Official Review: You Can Change by Eric Swanson

Christina Rose · Post by **Christina Rose** » 13 Sep 2017, 23:40

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "You Can Change" by Eric Swanson.]

2 out of 4 stars

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You Can Change: Hope for Those Who Struggle is a Christian nonfiction book written by Eric Swanson. It is geared towards those Christians who are suffering from some form of addiction. The author offers practical tools and steps to overcome addiction and finally live in peace with Christ.

Eric Swanson’s book consists of eight separate chapters. Each chapter discusses a new step or idea that builds upon the steps and ideas of earlier chapters. For example, in chapter four, Eric Swanson discusses the concept of repentance. In order to fully understand this concept, the reader must also understand the idea of confession, which the author discusses in chapter three. Each concept discussed leads to the next, and they are all meant to work together.

The author also ties in his own personal experiences, as well as the experiences of some people he has met during different periods of his life. This helps in making the novel a bit more approachable. The book itself is a quick and easy read, but there are several errors that could have easily been corrected with proper editing. Some examples are as follows:
“I know how to be saved, but if I leave with the same addictions and failures, then I begin to loss interest.” (You Can Change, location 44)
The word lose should be used instead of loss.
“I understand the verses that talks about …” (You Can Change, location 795)
Talk should be singular in this instance.
“If this was the case then Americans should be the happiest place to be …” (You Can Change, location 834)
There should be a comma after the word case, and Americans should be America.

I hesitate to recommend this book to addicts looking for a hopeful guide to aid them on their road to recovery. The author’s tone at several points in his novel is demeaning and judgmental. I find this to be in direct contrast to the serenity of the book’s cover, and to the positive tone of the book’s title. I understand that sometimes “tough love” is necessary to get through to some people who have heavy addictions, and to help push them towards recovery, but the author does not seem to be taking a “scared straight” approach. He just seems to be highly judgmental at times.

In location 50, the author states, “I know that some only become Christians so they can get what others have.” In location 52, he goes on to say, “They just want to be in a church and carry the name of ‘Christian’ in order to get something from others.” These are actually some of his more mild judgements. Later in this novel, the author implies that children who often disobey their parents do not love them, and a female with a promiscuous past has ruined her chances at having a fulfilling relationship with a good man.

Hidden among the author’s judgements, there is some sound advice that one may find useful. Because of this, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. If given the chance to use half stars, I would probably go with 1.5 stars. Like I said, there is useful information to be found in this book. However, I went through a large part of my reading simply feeling offended by the author’s condescending tone.

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You Can Change
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 14 Sep 2017, 07:26

Wow! It's really too bad the author comes across this way. There are those that really struggle with addiction and genuinely need someone to guide them through. This doesn't sound like the book to recommend. Thanks for the review, though.

The Researcher · Post by **The Researcher** » 14 Sep 2017, 09:30

Nice review. It is bad that the author who wants to change people and give hope to them is himself judgemental.

geoffrey ngoima · Post by **geoffrey ngoima** » 14 Sep 2017, 12:21

Well, confession is accepting and before acceptance/acknowledgment of a problem you can really face it, makes sense.
Great review

Christina Rose · Post by **Christina Rose** » 14 Sep 2017, 12:59

kandscreeley wrote:Wow! It's really too bad the author comes across this way. There are those that really struggle with addiction and genuinely need someone to guide them through. This doesn't sound like the book to recommend. Thanks for the review, though.

I agree. There are probably better, more positive, books out there for those in need of guidance. Breaking addiction is hard enough as it is. Thank you for your thoughts!

-- 14 Sep 2017, 13:01 --

The Researcher wrote:Nice review. It is bad that the author who wants to change people and give hope to them is himself judgemental.

Those are my thoughts, as well. It is disheartening. Thank you for stopping by!

-- 14 Sep 2017, 13:03 --

geoffrey ngoima wrote:Well, confession is accepting and before acceptance/acknowledgment of a problem you can really face it, makes sense.
Great review

Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!

Sabina G · Post by **Sabina G** » 16 Sep 2017, 00:40

Thanks for your review.
Those are quite serious grammatical mistakes. I am not a native speaker of English and I could easily spot them.
By the way, I like the book's theme and the way it is organized.

Christina Rose · Post by **Christina Rose** » 16 Sep 2017, 00:48

walkingfreckle wrote:Thanks for your review.
Those are quite serious grammatical mistakes. I am not a native speaker of English and I could easily spot them.
By the way, I like the book's theme and the way it is organized.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and for sharing your thoughts!

Quinto · Post by **Quinto** » 16 Sep 2017, 05:15

Quite a disheartening review for a book with a positive title. Maybe the author needs to step out from his ivory tower and mingle with the people he is intending with the book. The experience will humble his thoughts.
Thanks Christina, I enjoyed your review.

Christina Rose · Post by **Christina Rose** » 16 Sep 2017, 12:45

Quinto wrote:Quite a disheartening review for a book with a positive title. Maybe the author needs to step out from his ivory tower and mingle with the people he is intending with the book. The experience will humble his thoughts.
Thanks Christina, I enjoyed your review.

I very much agree! Thanks so much for reading my review and sharing your thoughts!

juliusotinyo · Post by **juliusotinyo** » 16 Sep 2017, 13:32

The book had a lot going for it, given my love affair with nonfiction titles. So unfortunate for some of the author's condescending tone. Great review Christina.

Christina Rose · Post by **Christina Rose** » 16 Sep 2017, 13:44

juliusotinyo wrote:The book had a lot going for it, given my love affair with nonfiction titles. So unfortunate for some of the author's condescending tone. Great review Christina.

Thank you! When I selected it, I definitely thought this book had a lot going for it, as well. I've been on a little bit of a nonfiction kick lately, and this looked promising. Thank you for taking time to read my review and share your thoughts!