Play Your Way Sane by Clay Drinko is a motivating while entertaining read! Certainly different and a new style, but a good read.

I was looking forward to this one as I love the idea of playing little games during the day to help manage anxiety and otherwise help get things done better. That said, they're not really games as much as little improv exercises. One of the early ones is to go around the room and just name objects as quickly as possible (bed, table, vitamins) without saying anything negative or positive about them. Then the next one is to name them the wrong things. I did that with one of my sons and we kind of had fun with it, but it didn't really help us in any way. That was one of the more fun ones to me. A lot of them are just weird little exercises. The author is really into improv so he incorporates a lot of little improv exercises but not the most fun ones IMO. I finished it a couple of weeks ago and have already forgotten almost all of it, unfortunately. I didn't come away from it really wanting to incorporate it, even though our family does do a lot of real improv for fun. It's certainly unique though and it's a very novel way to try to get a grip on challenging emotions.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

This is certainly different. I liked it. Certainly not all of the exercises will work for readers, but with an open mind, some of them will be helpful. The book is written a very friendly, honest style, which adds to it's potential effectiveness. Recommended for those will to do some things that may be a little uncomfortable or at least off-beat -- just enough to have a positive impact.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was around 3.5 stars for me.

This book is full of "games" that help you get through life. Most of them come across more like "hacks" or other ways to stay in the moment, be more observant, or even remember people's names. Some of them seem really helpful and creative. Some don't feel particularly relevant. It seems kind of like a fake it until you make it book that helps you learn skills.

There's a variety of games the author presents to help people navigate life, or very specific social situations.

A fun, always irreverant, often humourous way to get a grasp on spiraling anxious thoughts. Drawing on his education and experience in improv acting, Drinko shares his creative games for getting out of your head, even if just for a couple of minutes. It's something like meditation or mindfulness for people who have never got the hang of either one!