Simple, short and sweet. Powerful read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

This book explores each of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit (found in Galatians 5:22-23) and demonstrates how living out the Fruits of the Spirit in mind can change our lives.
Anger and stress are the opposite of the Fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), and Gary discusses how yielding control of our lives to the Holy Spirit will give us the grace to resist the temptation to give in to stress and anger.
(Review copy provided by publisher)

Gary Zimak was always a practising Catholic but he remained a nominal Catholic for a long time. After he had a long ordeal with his addiction to alcohol, shopping and self-indulgence, however, and the possibility of cancer, he found the Charismatic movement, and he was baptised in the Holy Spirit. This brought him peace, and he found the blessing of a personal relationship with God.

I am not all that keen on joining a Charismatic movement, but this book is useful for any Christian finding it difficult to cope with anger, stress and anxiety. Zimak describes each fruit of the Holy Spirit and provides useful suggestions on how to increase them. For example, one of them is goodness. He tells his readers to 'practice goodness' by 'posting only positive comments on social media', 'avoiding gossip' and various other ways. He also provides useful summaries at the end of each chapter.

I found this book very useful, and I will look at it often.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

First before the review: I know several conservative/fundamentalist Christians that would never pick up a book written by a Catholic. Let me begin by stating that Zimak is a charismatic Catholic, which balances the line between Protestant and Catholic.

Zimac gives a rundown of his relationship to anger and stress and then sets forth a template to deal with it according to the fruits of the Spirit, but not before first looking at how to begin the welcoming process of the Holy Spirit into our lives. Each chapter following a fruit of the Spirit: Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). After each chapter are reminder questions, responses, and prayer.

Gary is able to address with each Fruit the fine line between the chicken and the egg or as I would put it Grace and responsibility. Each of the fruits has some aspect in which we are responsible for our end to uphold and strive toward in our journey with God as well as an aspect in which only God can provide.

For the most part, the book deserves a four out of five-star rating; however, Gary addresses primarily the stressors of life and how bearing each fruit can prevent or even decay the imposed stressors of life. Where I decrease the rating is in the realm of anger. The book’s title is slightly misleading in that anger is not primarily addressed. Stress is a byproduct of what is addressed by living out the Fruits of the Spirit and in that realm, Gary Zinac does a marvelous job.

Recommended for Christians; people dealing with stress;

If there was ever a book title appropriate for a pandemic, Let Go of Anger & Stress would have to be it. This work by noted author Gary Zimak is the perfect antidote to what's ailing many of us during these tumultuous times.

Zimak recommends activating the power of the Holy Spirit to combat the tensions in our lives. Along the way, he offers prescriptions for growing in the fruits of the Holy Spirit. These fruits include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The author opens the book by citing the famous Biblical passage where Jesus is asleep on a boat battered by waves and a violent storm.

Zimak ponders, "Wouldn't it be great if we could learn to react like Jesus when we are battered by the storms of life?" He also reminds us that "God wants us to be at peace."

I found this book to be a fresh take on anger and stress management. Zimak reveals his vulnerability by frequently employing examples from his own life where he has fought off the tyrants of anger and stress. In a world where many events can raise our blood pressures, Let Go of Anger & Stress can help us achieve that elusive peace which only God can give.

“Let Go of Anger and Stress! Be Transformed by the Fruits of the Spirit” by Gary Zimak is a short title designed to help readers connect with the third person of the Trinity and be free of the anger and stress found in today’s society. Zimak posits that activating a relationship with the Holy Spirit will encourage and develop the fruits of the Spirit including: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Zimak devotes a chapter to each fruit, offering Biblical passages, examples from his own faith journey, and quotes from the saint to illustrate and simplify the message. At the end of each chapter there is a brief summary of the main points, questions for personal reflection, and concrete suggestions for applying the fruits in the readers’ own lives.

This book is especially good for daily spiritual reading and is aimed at those wanting an accessible and practical approach to the basic principles behind the fruits of the Holy Spirit without the heavy theology. While “Let Go of Anger and Stress! Be Transformed by the Fruits of the Spirit” suggests daily mass and the frequent reception of the sacraments, it could also be useful to non-catholic Christians who could substitute other spiritual works. Zimak’s short work could be characterized as Catholic self-help, but would be beneficial for those interested in light spiritual reading and a basic introduction to Catholic spirituality. (I want to thank NetGalley and Ave Maria Press for letting me read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.)

So I am a Christian who is not a catholic.
I was reading through half of the book and had to admit that I do not agree with many of catholics thing inside or their view of salvation. They believe in performance based salvation. Other than that, I am quite amazed how author really honors the Holyspirit, and the baptism of the Holyspirit. This book tries to bring reader to get in contact with the Holyspirit.