The Awesome Human Journal by Nataly Kogan is a unique, motivating, and inviting structured journal that helps one honor what it is to be human.

As someone who journals daily, I especially liked the daily practice and weekly practice check-ins for something new and different.

The handwriting type font is a fun, cute touch (though a tad hard to read).

I’m not familiar with The Awesome Human Project, which inspired this journal, but am now interested in learning more.

All in all this guide to strengthening your emotional fitness provides a great, engaging and exciting jumping off point to journaling.

My thanks to NetGalley, Sounds True Publishing, and Nataly Kogan for my digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is a great resource for anyone that is just getting into journaling or is already there. It's simple and the prompts will not overwhelm you. It serves as a daily check in with yourself and is beautiful to boot. I definitely recommend.

Beautiful illustrations! I loved getting to see the journal before purchasing one for myself since I loved the pillars and found the format easy to follow and something I would actually want to journal in!

I will also keep in mind as I think this would make for an awesome present or care basket for friends and family this upcoming year.

An optimistic personal guide to improve emotional well-being. I liked the simplicity of this book and the helpful tips provided.

ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this journal. These aren’t just your regular type of prompts. They are engaging and thought provoking. I found them nerve wracking at first but I gave myself Grace (the book told me to) and stuck with it. Now I look forward to journaling.

I’m going to steal a word from the title of this book….’awesome’, because it really was! Not only is it colourful, and I loved the font used that resembles handwriting, but it’s full of prompts to help you get the most out of yourself when you’re feeling tired (and so many of us are after recent years), downtrodden or unmotivated. I very much enjoyed reading this, made a few notes, and thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review a digital copy.

I am a therapist working and I highly recommend this book!! There are so many great practices! It seems simple (and, on one level, it totally is), but the format and the graphics make the practices highly accessible and engaging. Just buy it, try it out, and see if it makes your brain happier!

I thought this self-help postive thinking journal was fantastic. I wish my ARC was a print version to get the full scope of the actual journaling. It was full of positive affirmations, quotes, tips and more. I hope at publishing that the font size was increased, it was small! But other than that, I thought this was a great self help journal. I read this on my notebook size kindle.

Highly recommended. I will be asking for this for Christmas.

Thanks to Netgalley, Nataly Kogan and St Martin's Press Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

The Awesome Human Journal
I went in to this book not having read the book that goes along with the workbook. While it says you do not have to read one to read the other, I feel like I might have gotten a little more out of it with some context. Don’t get me wrong, the exercises were helpful, and there was just enough information to lay the groundwork to do them, plus I really liked the layout of the workbook, but I personally would like to dig a little deeper, so I may read “The Awesome Human Project” as well. All in all a good book if you’re looking to do a little personal development!

The Awesome Human Journal helped me learn how to self care and actually helped me when I was overwhelmed. I enjoyed it and will continue using.

I loved the cover and concept of this self-care book. There are some lovely parts to take away which you could add to your own journal such as the "Edit your Thoughts" worksheet. This journal is bright and colourful, I guess Nataly Kogan had colour therapy in mind! I found the Handwritten bits difficult to read which is unfortunate because it's the majority of the journal.
I would suggest that this would be a good self help book for beginners or a younger audience. Some parts such as the "Awesome Human Awards" were not for me and a little too repetitive.

This is a GREAT journal. It should be a required journal for being a human.

As a long time journaler, the daily practice spread is a perfect foundation. The book is worth it just for that. The questions are great, and the author shares the reasoning for including this.

Daily practice:
How am I feeling today?
What would I say to a friend who felt this way?
Today I'm grateful for...
1 thing I could do to have a better day:
What energy do I want to bring to my interactions with others this week?
Today I'm an Awesome Human because...

There are 2 daily practice pages and then a creativity break / Note to Self / Awesome Human award / mini neuroscience lesson / Anytime-you-need practice or wisdom (nothing groundbreaking or new for those who have journaling with depth for a while, but worthy reminders).

And then a weekly practice page:
What has been fueling my energy?
How could I do this more?
What has been draining my energy?
How could I do this less?

Really great instruction for editing a thought and turning it into a more helpful thought.

I know that handwritten is trendy at the moment, but since I'm adding my own handwriting to the journal, I would have preferred clean type. It also made the journal unpolished, and a more difficult read for me. If I am going to get creative, I prefer to have a stable base, but I can totally see how a creative journal leads to more creativity.

I also have a gripe that not much space is left for actual journaling. A lot of space on the page is for the handwritten questions, titles, and doodles that appear on every weekly review.

Not a fan of including quotes by the author with their Instagram handle underneath (e.g. "Exhaustion is not a badge of honor - @natalykogan" / "The greatest joy in life is to bring joy to someone else - @natalykogan"), but that's a personal ick.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

It's a freaking great journal with really great prompts. For me I'd prefer it to be a more practical journal. I'll be purchasing my own copy to use as a reference for my own journal.

I’ve recently been struggling with mental health issues and have tried to focus on reading self help journals and books as a way to help develop tools and skills that I can use to help myself work through issues as they arise. The Awesome Human Journal was one of the books that I used to help build those tools.

The Awesome Human Journal was filled with great beginner tools and exercises to help people work on their mental health. It starts out strong with helping you develop a routine of checking in on yourself each day. The exercises are easily followed with simple instructions and minimal introductions. The book pages are brightly colored and obviously are meant to encourage joy while reading.

The one issue I had was that, as a more scientific and logical person, there wasn’t a ton of explanation of the data behind the mental health issues that each exercise was focusing on helping. This wasn’t really a big deal, since there are a ton of data heavy reads for those who want them. This was clearly designed to be an easy and light-hearted way to check in with yourself and build the basic tools for beginning to deal with your mental health.

All in all, it was a great journal for someone like me, who’s beginning to process their mental health and work towards developing tools.

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy!
I really enjoyed this journal even when the online format meant I had to write down the prompts into my own journal. It's a great layout and has some interesting facts/promts that help to dive deep.
My only complain would be the writing and formating - at some points i'ts hard to read and the bright yellow might not be for everyone.

I enjoyed the format of this book. Seeing the pages written out in someone's handwriting, that wasnt turned into a font to make it LOOK like handwriting was refreshing.

When reviewing the content, I appreciated the concept of emotional fitness. The awesome human challenges were my favorite part.

I found some value in the science that was added, but I felt the rest of the content was aimed toward a younger audience. I'm in my mid 30s and felt this content was meant for someone about a decade younger than me. Like someone who hadnt yet been through serious life experiences.

My recommendation is for this book to be marketed towards 20 somethings.

I liked this a lot! I think it’ll be useful for a lot of young women who are just getting into self-help books. It starts very basic, but gets more in depth as you go. The illustrations make it something that feels easy to fill out and participate with. The title is a little juvenile in my opinion and I’d assume it’s more for teens, but the cover is pretty.

The title and cover of this workbook is what caught my eye when I was browsing NetGalley. I am a therapist and enjoy reading self-help books not only for my own interests but also because I’m curious about what’s being published out there for consumer use.

This workbook would be a great tool for individuals who are looking to improve their self-worth and self-esteem, and increase their positive thinking. It’s user-friendly, has good information, and would likely be helpful for many. My only complaint is that the font used throughout the workbook is a little difficult to read.

I really enjoyed this, and plan to purchase a copy for myself and maybe even as a gift for some people I know. I found the exercises simple in a way that made them less daunting as a task. I can't wait to see a physical copy of this book!

Oh, what a journey of self-discovery The Awesome Human Journal turned out to be! From the very start, I knew I was in for a unique and transformative experience. Nataly Kogan's wisdom and contagious enthusiasm shine through as she guides us to embrace our humanness and unleash our awesomeness.

This journal is more than just a collection of activities; it's an experiential guide to nurturing our emotional fitness. With science-backed practices like acceptance, gratitude, self-care, and intentional kindness, I learned how to quiet my inner critic and talk back to my fears. The layouts and handwritten text added a playful touch, making the journey even more enjoyable.

Throughout the book, I found myself digging deep, exploring my thoughts, and finding ways to prioritize joy without guilt. Nataly's empowering Notes to Self served as reminders that we all have something unique and special to contribute. I know I'll keep coming back to this journal whenever I need a boost of self-awareness and motivation. It's like having a supportive friend by my side, guiding me to become the best version of myself.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC of this book. I’ve been on the hunt for a book that promotes self awareness and helps to put it into practice. This book did just this while educating readers along the way and giving lots of activities and self check ins. There were some activities and sections that really made me have to dig deep. I’ll definitely go back to this book when I’m struggling. The fun layouts and handwritten text were also appealing to me!