Overcoming Overwhelm: Dismantle Your Stress from the Inside Out

by Samantha Brody

A Groundbreaking Four-Step Solution to Stress and Overwhelm—Tailored to Your Life

Do more. Be more. Try harder.

It's the battle cry of our culture, and it's making millions of us sick, tired, and frustrated. Why? Because we simply can’t solve stress and overwhelm by doing more and more of what we've been doing.

With Overcoming Overwhelm, Dr. Samantha Brody offers an alternative.

"You don't need new ways to manage your stress," teaches Dr. Samantha, "you need to prevent it from overwhelming you in the first place."

Using her proven and practical techniques that have already helped thousands, this pioneering naturopathic physician teaches you how to systematically undo overwhelm, with four simple steps:

Step 1) Find Your True North. Clarify what is truly important to you. Who do you want to be, how do you want to feel, and what do you want your day-to-day life to look like?

Step 2) Establish Your Foundation. Identify what roadblocks may get in your way of making the changes that will help you live the life of ease you crave. You’ll make a plan for assembling a team that can help you reach your goals, and you'll fortify your mindset to prepare for success.

Step 3) Take Your Overwhelm Inventory. Determine your unique causes of stress (some obvious, and many that will surprise you) in your physical surroundings, health, habits, relationships, thinking patterns, and more.

Step 4) Create and Launch Your Personal Plan. Start making the targeted changes that will help you rid your life of overwhelm and radically improve your well-being on all levels—body, mind, and spirit.

For decades, Dr. Samantha has helped people to transform their lives with her innovative approach. Now you can use the same tested tools and guidance to experience the freedom of better health, greater resilience, and peace of mind.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Mental Health, Health, Psychology

240 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Dr. Samantha Brody is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist and founder of Evergreen Natural Health Center in Portland, Oregon.

Licensed as a primary care provider with extensive training and experience in both complementary and Western medicine, she has worked with over 30,000 patients and clients in the past twenty years. Her mission is to empower people to address the stress in their lives and help them to make changes that are in alignment with their personal health goals and values.

She holds a doctoral degree in naturopathic medicine and a master’s degree in oriental medicine from the National University of Natural Medicine.

She is a sought-after international speaker who educates lay and professional audiences on the issues of stress and health. Dr. Samantha writes for a variety of publications and has been quoted extensively in books and media outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Mind Body Green, HuffPost, and Shape.

Find Dr. Samantha on social @DrSamanthaND

Learn more at drsamantha.com.

Reviews

[Katje Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit it: I've never read a self help book before this one. And I've certainly never reviewed one. But after an incredibly rough year—quitting a job I loved, making an out of state move while 24 weeks pregnant, downsizing my family's life to fit into two bedrooms of my parent's home to save money while my husband went back to school, and our son starting kindergarten weeks after removing him from all his friends and the only home he had known, and then having my baby...I was a textbook case for being overwhelmed.

This. Book. Spoke to me.

From being told simple things like "you can't fail at self care" (every new mom needs to hear that in their early postpartum days!). To in depth exercises that helped identify uncomfortable truths about myself and why I'm allowing overwhelm to remain in my life (perfectionism and 'discomfort with discomfort' to name a few). I can feel through the pages that Dr. Samantha is a practitioner that truly loves what she does and has found a remarkable way to share her knowledge with the masses (I have to say I'm now hoping to work with her online at some point as well!)

This is a book and resource I know I will be able to come back to time and time again to help me find my True North for my mind and body. It isn't just a lesson for now but one I will utilize for the rest of my life.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review coming soon. A nice, step by step approach to overcoming many factors that contribute to overwhelm. I appreciated that this was a holistic approach and examined multiple measures of health and well-being. It took me a while to work through the exercises, but I found them very helpful. Probably giving this between 4 snd 4.5 stars.

[Julia Southwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this book, it was almost more of a workbook than one you just read through. I absolutely love her idea of identifying your core values or “true north” and being brutal in eliminating things that aren’t in alignment with your core values. Don’t pick this one up until you’re ready to complete a bunch of exercises though. They all build on one another, so it’s hard to get through if you’re wanting to just read without putting in the work.

[Genevieve Trono · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very excited to read this new release by Samantha Brody because I am in a stage of life where I often feel pulled in many different directions. This book was exactly what I needed and had such a wonderful overview of why we feel stress and also a plan that can help minimize the feeling of daily overwhelm.

Brody introduced her reader to the idea of overwhelm being a bucket. In this bucket there are things you can't change, things you can change and things you don't want to change. Everyone's items in their bucket will be different and there isn't a right or wrong answer. With this concept, Brody wants you to have the understanding that what you choose to change (or not) and what is out of your control entirely, is able to help you have acceptance over what takes up your time, space and energy. The power is in your hands.

"There is a sweet spot where our choices line up with our values and health goals. When we are in our sweet spot, we wake up feeling the best that we can possibly feel mentally, psychically and emotionally. We feel confident in our choices, we have the energy we need to care of ourselves and to be there for the people we love."

Brody shares that while this is the goal for all of us, how we can get there can be different. She asks the reader three important questions...

What do you want to be?

How do you want to feel?

What do you want to do?

Once you answer these questions, she wants you to establish a mental and logistical foundation for how you will reach these feelings and goals. She asks what your support system is and how do you best make changes. Finally, she looks at your foundational mindset. She reminds the reader to remember their power, and that they are not at the mercy of all the things that happen in their lives. This doesn't mean that there won't be challenges and difficult circumstances, but rather there are always things you can do to lighten your load...which include:

Believing in yourself.
Being judicious and not taking on too much at once.
Being the author of your life.
Being realistic.
Being kind to yourself.
Being flexible-having an open mind/open heart.
And most importantly...being yourself.

She takes a well-rounded look into her readers whole self, by asking questions about physical, mental and spiritual health, their environment, community, habits, and lifestyle.

This book inspired me to take proactive steps so I can be more mindful the decisions I am able to make myself and reminded me of the power I do have about how I react to things that are not in my personal control. Brody gave not only useful but also very practical advice that I could use right away. I found her ideas to be inclusive, no matter where you fall on the scale of more natural medicine vs. traditional medicine and I appreciated that aspect.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Sounds True for providing me with a copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a nice reminder to take into account what my own values and wants are. It's easy to get hung up in what others think you should do, or in my case to get hung up on things I think other people expect of me. The guids in the book is explained good and give a good insight on how to start overcomming overwhelm and how to deal with it. For me the first half of the book made more sense to follow that the second half, so I only did the excercises tourghly in the first half. I still quite enjoyed the book as a whole.

This is a book for everyone, no matter if you are overwhelmed, stressed or perfectly fine - good tools to help yourself feel better is not something only to look at when you are not fine.

** Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

[Jess Macallan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who doesn't need help overcoming overwhelm? I loved the idea presented in the title and hoped the author could deliver. I appreciate how she takes readers step-by-step through a plan to understand their sources of overwhelm and design a plan to take back at least some control. Throughout the book she emphasizes moving at your own pace, identifying what you can and can't control, and prioritizing in a way that best fits your life and personality. The exercises will help readers get clear on their next steps.

I was disappointed with a couple of things--first, she reiterates more than once that NDs are superior in many ways and have "extensive" training compared to nutritionists. Not true. Board-certified nutrition specialists are highly qualified, advanced degree practitioners who offer functional nutrition and lifestyle support. Her bias is obvious and understandable, but her knowledge of nutrition professionals is lacking. Overwhelmed readers might benefit from having a team of integrative healthcare practitioners to support them.

Second, I wanted the section for caregivers to be longer, with at least some helpful resources. Of all the people dealing with overwhelm, caregivers are in desperate need of support. She mentions parents caring for children, but what about parents of special needs children, people caring for their adult children or a chronically ill spouse or parent? Their needs and overwhelm are much different than the average family, and the risk of stress-related health problems is much higher.

This book is a good place to start if you're in need of stress support and want to create a plan to address and improve elements of your life within your control.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Megan Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Samantha is my go-to person when my bucket isn’t just full, it’s cracked at the seams. I tend to overthink everything. I also tend to be 100% perfectionistic, over-committed, and I want to do all the things. I can't do all the things, but even knowing that, I add things to my to-do list in order to make my to-do list less stressful. This book helped me get clear about which things I can reasonably do. If you're overwhelmed (especially with your own tendency to keep trying harder!) get this book.

Also, I love that she isn't anti-allopathic doctor, or anti-nutritionist, or anti-any other treatment approaches. She encourages you to ask questions so you can make informed decisions about the best practices - and practitioners - for you.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting tidbits, notably about naturopathic medicine and general heath information. Otherwise the process is interesting but hardly groundbreaking — basically identify your core values and make lists of what fits those and what doesn’t, then eliminate things from your bucket as you can. Maybe because I’m coming at this book already pretty well-versed in the whole self-help genre, most of it feels hardly novel and sometimes a bit “catch-phrase”-y, even. Getting Things Done by David Allen was much more useful in a hands-on kind of way, the scope of this method is so all-encompassing that it feels a bit huge and unspecific. I gathered some good bits and pieces though, so I can’t complain about having read it!

[Lindsay InAustin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was super inspired by the first part (half?) of the book with its tools for identifying our core values and true north. But then it took a turn… in a book for people feeling anxious and overwhelmed, why in the heck would you encourage them to not only document every health concern of their own, but also every disease of family members? There were more anxiety inducing tasks that followed, and I kept skipping sections hoping to get back to inspiration and hope. Nope. I finally gave up a couple of chapters before the end. Two stars for the North Star guidance, the rest lost to what only ramped up anxiety and overwhelm.

[Doug Eisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book quite profound, and for that reason, I think some people might not like it. If you’re looking for a book that’s going to help you lose 30 pounds, find the partner of your dream, and completely change your life in three easy steps, you will not like this book. Dr. Brody is asking her readers to delve pretty deeply into their psyches to identify what things are important to them, and what they can jettison, and she doesn’t promise easy fixes. Rather she wants to give the reader lifelong strategies for dealing with, well, life.

There are a few things I really admire about this book. First, in the opening chapters, she points out that stress is an inevitable part of life, and that anybody who tells us that they can help us get rid of stress is basically lying. She wants to distinguish between stress, which is normal, and feeling overwhelmed, which is really because of choices that we’ve made about how to live our lives. I had to laugh, as a yoga instructor, when she points out that all the things that “experts” have been telling us to do to lower stress (yoga, meditation, massages) can actually increase our sense of being overwhelmed because it just adds more things to our day.

Another thing I really admire about this book is how the stories she tells about her patients go completely against what most so-called self-help books say. One of my favorites is the story of the triathlete who decides love is more important that peak fitness. But, I think my absolute favorite is the story of the woman whose doctor fat-shamed her about being 70 pounds overweight, and who breaks down in tears after Dr. Brody tells her that she’s beautiful exactly how she is and that there’s no medical reason for her to lose weight. Dr. Brody encourages us, in the book, to decide what things are important to us, and not worry about what society as a whole is telling us to do.

She has a bunch of exercises in the book, which take some time to go through. But the first one, identifying what our values are, has been the most profound soul-searching I’ve done in a long time. It’s a very simple exercise, but for me, it helped me realize that certain things that I thought were valuable to me really weren’t, and things that had been hovering in the back of my mind really were very important things that I valued that I hadn’t spent much time pursuing.

Ultimately, the book presents an overall life strategy that seeks to help us stop feeling overwhelmed by our lives and by our society. Spoiler alert: you have to say no to people and stop doing things that add nothing to your life. I think this is a book that I’ll return to over and over as the circumstances in my life change, so that I remind myself of what my “True North,” as Dr. Brody calls it, is. I really think this is a valuable book that could help a lot of people.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a newly divorced, full time outside-the-home working single mom, overwhelm is the name of my game. Finding any kind of reasonable balance between taking care of my children, my job, myself and the myriad of responsibilities I manage often feels like an impossible task. The juggle struggle is real. Just when I feel I have one area of my life under control it seems problems pop up in a different area.

Enter Dr. Brody.

One of the most life changing ideas in this book (and I do not use those words lightly!) is the idea of making choices that are absolutely rooted in one's values. While this might seem to be a simple idea on it's surface, it is truly quite profound. Thanks to Dr. Brody's advice, I have realized that much of my overwhelm comes from making choices that, instead of being rooted in my values, have been rooted in other things entirely: guilt, fear, a desire to please others, etc. By using the exercises in the book and looking closely at my own motivations I was able to clearly identify my values. Taking this action allowed me to become more mindful and intentional about the daily choices I was making that were creating my overwhelm.

Instead of a "I have all of the answers for you, listen to me the expert" attitude, Dr. Brody encourages each person to become an expert at understanding themselves-values, drives, priorities, attitudes, habits-and use that information to create the life that is most meaning-filled for them. The idea that each of us can use our own self-awareness to significantly reduce our stress levels is empowering. The information and pragmatic explanations provided by Dr. Brody were doubly empowering because they gave me the tools I needed to make important positive changes in my life to reduce my stress.

The book is filled with a combination of anecdotes, scientific research, case studies and thoughtful explanations. Dr. Brody is an experienced doctor with decades of experience working with thousands of patients but this book is never dry. Dr. Brody writes with humor and candor and is as relatable as she is wise.

Overcoming Overwhelm is enjoyable to read and has, for me, been a life raft in the sea of stress that so often is day to day life in the modern world.

[Chris Riker · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Overcoming Overwhelm, Dr. Brody defines overwhelm differently than I have seen before. "While you can manage stress, you can't manage overwhelm. In fact, trying to manage overwhelm most often causes more stress." Overwhelm is a symptom and not the root issue. She even addresses how our attempts at self-care can work against us if we are simply adding tasks to our to-do list without understanding the deeper issues!

Although other self awareness and improvement books/strategies have positive intentions when encouraging an individual to define their truth/"True North", sometimes those books/strategies come across as judging or invalidating the individual's choices. You "should" feel..., or "should" want.... By contrast, Dr. Brody clearly states that we are adults and make our own choices. She lists an example of a woman who dresses to impress/please her husband. Depending on the individual's cultural, religious and personal views, this may bring her joy. By understanding MY values and True North, I determine what works for me.

Plus, depending on where I am in my journey, my priorities and values may change...and that's ok!

The exercises (with downloadable WORKSHEETS) that Dr. Brody includes are tangible and provide a unique approach. Also, rather than Dr. Brody giving generic or hypothetical examples, she vulnerably lists her own responses to the exercises. This helped me understand the process more intimately, and also gave me a sense of relating to Dr. Brody as a fellow human being.

Her writing style is engaging and I highly recommend this book to anyone - even if they feel like they do not struggle with being overwhelmed.

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Dr. Brody’s approach to overcoming overwhelm very helpful. The ideas presented aren’t particularly original, but her presentation is logical, methodical, reassuring, and easy to understand. I especially loved her statement that you can’t fix overwhelm by adding more items to your to-do list, even if those items involve self-care. It was so nice to see a healthcare provider acknowledge that!

It will take some time and commitment to work through all of her suggested exercises, but I got some benefit from even just a relatively quick read and a bit of time thinking about how well my actions match my highest values and how I want to feel. This is one of those books that I consider potentially life-changing, although the book will only make a difference if you actually take action.

Note that the publisher offers free downloadable worksheets for some of the exercises (no sign-up required). References are numbered by chapter and provided in endnotes, and a list of recommended resources are included at the end. Additional resources are provided on the author’s website, some of which require subscription to her email list.

I highly recommend this book for those interested in stress management, goal setting, and complementary healthcare.

I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review. Because I have not seen the final published version, I cannot comment on the final editing and formatting.

[Rachel Samuelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Dr. Samantha Brody almost 8 years ago when I first started my health journey and walked into her office as a client. I can honestly say she changed my life. She had a way with helping me be honest with myself in order to make lasting changes in my life. Her book is the same way. She lays out an incredible, wholistic path for someone to make positive changes in their life and it is their choice to take action! This book is for anyone. This isn’t some surface-level approach to reduce stress for one type of person. She provides tools and resources to support people in this process from all different identities and circumstances. I will say that if you are experiencing overwhelm, my advice would be to read through the book first without doing the exercises as you go because that held me back from completing the book initially. However, after reading the entire book (easily done in a few hours) I was already implementing many of Dr. Brody’s suggestions and I was really motivated to do the exercises because I saw the value of the whole process. And I know from personal experience how much following Dr. Brody’s advice can make a difference! I’m now planning on using this book as a tool for my work as an educator and in my fitness coaching business because I believe managing life stressors is essential not only for personal health but to thrive as a leader as well!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. This work actually didn’t feel finished. The first section on identifying your values was so great and important. Using your values to guide your decision making was on point.

The middle section where she hopped all over the place talking about everything from diets to addictions was disorienting and unclear. And then the final steps where you’re supposed to be able to start to empty off some of your load just ended up in a glorified enormous to do list. There was no application of the first part to the finishing thoughts? It was a bizarre closure out of nowhere in which the values identification didn’t match the result of the process.

So the first part was very useful and the rest of the book was kind of useless and frankly even more overwhelming than just ignoring my to do list altogether. If the author of a book on overwhelm has to make a disclaimer to “not be overwhelmed” while she tells you the last steps of her process: something is wrong. The endless listing and exercises that were insanely in depth and time consuming made the whole process extremely overwhelming and unhelpful. I actually found myself getting extremely anxious while reading certain portions of the book.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been leading a generally healthy lifestyle since I was in my early 20's and still suffering from numerous unwelcome symptoms, emotional and physical discomfort - much of which can be attributed to stress and overwhelm I didn't even realize I had, nor knew how to process. Since I began following Dr Brody and then read her recent book, I noticed that what I was missing was a 'how to', a practice guide on taking stock of my life. Not just my day to day, that came later, but digging deep into my values, why I do what I do, and how I can design my life to better align with those things. Overcoming Overwhelm gave me those tools, and the best part is that it comes without judgement! So much of what we hear - in the news, in social media, from well-intentioned friends and family, comes with an implication that you aren't doing enough, you are doing it wrong, if only x, y, z you could be a, b, c. This book is the opposite of that. It is doing the short work to recognize what is important, critical even, to your well-being, and then working within your limits to see real success, real change in your day to day and overall health. Can't recommend enough!

[Marneen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and Dr. Samantha's guidance through the exercises in the book, have made such an impact in my life! From figuring out what my values are, to really digging into things on my to-do list to realizing that I can not, nor should I do everything to recognizing why I make the decisions I do (and owning those decisions!), the exercises in this book can help you clarify and simplify your life, and through that clarification and simplification reduce your overwhelm. It's an amazing feeling to realize that something you felt you "should" do, can actually be delegated or eliminated from your ever expanding list of to-dos. This book does not offer a band-aid. It offers you a solution to your overwhelm. I love Dr. Samantha's personal stories - she has lived through it! And she lives what she teaches in this book. She is honest about her struggles and because of that, her book feels accessible because she isn't preaching theoretical solutions, she's sharing practical, proven solutions.
Seriously, so, so good. Buy this book!! You won't regret it.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really has changed my life. I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy and 2019 is giving me a chance to really put this advice into practice. Dr. Samantha's style of writing is honest, funny, and RELATABLE --she knows the challenges I face every single day as a working mom! My favorite piece of advice, and what I think sets this book apart from other similar books, is her advice to stop ignoring the "little things." She feels that the little things we "put up with" are draining our energy so that we can't keep our buckets full of good stuff. And she was right! I have gone through my house and either agreed that I'm purposefully ignoring the to-dos I see everywhere, or taken the time to actually to the repairs that are bugging me. If you're ready to start truly living a life based on your own values, check out this book!

[Clifford Prang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw Dr. Samantha speak at a conference in Mexico in 2015. She was engaging, funny and real. When I saw that she had a book coming out I pre-ordered right away.

As expected, her book does not disappoint!

No one wants to feel overwhelmed (I hate it) and I was reminded how many small things in my life were actually signs of overwhelm when I started reading this book.

Dr. Samantha offers doable solutions. It's not about making your life easy, but a comprehensive, individualized approach to seeing where you are, how you got there and what you need to do to end up in a better place.

I'm loving digging into the exercises and am hopeful to be able to manage my own feelings of being overwhelmed. The small steps I have taken already to understand my values and feelings and remove some of my small stressors is making a huge difference already. I'll keep you posted!

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first time I have written a review, and I felt compelled to write this after the fact this book has really had a long lasting positive impact on me. I bought this book on a whim, not really knowing if it would tell me anything different or something I didn't already know. All I can say was I am so grateful it caught my eye. This book has been so incredibly helpful and really helped me break down all my stressors into much more user friendly chunks to work with. It makes you really look at what is going on beneath the surface and clearly shows you how to address the situation at its core. I have read several self help books, but this book takes a difference stance and was a breath of fresh air for me. Putting its lessons into practice seem easy and logical with no pressure if you 'fall off the wagon'.

[Shalyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook. If you plan to follow the author’s plan you definitely want a hard copy.

This book holds lots of great life advice and strategies for a good life. My biggest takeaway was discover what you really want and then let go of shame and guilt from not choosing otherwise. Some simplistic information. Lots of practical application.

For me, a few key points and a supplemental workbook would have been most effective. I found myself getting bored (hence the 3 stars). However, the principles contained herein could certainly help a lot of people. I’m curious enough about the process that I will sit down and see how closely my values and desired emotions align with the choices I’m making.

The less you have worked on yourself before this point, the more helpful this book will be.

[Kris K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often forget to think about my immediate values and goals before jumping into all the things I have to do. Instead life just takes over. The exercises helped me see how often (or not) I'm taking on things that resonate with who I want to be versus who everyone else wants me to be. I liked the next steps of digging deeper about how I want to feel, mind and body. These connections are profound and often not aligned when I'm pulled in so many directions - family, friends, life, work, kids, parents, me. The author gives you the tools and resources to start from the beginning and plan how you want to make healthier choices, remembering self-compassion when you take two steps backwards. It's a process that continually evolves, just like life.

[Jayme Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciate Dr. Brody's approach that there isn't a "one size fits all" solution to self-care and stress management. It's refreshing (though still challenging work) to get in tune with our own "True North" (as she terms them) values and craft our own solution based on her recommendations for what's worked for her and her patients. Her approach is encouraging and absolutely do-able which is necessary when we're already feeling overwhelmed. I've found respite in this, and particular her philosophy that we can't fail at self-care. Anyone that's struggling with "too much" (and who isn't?) should read this. A great "New Year New You" read.

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great book to start the year with if you suffer from stress (like I do), and not only that - this is one of the most honest and best self-help books I read. The author is making it clear that not everything in her book is for everyone and that we should take what works for us and ignore what doesn't. It isn't full of fabulous happily ever after stories or outcomes, but it's full of exercises that the reader can adapt to what works for them. It may not solve all the things that causes you stress, but it definitely helps reducing your stress and teaches you how to handle it and feel less overwhelmed.

[Steve E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very easy to read and follow, which is very important to me if a self-help book is to keep me engaged. There are some really simple exercises for the reader that get right to the heart of what’s most important. From there, the author’s advice and personal stories make great sense. I feel this book will help me make better choices - whether about diet, work, exercise, relationships - to help keep me on the path I want and to maintain the peace of mind I strive for. I’m not one who feels overwhelmed often but this was a good mental reset for me that I’m sure will help me be happier with whatever I do have going on. Def worth the small investment.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything the title and cover promised and more! In fact, when I started reading my notes and assignments to my therapist, she was so impressed that she bought a copy of the book and integrated it into our therapy sessions! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Dr. Brody's book is insightful, yet engaging, approachable, and attainable. She painted the big picture of what "Overwhelm" looks like -- which I'm personally very familiar with, and then step by step, walked me through breaking that larger-than-life Overwhelm into manageable pieces. In sum, the book was fantastic. A highly-recommended read!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great self-help book. It is perfect for the perfectionist. While we may have heard some of this advice in the past it is good to hear it again.

I enjoyed the authors writing style. I did not find the tone condescending. I felt the author was compassionate and did a great job helping the reader put life in perspective and stop being critical of oneself.

This is an excellent book for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the unreasonable expectations of current society.

I love the concept of “decision fatigue”. He put into words and gave credibility to exactly what I have been feeling.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

[Vicky Lashenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book on release day but put it away on my bookshelf to read after I’m done with my other reads. My husband was looking through my books and started devouring it. He said “wow, this is such a great book! It’s so practical and LOGICAL!” - this is coming from a VERY PICKY, seldom book reader! This is a BIG deal because hubby doesn’t praise books so easily. This inspired me to put all my other books away and devour this one! Sooo worth the time to read it! Especially if you’re a busy mom! Highly recommend it!

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Samantha's book gives practical insights into why overwhelm happens and ways to handle & dismantle it. "You get one body in this lifetime. Your genetic code, and each and every experience you've had to date in this body of yours, has led to who you are -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually." A great read that will become a helpful reminder during those moments when I can't see the forest through the trees.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some positive uplifting words in this, and a overall message about choices, but I generally found this to be lackluster. There were alot of lists and exercises that felt more like a textbook for school and didn't provide the substance I was seeking. It also felt as if alot of the text was just "going through the motions" of a checklist. There appeared to be a lack of creativity in the structure. It wasn't horrible but just, not something I would recommend.