Review by geebeex -- The Secrets of Living A Fantastic ...

[geebeex]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Secrets of Living A Fantastic Life" by Dr Allen Lycka, Harriet Tinka.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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This novel aims to help people who have had a traumatic or life-altering experience, or who are depressed or lacking direction in their life. It uses the life experiences of the two authors to reach out to an audience and try to encourage people to live the best life they can.

The Secrets of Living a Fantastic Life is a self-help book written by Dr. Allen Lycka and Harriet Tinka. They have both gone through highly traumatic times in their lives, and through those experiences, they draw you closer to them and help you to learn the lessons they have learned in their brushes with death. They share how they have overcome their circumstances and learned to live happy and successful lives, making the most of their everyday lives.

The advice is given through ‘golden pearls’, symbolizing how precious each piece of advice they give is. Each pearl begins with a story or tale with a moral similar to the ‘golden pearl’. This is followed by a conversation with D. Lycka and Harriet, which is narrated in an almost script-like style, making the reader feel as though they are personally witnessing the conversation, and making them feel like friends and mentors rather than faceless authors.

I liked the simplicity with which the golden pearls were presented in the book. It’s so easy when reading self-help books to be confused and lost in paragraphs of long words and psychological terms that you miss the point of the book entirely; however, the two authors of this book manage to keep it easily accessible, and therefore a better read. The stories of both of the authors are absolutely shocking and make the reader realize their own luck in life, and remind us to make the most of every day.

I read the EPUB form of this book, and the only part I disliked about the novel was the formatting. There were odd lines that looked like they should be titles all through the book, often midsentence, which made it hard to carry the flow of the chapter. Once this is fixed it will be a very enjoyable read, but until then it is a lot of work to read around the random titles. I also felt as though the dialogue was occasionally a little stilted, but this is probably due to the ambitious style of conversation used in the novel. There was also the use of emoticons once or twice which felt unnatural in a novel.

Apart from the formatting issues, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it a very accessible and encouraging read. There are mentions of suicide attempts and death, as well as mentions of abuse so discretion must be taken with these difficult subjects. It is suitable for people of any religion, and for teenagers upwards. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars for the way they make self-help accessible and the clear fun they had writing the novel.

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The Secrets of Living A Fantastic Life
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