from the positive message it instils in the reader and from persistant hammering home of the message. This can and has worked for many, but many aspects of the Easyway method have now been shown as bunk by Chris Holmes' marvelous book. It is definately worth a read, but in my opinion your money would be better spent on 'The Nicotine Trick' or 'Nicotine The Drug That Never Was'. These go further to the root of the problem rather than being mainly motivational (as Easyway is), and help you come out the other side understanding smoking better, and, providing the tools to quit successfully.

Ignore the 1 star givers!!!!, 20 Nov 2008
Read this book in 3 days and quit just like it said on the tin, been 3 weeks now and I already know i'll never smoke another cigarette in my life, and that feels amazing to say. Just like to also say that you MUST have an open positive mind to read this book, believe all that you are going to be told because 99% is true! If you start to disagree (you ARE kidding yourself) or have the opinion or feeling of "this won't work for me", "i'm too CLEVER for this to work on me", or "i knew all this already" (which I promise you don't, you may know some of it but not ALL of it, esp the STRESS/RELAXATION/BOREDOM part, because if you did you wouldn't smoke :0) like reading the 1 star givers posts seemed to have, then this won't work. However, if like me, you desparately want to stop then just give in to the book. Its not hypnotic like some 1 star givers have suggested, its just cold hard facts (a lot of which you will NOT know), and the reason for the repetition is that it is EASY WAY for the brain to store information (reasons for not smoking information in this case). Call it brainwashing if you want, but if it stops you from smoking then surely it HAS to be Positive Brainwashing if ever such thing exists. Allen Carr has made a lot of money from this, but hell he deserves it, he may have prolonged more lives than any top surgeon could ever wish for. READ IT, GIVE IN TO IT, DON'T GIVE UP, STOP.

It works, 04 Nov 2008
I have been a 20-40 a day smoker for just over 20 years I have never realy tried with any great conviction to quit, I have tried to cut down but never give up even tho for the last 9 years I've hated smoking and what its done to my family. I started reading the book and half way through I new I was going to give up, Its hard to explain but it was almost like a revelation; the blinkers have been removed I can now see all the benefits of NOT smoking. Highly recommend this book even if you only have a 50% chance of succeeding it has to be worth it for the cost of the book.

Tried, Tested and Failed - But I Loved It!, 27 Aug 2008
Having read this book I should say from the outset that this method did not work for me, however, I have lent the book to over 5 friends of mine (Sorry!) and all have managed to as soon as finishing the book!!

I can honestly say that this is a very honest and well thought out method for quitting and am very happy I read it, because, ever since finishing it, whilst I haven't managed to break the habit... I have hated every cigarette since!!!

Well Done!! If your a smoker... Please try this!!!

If the penny drops you will quit, 22 Aug 2008
I read this book nearly 4 years ago and i aint smoked since.
It's impossible to explain the magic of this book,and if the penny drops you cannot fail to quit.I tried them all patches, gum,willpower and just kept beating myself up.There really is something magic about this book i can't explain.read it over 1 or 2 nights and like i say if the penny drops you will quit.
Good luck

Dont let the title put you off, 05 Oct 2008
This is a wonderfully honest and open book.The four authors are experts in their respective fields of psychology,psychiatry,psychotherapy and meditation so you know right from the start your in good hands.There are too many books out there written by so called experts that really do more harm then good this however is a breath of fresh air.

You dont have to be depressed to find value in this book in fact the authors recommend steering clear of it if you are suffering with a bout of depression.Read this book when you have some clarity in your mind,try to implement the techniques and maybe a clear mind will become more common.This book will show you how to befriend your feelings even the bad ones and you will look at the breath in a whole new light.The body scan is introduced and also the three minute breathing space and at the end of the book is an eight week mindfulness program that i personally found helpful and intriguing.This book is accompanied by a CD of guided meditations that will prove to be invaluable.This is a must read for anyone interested in mindfulness or looking for some relief from the "black dog".
There is light at the end of the tunnel!!


Simply Fantastic, 24 Sep 2008
Before I start I just have to say that this book is FANTASTIC and is a really exciting step forward in the treatment of depression. At last - a non-drug approach to one of societies most overwhelming problems: Depression.

As a person who has suffered from depression in the past and as a therapist, I truly enjoyed this book from start to finish. It told me all I needed to know about mindfulness and taught me the process in a very comprehensive yet easy to follow way.

I had read several books on mindfulness by various authors before receiving this book. Compared against the others that I read, I found this one to be the most clear, so even if you do not suffer from depression, but are looking to learn mindfulness, this book could be just what you are looking for. The other bonus with this title is that it is not repetitive like similar titles I have read - it just tells you what you need to know.

Some observations that I would make though are as follows.

1. There were a few spelling and grammar mistakes throughout, however they didn't affect my `reading flow', so this should be an issue.
2. The layout of the separate sections could have been better laid out. It shows you how to follow an 8 week program in the end of the last chapter. I would have liked to seen it laid out so that you read and practice a section at a time rather than learning everything before you start.
3. There is a warning in a couple of places in the book that warn you not to us the program in is entirely now if you are experiencing an episode of clinical depression. This somewhat confused me as the title of the book is `The Mindful Way THROUGH Depression.
4. The book comes with a CD... It was recorded using the voice of one of the authors, Jon Kabat Zinn. The meditation entitled `The Body Scan' seemed a little rushed. As a personal preference, I used an old CD that I had from Jon that was much better quality for me and worked well.

These were the only negative things that I picked up and wanted to include them to make this review as balanced as possible. There were so many things right with this book though that the comments above are small concerns against all the things that you will get out of reading it.

So in conclusion: this book is easy to follow, very inspirational and motivates you to learn mindfulness and overcome your depression. It is simply fantastic.

Warmly,

Richard MacKenzie
Author of Self-Change Hypnosis

wonderful, 07 Jul 2008
This book is an excellent guide to the technique of mindfulness. The principles of mindfulness are essentially very simple but amazingly effective. It's something that we all forget to do, and this book serves as a powerful reminder to bring our attention away from our thoughts and into our experience. The authors are free of academic jargon and are clearly passionate and extremely knowledgeable about the benefits of mindfulness, and the book is clearly not just for people who might be suffering from depression. I recommend it highly along with Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now, and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which uses mindfulness as a way of living in the present and becoming free of the future and the past.




The Penny Dropped, 14 Jun 2008
Having suffered depression for 2 years following a particular incident and very bad year this book allowed me to connect my emotional and physical systoms. Explaining in plain english what to do to stop the self turmoil. I am not saying this offers a cure but it certainly offers everyday coping mechanisims that are easy to introduce and stop decline. Highly recommended.

Good Sound Advice, 02 Jun 2008
This book holds advice that will help anyone. The wisdom of the practice of Mindfulness Meditation is the key. I highly recommend it along with 'Sacred Space' by Elizabeth Bailey.

Interesting read, 27 Mar 2008
Fairly well written, and as someone who has no prior background in this field, it was easy to understand and descriptive enough to be interesting. it was not too technical that i got bogged down with terms, unlike some other neurology books i've read.

A little disappointing, 19 Mar 2008
An interesting book though I have to admit I didn't enjoy the writing style. I find Sacks to be overly academic (I'm in the medical field myself) and his use of technical jargon can be somewhat off putting. Unlike the popular work Phantoms of the Brains Sacks seems uninterested in explaining the ideas in scientific terms in any great detail, he instead takes a more anthropological approach and merely details the cases. Whilst the cases themselves are off considerable interest I found his analysis to be lacking. His writing style didn't sit well with me, though this may be more my fault than his, and ultimately I didn't find myself much wiser after having read the book.

The book is still worth reading, however for a non-medical reader I'd recommend the far superior Phantoms of the Brain before approaching this work as it'll help you understand a lot of what Sacks talks about. There were, within the book, one or two cases that viewers of House M.D. would recognise.


A Fascinating Read, 15 Feb 2008
A neurologist, Oliver Sacks, discussed and brought to light the neurological disorders in case by case in this book with an interesting choice of the title: "Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat." This is the first book by Sacks that I have read, and I found his writing style to be quite enjoyable.

Not only that, this book contains an extraordinary collection of cases of individuals with neurological disorders that brings one to understand a bit on how human brain works. While this book was first published in the early 1970s and the understanding of the human brain mechanism has changed and increased since then, I found this book to be very insightful.

Out of all the cases I have read from this book, I found the following cases (or stories) to be of great interest to me: "Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," "The Man Who Fell Out of Bed," "Witty Ticcy Ray," "Cupid's disease," and "The Autist Artist."

This book is a fascinating read and deeply recommended.

A lovely book, 03 Feb 2008
I first came across Oliver Sacks in a doctor's waiting room. There, lying on the table, was a copy of his first book, "Migraine". Since I suffer from bad headaches, I picked it up and started reading. Thoroughly intrigued by the elegantly written case studies it contained, I asked the doctor if I could borrow it, took it home, and finished it that evening. I then began to notice that Mr. Sacks periodically wrote articles for the New Yorker on strange neurological cases, and every time one came out I read it with delectation. So when I saw Mr. Sack's book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" at my local bookstore I bought it immediately.

I was not let down. The book is a fascinating compendium of neurological case studies, classified into four parts: Losses, Excesses, Transports, The World of the Simple. Mr. Sacks takes us on a journey through a series of neurological disturbances with extreme effects. Initially, one reads them with appalled fascination, with a feeling of being at the Circus staring at the Bearded Lady or the Elephant Man; I was forcefully reminded of Sylvia Plath's lines in "Lady Lazarus":
The Peanut-crunching crowd
Shoves in to see

Them unwrap me hand in foot --
The big strip tease.

But Oliver Sacks writes soberly and with great compassion about his cases, and drags us away from mere peanut-crunching voyeurism to finally contemplate what the cases tell us about what it means to be us.


Neurology cases at its best, 31 May 2006
Romantic science is the way forward, it has all the classical science terms and names of the deficits as to still keep it factual, but more importantly has the element of human contact and understanding the patients as people. If you read this book you shall see that in some cases of neurology such as autism, that we wouldnt find out their concrete talents and only think of them as hopeless beings, this is evident in allmost all the chapters, to fully appreciate and understand their illnes one must reach them on a humane level. Do you know what proprioception is? to explain it as our sixth sense, which it is, is eye opening itself, and thats only one chapter.

Anatomy and Physiology Made Easy, 31 May 2008
I've owned this book since my first year of nurse training in 1998. Ten years later and having been qualified for 7 years, it's still in regular use. I recently did my Acute Care Foundation Course for emergency nursing, and out it came yet again. It's easy to understand and logical. Each body system is covered separately, starting with the biology theory and moving on to talk about diseases which can affect that particular system. For anyone who wants to learn about human biology who doesn't like jargon and wants things explained to them in plain English, this book is essential.

Buy this book!, 14 Jul 2007
All nursing and medically allied students should buy this book as it gives clear and consise information into disease, illnesses, causes and treatment.

Also gives a precise and clear anatomy and physiological breakdown.

Essential for begginners to nursing, 18 Mar 2005
Ross and Wilson Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness is easy to follow, uses simple language and presents clear diagrams. It is essential for getting to grips with the fundimental basics of anatomy and physiology. This text is a must for nursing students as many diploma courses recommend its use for self directed study.

Comments from a tutor, 05 Nov 2004
I am a teacher of Anatomy, Physiology and Holistic Massage and I recommend this book to my students. It contains a little more informattion than students need for level 3 ITEC A & P but this is a good thing! The explanations, illustrations and diagrams are presented in a clear and consise manner making learning easier. I only wish it came on CD rom! It is well worth the money.

A very helpful book, 17 Jul 2004
I brought this book on the recomendation of my course tutors and it did not dissapoint. This book enabled to me to get consistently high pass marks in my exams and I cannot recommend it enough.
The information contained went a lot deeper in to the subject than I needed.

If you are doing any type of medical or medically associtaed course then I suggest that you buy this book now.