DNF.

Interesting topic and I can’t say I didn’t learn a few things from this book. But I think I got a little caught off guard when I started reading as it wasn’t what I was expecting at all from the title and the cover (although I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover).

I appreciate the intent behind the content but just didn’t feel it was anything new from what I usually hear about improving myself and my communication.

I really tried, but after a while just decided I wasn’t going to get through this. Perhaps it will speak to some, but for me it didn’t quite do it.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the author, the publishers and the NetGalley team for providing me with an Advanced copy. I cherished this opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review.

Such a thought-provoking book. I haven’t read a lot of psychology or about behaviour, so this was an interesting book, introducing me to new ways to think about my own behaviour, that of other people and how we interact. The personal examples really bring the text to life.

This is a fine book about nonviolent communication, empathy and relationships. The problem is that the title and subtitle do not in any way communicate that these are the focus. I went into the book expecting it to be about things we should have been taught in school in general and about "challenges" as the cover blurb says it does. It applies to challenges in terms of understanding people and ourselves, mostly to avoid conflicts. It does this in a way that's quite easy to understand and the author is very likeable. The whole book felt like a homework assignment in a psychology book to me, though, not something I wanted to keep reading for pleasure. My mother was a psychologist and psychology professor and I've taken plenty of psychology classes, so perhaps this is my own bias.

I read a digital ARC of this book via Net Galley.

Appreciate having this advanced reader copy. This book helped me to look at my emotions and emotions of other people around me from a different angle. We all focus on our needs and wants and understanding others helps so much to communicate with them at a different level, get to mutual understanding or solve any issues way faster. That was my key learning point. I liked also the examples/stories throughout the book. They help to understand the context of emotional needs.

It's well written, but there's nothing new under the sun in this book. Same concept as other self-help books with the main focus on empathy and communication.

I was most intrigued with this title. As an educator, I feel there are many things we can teach our children, not just in an academic sense but also how to empathise and be kind to others and learning how to say no.

This self-help by Alice Sheldon talks about understanding a person’s needs. She calls it the ‘Needs Understanding’ approach. How can we better understand our own needs and the needs of others? How do we compromise? It all comes down to being kind and empathising with others. By doing this, we are able to create a more meaningful and understanding relationship with others and more importantly, ourselves. A few things I’ve learned from this:

- When someone opens up to us, we tend to unintentionally be quick to give advice instead of giving our full attention by listening first. I am sometimes definitely guilty of this, sorry friends!
- Validating someone’s feelings doesn’t mean that we agree with their perspective, only that we understand them.
- Do not be quick to shut out your judgemental thoughts, understand why you have them in the first place.
- We are our own worst critique. Instead of being so harsh on ourselves, we can learn to understand ourself with compassion and take care of them in a way that works for us.
- We tend to see taking care of our needs as selfish and that we need to be more productive but we sometimes we fail to realise that by taking care of our needs better, we make room to be a better person for others. We should never have to feel guilty for taking care of ourselves first. This is something I am still learning to do.
- Learning to compromise and saying no. How many times have we wanted to say no to something but ended up saying yes? Saying no is not a bad thing, instead this can teach us to compromise and validate our feelings to others. In turn, we might come up with solutions that could surprise us.

I know there are already many books out there that touch on this topic but what I enjoy about this is that there are pause boxes at the end of each section which I feel are good journal prompts and also good for creating boundaries for yourself and understanding your needs a little better. I like that Sheldon’s writing is straight to the point and she gives real-life examples that everyone can relate to. I caught myself thinking about situations I’ve been in and how I could have handled them better.

Thank you Netgalley and Practical Inspiration Publishing for the arc!

This book is based on what the author calls Needs Understanding. So…how to understand and meet the needs of others. And to boil it down to its most basic form, its about empathy and being kind. There are lots of self help books on this subject. And while the subject of empathy is always worth exploring this book seems to just revisit what a lot of other books already have. The book is well written and concise and would be of value to educators.

This is an easy book to read. If you are an educator, leader, parent, or involved in helping and teaching others in any way, this will be helpful for you. If you feel that you are in a rut, stuck, or don't know how to resolve dilemmas, this is a helpful book!

I found this volume to be a kitschy rehash of material in many other well-tread self help books. Developing empathy is the main thread here.

Why Weren't We Taught This at School ? By Alice Sheldon

Yes , the very question in the title is worthy of a discussion. We should be taught some form of this in school and in reality , at a fairly young age .
People are being told to , Be Kind. But really what does this actual mean ?
In the book , whilst Alice Sheldon does not ask nor cover this , it is a book worthy of finding the answer to that question and many others. We sometimes react to a person in a way that has been taught or shown to us from a young age , or through learned experiences . This book shows us there are other ways that can ultimately improve our relationship with others and by that , ourselves.
Brilliant and thought provoking.