Review by grace_kahinga -- The Mindset by Ace Bowers

grace_kahinga · Post by **grace_kahinga** » 02 Feb 2021, 07:26

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Mindset" by Ace Bowers.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The Mindset by Ace Bowers is a narration of the true-life story of Ace, the author, and his journey from rags to riches. Ace was born as the lastborn in a family of five to parents who had no college education and did blue-collar jobs to survive. His mother had been molested as a child by her father and often emotionally unstable. Also, she married young at seventeen years when she had gotten pregnant with Ace's older brother, Billy. There was barely enough money, and the parents' drinking problems and consistent poor spending habits worsened the situation.

Moreover, Ace grew up watching his parents always fighting, and his brother Billy spending much more time in jail than he was at home due to crimes such as stealing, owning drugs, and weapons. Although he managed to close off his friends from ever finding out about his troubled childhood and background, he soon spirals into depression when they move away to college after completing high school. At eighteen, he's depressed, obese, a heavy smoker, and stuck at home with his parents with absolutely no prospects whatsoever of a bright future. He realizes that he's slowly taking after his parents' path, but life is about to get a lot worse before it can get better!

The novel feels more like organized venting than it is an autobiography. Life deals Ace with a few too many bad cards, mostly through no fault of his own, and Ace is barely left with no other choice but to step up. Instead of giving in to his unfortunate circumstances, like he sometimes did, he chose to fight in those pivotal moments when it mattered the most. The Mindset gives a painfully honest account of the events that propelled him to improve his life. Unlike many rags to riches stories where it's all about being too optimistic, Ace is quite forthcoming about his ugly feelings and the people who caused them. He hates his brother for always being in jail, missing out on half of his life, and adding financial peril to the family, especially when there was no money. Moreover, he doesn't try to paint his parents white, and he holds them responsible for much of his troubled and anxious childhood. They let him down so many times that he learned to apologize on their behalf to others. I loved so much the brutal openness the book exhibits.

The other thing that I enjoyed so much is how Ace outlines the key ingredients that led to his success. In most motivational books, there is an emphasis on hard work as the main recipe for success. However, as much as Ace talks about having to work hard, he acknowledges a few other things that are often neglected. Firstly, a good background can make the journey a whole lot easier. Unfortunately for Ace, his parents could neither give him access to a good financial start like college fees nor could they put him with good connections. Secondly, the art of dealing with and healing from a traumatic past. Success is often projected to owning lots of money, but Ace changes this when he emphasizes the importance of mending his broken relationships with his family. Where's the joy of success if you can't share it with the people in your life? Finally, support when starting in one's journey. The financial success that Ace achieves began after his parents allowed him and his young family to move into their home and live rent-free for one year. Had this not happened, it's hard to say how his life would have turned out!

There is nothing that I disliked about this book. It is fast-paced, very intriguing, and had me completing it in a mere three hours. I believe his style of storytelling is what did the trick. I just couldn't put the book down. Also, the book is professionally edited, and I found zero mistakes. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, and I gladly recommend it to everyone. It is the second month of the New Year, and most of the resolutions made at the beginning are forgotten. This book will inspire one to go back to the drawing board and desire to be complacent no more!

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The Mindset
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