Thanks to NetGalley and Advantage Books for an ARC. I'm always interested in reading about people who are able to experience transformations in their lives. Dominique Farnan's journey highlights that no matter what your age, you can always seek to improve. Regardless of our own individuals stories in comparison to hers, there are some key takeaways we can all learn from this book.

When I selected this book to read and listen to, I wasn’t necessarily sure what to expect as I didn’t feel I had much in common with the author. I am not married, I don’t have children, I am not a business owner, and I have never worked a corporate job. However, I quickly realized that none of that really mattered because at our core, we are both just humans with unique experiences and stories to share; the themes and lessons learned within hers is what I, and I’m sure many other readers, related to.

It takes a lot of self-reflection and courage to not only recognize one’s own toxicity, but also lay it bare for the world to see in the form of a memoir. I sincerely commend Dom Farnan. In doing so, she differentiates what WAS from what IS, highlighting what her journey toward changing her life required of her and the lessons she learned along the way. She transparently describes how adverse life events and toxic stress impacted her until she took steps toward and committed to the healing process. She touches on a number of topics that may often be uncomfortable for us to discuss with others, such as love, grief, work-life balance, boundaries, negative thought/belief patterns (i.e. the stories we tell ourselves), and the activities she explored as she learned to manage all the normal albeit intense emotions we are all bound to feel at one point or another. She has a natural, easy-to-read writing style and the audiobook felt conversational. Though they are not necessarily new ideas for me, I am coming away from reading this book with several important reminders that resonated with me in my current stage of life, which I’m very appreciative of. With that being said, we all can learn so much from the stories of other people, but it requires mutual openness, curiosity, bravery, acceptance, and empathy. In Here Now, Dom Farnan created an opportunity for just that.

Recommended for readers interested in: memoirs, mental health, self-help, self-improvement, healthy relationships, and/or professional development.