First, I would like to say that my unpleasant reading experience affected my rating for this book. I was sent an electronic copy and read it on my Kindle, though I would have downloaded a PDF copy instead if I had known about the book's large volume of photographs.

Many of the photos showed up as blank spaces so I could not see them at all. The alignment and captions were also 'off' in parts where photos were inserted so I had to guess which images they were supposed to match. To top it off, some of the text appeared as extremely light ink that made reading almost impossible since I could barely see the words.

Content-wise, I did not particularly enjoy the author's writing, personal story or lessons he was trying to impart. Even though they were positive and made sense, they came across as being very long-winded. I was bored out of my mind and couldn't wait to finish the book.

I did, however, enjoy the personal tales of strength, courage and perseverance from all the people whom the author had met. It was inspiring to read about all the hard times they had been through and how they overcame their adversities.

It's such a shame that because of everything else, I endured multiple sittings and struggled to finish the book. Had it not been for the excruciating reading experience, perhaps I would have been able to appreciate this book the way it deserves.

*I've had a pleasure of reading this ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publisher*
For me, this book is something between 2 and 3 stars. It's hard to rate this book really, as it says a story of a quite incredible project. The author made a promise to keep a promise and he decided that other people could do it, too. This movement has grown and his little project turned out to be something big. I generally like this idea and some of the promises/stories are pretty amazing. People can be amazing if they choose to be.
On the other hand, with the honour code and all this positivity, it sounds a bit like some cult or at least coaching group. I'm not a fan of either. Sometimes their stories and points of the honour code feel like reading AA meeting. I can't say I don't agree with some of those things.
Since it was an ARC, pdf was ok and included all the photos, unfortunately, I didn't read it in time. The file I've had on Kindle lacked many pictures, but there was a text ;)
This book might be a good place to start or inspiration for doing something for others.

I loved reading Alex Sheen's amazing book. "Because I Said I Would" is truly an extraordinary account of how one person has changed the world. Sheen has done so much to help inspire people to achieve their goals and this has created a wonderful ripple effect worldwide. Highly, highly recommended!!

On the morning of September 9th, 2012, Alex Sheen spoke these words at this father’s funeral in a eulogy titled because I said I would. Fighting back tears, Alex talked about how his dad always kept his promises.
Alex introduced the idea of Promise Cards at his father’s funeral. You write your promise on a card, and then you give it to the person you are making that commitment to as a symbol of your honor. The only way to earn the card back is to keep your promise. Alex offered to mail these cards to anyone who had a promise to make, at no cost to them
What was meant to be the final words honoring one man’s life would become a new beginning for millions. The Promise Card became a worldwide phenomenon. By request only, over 9.81 million Promise Cards have been distributed to over 150 countries.

The book is a collection of stories and promises made by the people who received those cards. Heartwarming, humorous, inspirational, and tragic—these stories will challenge readers to look deep within themselves and consider the importance of the promises they make. This book offers unique life lessons, not from experts or academics, but rather from everyday people who fight through adversity to honor their word.

I really, really enjoyed this book! What a simple, yet moving message for Alex Sheen to share. I love how he broke it down into seven characteristics and intertwined stories to drive the message home and make it personal. He truly inspired me to be more intentional with goals in 2019 and to stick to them, for no other reason than "because I said I would". I'm very encouraged by the chapters that have started around the country, especially in high schools. I know this was an unedited ARC, but the only thing I disliked about the book was how difficult it was to read, format wise. There were some sentences that didn't make sense, the big, plain white empty boxes ( I assume for pictures, eventually) and part of the book was in gray text while part was in black. I just think the reading experience would have been a little more enjoyable and less difficult if the formatting of the book was a little better. Thanks for the ARC, Netgalley!

This file was very difficult to read in a digital format, so I think I missed a lot of it.
Having said that, there was nothing exciting about this collection. It feels like a PostSecrer book, which we've seen for 15 years. The idea of promise cards is really great and positive, but for the purpose of a book, an opportunity was missed. It would have been interesting to see a follow up with the writers of each card. Without some added dimension, this one fell flat.