I don't have insomnia, yet do struggle at times, which is why this book looked interesting. I wanted to also understand why it was geared towards women and not everyone. The author, Harris, mentions several things that are particular to women: we tend to worry more, our brains are harder to shut off, then there's those things such as menopause, perimenopause and pregnancy. The hormones and cycles definitely play a role in our sleeping.

It's sometimes hard to rate self-help books, and this one definitely fits in that category. One reason for a lower rating is the repetitiveness that is here. I think authors of these types of books figure people may skip around and not read every chapter, but this book is geared for reading in the usual manner. Another reason I rated the book lower was for lack of examples. It felt like more examples for the situations would have made for a better book. If there was repetition due to padding out the book, more of these examples would have taken care of that issue.

In a moment of synchronicity, I received an email yesterday that discussed a new FDA Black Box warning for insomnia medications. The short article states that the best primary way to tackle insomnia is not medications but cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, known as CBT-i. I had never heard of this before reading the book, but the book is all about CBT-i.

Despite the flaws of the book it still contains a lot of useful advice. I will likely add some of these recommendations to my sleep routine.

Book rating: 3.5 stars

This was a really interesting read, featuring lots of helpful, practical tips for women struggling with insomnia. As a young woman, I really liked that all stages of life were covered throughout the book, as it gave me an idea of what's to come, though I can understand why women who have already reached menopause would find this frustrating. I did find the book a bit repetitive at times, and wondered whether the American focus (both in terms of seeking clinical help, and basic info such as phone numbers for emergency services) would be altered for the UK audience prior to publication.

Like most readers Of this ARC I have suffered with insomnia for many years. Probably all my life actually. I have done tons of research and visited many doctors. For me, the book was a bit too basic. But for those just starting to deal with this health issue, I definitely think this is a worthwhile read. I do like that it had a focus on behavior and for many I think it will be a useful tool.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I chose to read A Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia by Shelby Harris for the simple reason that insomnia is the bane of my existence. I can’t remember the last time I had a good night’s sleep and it’s been going on for years. Obviously something that has been going on for years cannot be remedied in the 3 days that I read the book but there are some helpful tools and I do think following the steps set out in the book will be beneficial for someone looking to improve sleep patterns. Her plan is based on using CBT-I Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia and she gives clear explanations of the steps as well as charts to fill out to track your sleep and common sense solutions such as using your bed only for sleep, going to bed and getting up at the same time, practicing mindfulness and changing behaviours. I do like that her focus is on behavioural changes and not pharmaceuticals although she does explain what proscribed sleep aids are available and how they work. I am going to purchase this book and I do think it will be helpful for people looking to solve their insomnia problems. Publishing Date July 2, 2019
#NetGalley #ShelbyHarris #TheWomensGuideToOvercomingInsomnia #OvercomingInsomnia #WWNortonandCompany

As someone who has struggled with insomnia for decades, I really wanted to like this book. Although it does have a few interesting tips, much of it is rehashed info you can get more quickly (and free) from online articles about insomnia. Despite this, I would have rated this book higher if it wasn’t for the constant repetition and filler commentary.

At times, I found myself literally rolling my eyes after reading the same basic content over and over and over again. It really wasn’t necessary to recap each concept every single time it was mentioned, but that’s what it felt like the author did.

Some of the background/introductory stuff was interesting, but it also dragged on. I was more than 1/5 of the way through it before any actual concrete solutions/tips were presented. For the first 20% of the book, the author merely kept referring to things that would be talked about in greater detail later on. This got old very quickly.

The organization of the book could have also been much better. Instead of making readers keep skipping large sections of each chapter that didn’t apply to them, it would have been nice to have sections specifically for Adult Women, Pregnant Women, Women with Infants, Perimenopausal Women, and Menopausal Women.

This book might be for you if you’ve never read a book about insomnia and haven’t done much research online. Otherwise, you’re already going to be familiar with a lot of the tips that are offered.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.