This is an interesting self-help book. I read Happy, Not Perfect for the content and with a critical eye, but I found myself making note of certain terms and phrases, along with other suggested titles to examine. It deserves a second,more thorough read, however. Poppy's own story, told as a way to highlight different practices to help the reader was amusingly charming, despite the serious nature of her self-deprecating humor. This is a book with some serious undertones to help the reader create their own happier, not perfect life.

I really enjoyed this book from what I had the chance to read, unfortunately though, this book was archived before I was able to finish it.
BUT it was inspiring and though a lot of people are saying this isn't a "self help book" I disagree. A self help book can be any book that helps or inspires someone & Poppy definitely does that in Happy Not Perfect.

I appreciate this interesting account of one women finding out her relationship to happiness. She discovered that happiness does not rely on external things but rather who one is inside.

Jamie shares her journey so this is a more personal book than one often finds in the wellness genre. She ended up in the hospital with exhaustion and that set her on a quest to understand why she did what she did, what she was working so hard to acquire. She shares what she learned from reading books and talking to people.

I have read many books in this genre but learned some new ideas from this book. I think I finally came to understood how we arrive at our core beliefs. Jamie explained it in a way I had not seen before. I was surprised to find out about memory, that our brain does not file away every detail but only enough for us to make sense of the event. Jamie encouraged us to reframe memories, not to forget but to be able to make peace with them.

Her technique consists of four steps. We connect with with our body, our feelings. We become curious about our thoughts and actions. We make choices about thoughts and actions. We make a commitment to uphold our values. Jamie has included some very good exercises to explain the steps and how they work.

This is a good book for people who like insights in the context of personal experience. Jamie will help you develop a nurturing and caring approach to reprogramming our minds. One caveat: Jamie uses some foul language that is unnecessary.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

I read the introduction and the first chapter or so and this type of book is just not for me. I'm sure those that love self-help and woo-woo stuff will love it, but it just screamed 1st world problems to me, and I couldn't continue.

The book is in three parts: F*ck My Life, Flex Your Life, and The Flex in Real Life. The first part gives a lot of background on the author and her situation. Much of it I found unrelatable and that it could have been shorter. Flex Your Life, the second section, includes the four steps of changing to flexible thinking. The steps made sense and seemed fairly easy to implement, and I liked that she recommended getting used to one before moving on. The last section is to help apply the flex.
The examples the author gave seemed
specific and applicable to a stage of life I am not in, lots of mention of dating and ex boyfriends and starting companies. These are not what causes my or many others real world anxiety.
There were good quotes in the book and some good ideas, but it was not as helpful as I was hoping based on the book description.

This book was received as an ARC from Rodale Inc. in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book could not have come out at a better time. Even though everything is dwindling down from COVID-19, people are still going through some mental health issues and it is affecting everyone around them such as their family, friends, loved-ones and co-workers. I was fortunate to have found help when I did not necessarily for myself but for someone I work with creating a stressful environment that is not only unnecessary but hurting me rather than helping me. Poppy does a wonderful job reaching out to mental health experts and gives tremendous tips and tricks on how to still remain positive even though others around you might not be. You have the power to choose your thoughts and choose the people you surround yourself with.

We will consider adding this title to our Self Help collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

For me, this book was too long, too much about Poppy’s own story, and not enough about how to free yourself from anxiety. My initial reaction was that I couldn’t identify with the author, who seemed so unhappy despite having so much going right for her. However, I suppose it’s a good reminder that anyone can experience suffering, and we should be compassionate with one another.

I think the book is aimed at a younger audience, because I couldn’t relate to the author’s experiences, and I didn’t enjoy her writing style. The book is written in a very casual, conversational style, complete with hashtags and expletives. Much of Poppy’s story involved desperate people pleasing and striving for perfection in order to win other’s approval, along with comparing herself to others on social media. I could imagine recommending this to a teen or twenty-something who might be experiencing some of the same issues and hasn’t yet been exposed to many of the teachers and books the author references.

I’ve read quite a bit of self-help, positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and books on coping with anxiety, so many of the author’s suggestions were familiar to me. That part of the content was fine; I just didn’t resonate with the presentation.

I received an unproofed ARC through NetGalley, and I volunteered to provide an honest review.

So many helpful insights were gleaned from Happy not Perfect by Poppy Jamie. I will certainly be returning to this book again!

This book was not what I expected, and I do not think I am the intended audience. While I'm not currently practicing, I am a clinical social worker who has spent years counseling youth in schools. I enjoy reading books about anxiety to fine-tune my own strategies and to see if there is anything new that I can share with others (both practitioners and people dealing with anxiety).

I found this book to be mostly a memoir of the author's own journey with anxiety. The majority of her examples of stress/anxiety/burnout are personal and will most likely resonate with millennials or younger. She shares scenarios about work, friendships, socializing, and dating and assumes that many readers will have had similar experiences and reactions. I'm at a different stage of life. I'm balancing work, parenting (high school age kids), marriage, managing my own health, and supporting an older parent. I didn't connect with the examples shared, but appreciate that others may.

Interspaced among the scenarios, the author shares her own mental health journey. She shares insights she's gained from therapy and also shares highlights of books she's read. I enjoyed the quotes from experts in the field and have definitely added to my list of books to read.

The author primarily supports flexible thinking as an intervention/ approach that has been successful for her. She has developed a flexible thinking framework that works for her that involves several components. Many of the chapters include guiding questions, activities, and opportunities for reflecting on and shifting negative thought patterns. While some readers may find these prompts helpful, I would recommend that anyone suffering from anxiety that is impacting your daily life consider multiple supports beyond this book (check in with your doctor, seek counseling, explore multiple books/websites) to determine what will work best for you. The author modeled exploring multiple resources (various counselors and books), and I think this is what helped her figure out what works for her.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't for me, but I can appreciate what the author was going for. First off, I had no idea who the author was, so I looked her up and she's an influencer/designer. This book is a sort of memoir that sprinkles in advice she's learned. I have to say, if I were one of her followers, I would have loved this. It was fun and cheeky, but having no connection to her, I couldn't really connect to the book.

’m a lover of all types of books and that includes those under the label of self help. When this came my way I was eager to dive in.
I’m a learner, for me this book is exactly that. Half memoir half, workbook/text book. There is a lot of information and I loved how things were backed up, Poppy is knowledgeable and utilizes the people she knows in order to give the reader information that’s more than just some Instagram influencer.
Learning about emotions, feelings, and being flexible when it comes to the brain are all important in the growth of all of us. Often we get stuck and end up with that burnout and Poppy learned the hard way and inspires us to learn how to unlearn a lot of the techniques we’ve been taught. This book isn’t a light read, it’s certainly not for everyone; but as someone who is interested in mental health, self help and growth I enjoyed it.

I've read similar books, but this one was a bit different. The author challenges the reader to be flexible with their thinking...something that could be a struggle for some. The book is a reminder to not get fixated on the negatives. It was a relatable book and didn't feel preachy.

I've read one too many self help books, and this was no different than a lot of the others. Simple notions that are very well known and just sound similar to everything else.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This is not the typical book I would pick up to read however the cover and title really intrigued me. I found myself skimming through this book as it didn't really hold my attention the entire way through. I appreciated the opportunity to read it and hopefully others will find it more helpful than I did.

Poppy Jamie's Happy Not Perfect helps us better understand our feelings and how to manage them. Poppy starts by talking to us about her core beliefs that have been toxic, including where these came from and how they have affected her life and struggle to try to achieve perfection. She talks to us in a casual, real way that is easy to relate to. There are also some great inspirational quotes sprinkled throughout the book that tie in to the topics Poppy presents.
She continues the book by discussing some reality checks she discovered she needed in order to break out of the struggles she was having. Her stories help us connect our own internal battles with the ones we have had, and we pick up some ways to change the way we can handle these to improve our futures! Poppy touches on the topic of our brains and they way they are wired, which can definitely cause us a lot of problems if we don't understand it. The power of thought is so interconnected to the quality of our lives, and she talks about the thoughts we have about the stories we tell our selves and those others tell for us. All of these have a cumulative effect on our mindset, and therefore the way we live and what we tell ourselves as we live each day.
Powerful mantras, flexible thinking, tips for investigating thoughts (including ANTs/automatic negative thoughts), and learning to show ourselves love are other topics Poppy covers. I found the 'flexercises,' ways to flex your brain power to your own benefit, to be really positive and helpful! I enjoyed this book a lot & found it to be very authentic and inspirational. It gives a lot of helpful tools to get past barriers we have set up for ourselves that are keeping us from finding a greater happiness.

I read books like this all the time, unfortunately this one doesn’t make the cut for me. It was hard to read and the writing style wasn’t well enough to keep me wanting to actually finish the book

This was a cute book. It was not particularly compelling or life changing, but I did enjoy it and I do recommend it.

A self-help book where the author shares a bit about her experiences as well. Lots of good tips to help you live a less stressful life and find more happiness. I wouldn't say I really learned anything new in this book about reducing stress and being empathic but it was a nice enough read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Happy But Not Perfect by Poppy Jamie

9780593231685

288 Pages
Publisher: Rodale Books
Release Date: June 8, 2021

Nonfiction, Self-Help, Mind, Body & Spirit

Poppy presents the self-help information in a in-your-fact style. She writes about her experience as a journalist and television personality. She even mentions her first celebrity interview with Jude Law when she missed the chair and landed on the floor at his feet with her face in his crotch. The book is part memoir and part instruction book. There is also an app associated with the book. The information is presented well but there is a lot of cursing for a self-help book.

I love a good self-help book but I couldn't relate well with this one and DNF at 26%. Although it wasn't for me, there may be insightful information for other readers and I do recommend giving it a go if you enjoy a self-help book.