Life changing. Life affirming. Lessons for Living has helped me make more progress in the few days I spent reading it than in the last 25 years of therapy. Stutz is direct and doesn't pull punches. His ability to unpack the human psyche and repack it with practical, actionable steps is nothing short of genius. Carl Jung is looking down and saying "Yaasssssss! Exactly!" (paraphrasing). I'm able to look at my life and, as importantly, others, with a new and healthier perspective.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

I really like Phil Stutz. He puts on no fronts, and I’ve enjoyed “getting to know him” via his previous books, Jonah Hill’s ‘Stutz’ on Netflix, and especially his appearance on Armchair Expert podcast.
Lessons for Living is, like Stutz himself, thoughtful and accessible. I enjoyed the bite-sized pieces, which made it easy to digest as much as I wanted per sitting. I’ll recommend this one to many.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for granting access to a digital ARC.

This overlaps with some of the author's other books, which are excellent. So while there is some new info here, it's usefulness for fans may be to get the approaches in a different way, which can be useful.

I really appreciate the free copy for review!!

I became aware of Phil Stutz after the Netflix documentary "Stutz". I went into reading this book with little expectations. I have to say after reading this, I found it to be great. So many powerful life lessons packed into a small book. I definitely will have to go back and read this one. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Lots to think about after reading this book. The author made me think about some things in ways I have not before. Worth a read.

I think putting your best foot forward and always looking ahead not behind is such an important trait for any human being to have. Now, this is easier said than done, but something that we can all work on. Working and redefining ourselves is the epitome of being human. I think that sometimes we become so caught up on the hype and trying to please others before we please ourselves is so detrimental.

This author was able to bring out those lessons that we need to hear and learn in order to become our best selves!

The book starts off almost immediately with very little transition between the intro and the first chapter. Each chapter takes on a different topic, and has examples that make sense. When he describes a patient situation, I feel completely separated from the content because these are people who are in a completely different world than I but the examples that he gives after hold much more meaning and more of a realistic idea of the concept he's trying to explain.

At first I had a hard time getting into the book. I took away very small tidbits of information. As the book continues, I found more value. And toward the end, I was back to taking away small bits of info.

The author is very intelligent and I DO feel that he brings new insight to the world of psychiatry and being able to break it down into manageable concepts. However the transitions between chapters and getting an overall sense of the meaning he wanted you to take away was a little lost.

Despite that, I would recommend this book. I felt that it had new information that I hadn't heard before and new ways to look at or think about other concepts.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an advanced copy of this collection of essays by a famed therapist whose books have helped many people.

I first became aware of the book The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels when I customer in my store bought three copies. Kim, as I will call her was a regular liking Manga and romance books with I think werewolves or cats, and B-movies, so we were kind of friendly in that I would recommend books kind of way. "Dude, this book changed my life", and over the next couple of weeks she bought a few copies more, enough for me to have a customer recommends table set up, where we sold quite a bit. Reading the book I could see why. This wasn't a book that said happiness or not giving a whatever was going to change one's life. The Tools offered what seemed like real practical advice, told in a straight ahead way. Lessons for Living: What Only Adversity Can Teach You by Phil Stutz is a collection of essays that reflect on the reality that is life, and how the power to make ourselves move forward is within us, needing only our own work and interest to get us their.

The book begins with a brief introduction to Stutz, who in addition be being famous for The Tools, also has a documentary about his work on Netflix. These essays predate the documentary and in many ways The Tools, showing the ideas coming together and forming the basis for the book that would come. The essays are interesting, and if brought up to date, have not lost their power to move and motivate. The lessons remain the same. Most therapy is stuck in trying to help a person deal with the past. However change, real change is dependent on moving forward, and getting out of the traps that the past and our minds leave us in. The book is big on reality. There is no wishing makes it so, no over the rainbow. Real change means real work. Not an hour a week, but a daily grind to make a person better. However once one starts moving, the momentum can only build, and inside us all we have the ability to do so. One only has to try and find the meaning, the drive to succeed and do the work.

The writing is not the standard self help writing. Stutz talks about how the world is not a nice place, that bad things happen to good people, and not all bad people get their desserts. In fact many bad people get great desserts and higher office. However that is other people. The person to focus on is yourself, and Stutz details that with examples from people Stutz has worked with, history and other influences. The ideas might be from older essays that deal with pagers as he mentions in the introduction, but the ideas are all solid. And make me want to find my copy of The Tools again. Stutz writes not only in a positive way, buy in a way that makes on feel that, you know what maybe this isn't all garbage. Maybe I can get rid of these feelings. Maybe not super happy, nor super successful, but right now isn't so good, so why not try it. One can sense the years of experience in talking to people showing in his work.

Recommended for people who are stuck, who still blame things from high school on why your middle age isn't so good. Nothing can be guaranteed, but Stutz makes one feel that trying is better than standing still. I hope that Kim is doing well, and that this book can help somebody feel just a little bit better about themselves.

From the widely acclaimed Netflix documentary Stutz comes the book to takes us on an in-depth journey of his idea of using The Tools to better your life. The Tools open the door to infinite wisdom of the present rather than focusing on the past of future. In an essay format style we are able to glean important lessons that Stutz has developed over his many years in psychiatric practice. A timely book for the mental health crisis we face in society today with practical tools to help.

I wasn’t a fan of this book. As someone with debilitating major depressive disorder, I strongly disagree with the author’s anti-medication stance. He did say that in some cases medication is necessary, but he made it sound like that’s a rare occurrence. I also wasn’t into the “higher forces” idea. I don’t think telling people that believing higher forces will fix their problems is a good way to treat mental illness. This was a DNF for me.

Wow!! Have already been telling all about this book and shared on SM!! For a friend who only listens to audiobooks I said I will buy you this audiobook when it comes out. I began thinking oh I’ll highlight this or I will highlight that and then realized I would be highlighting the enter book! The Pub Date is Nov 28 which is perfect right in thick of the most meaningful season yet one that is filled with unrealistic expectations expectations, comparisons at an all time high and a reliance on the OUTER world which while yes I am festive with the best of them, I remind myself frequently and this book will help to tend the inner world too. This book provides excellent encouragement for that pursuit and solid explanations as to why.

This book makes me want to catch the author's Netflix documentary to see if I would like that more than the essays here. Overall the ideas make sense but the way they were written about felt a bit dry to me. I do think the book has important lessons that a lot of folks will cling on to. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This collection of essays ,bta famed therapist and subject of Netflix documentary takes various life issues. Purposes a new type of therapy:Tools therapy. Tools therq0py includes the.following qualities:
1. Homework. Life Is a process. If you want to change a process, you need to work on it daily.
2. Forward motion. Instead of looking into the past, you need to take the next step into your future.
3. Higher force. We are only a tiny part of an infinite universe. On our own, we can do nothing. We need the help of higher forces.
These essays are full of profound, although most unoriginal insights into life.