Most personal growth and self-help books are long on advice and personal examples based on the author's history and experience. They normally include a few questions or exercises encouraging the reader to apply the advice and ideas to her own life.
Therapist and author Lyzz Yamazaki's My Life, A Workbook (One Peace Books, 2010) turns the normal self-help book model on its head. My Life is long on questions, which is why the subtitle, A Workbook is so appropriate. My Life is primarily a book of questions with a few pages of text supporting and encouraging the reader's reflective journey through My Life as a self-discovery workbook rather than a how-to advice book.
Who is Lyzz Yamazaki?
Author Lyzz Yamazaki is a therapist specializing in trauma. Well-known in Japan, Yamazaki has published several books based on her fourteen years of counseling. My Life, A Workbook, was originally published in Japan and was recently released in the U.S. by One Peace Books.
The theme of My Life is exemplified by Yamazaki's introduction in which she notes "You need to believe in yourself in order to bring out your potential. In order to believe in yourself, you need to know your true self." Yamazaki guides the reader through the journey of personal growth through self-discovery with over two hundred and fifty questions, beginning with physical self-descriptions and progressing through one's understanding of beliefs, fears, hopes, and dreams.
The honest self-reflection which is critical to personal growth can be very difficult. As author James Thurber noted, "All men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why." As a guide to that purpose, My Life asks questions that require honesty and courage to answer. The reader begins by responding to questions about hobbies and interests, but eventually moves on to tougher questions such as "Describe the most painful case of heartbreak you've experienced." and what's "The thing you most regret in your life?"
Self-Reflection Workbook
By its nature, My Life will be an effective tool of personal growth and development for the person with the courage and commitment to respond honestly with truths rather than safe but shallow replies that hide inner truths. My Life, A Workbook should come in a steel box with a combination lock — it's that personal and intimate — asking the reader to bare her soul and expose her most hidden fears, regrets, and dreams. The person responding with total honesty and completeness will experience the greatest self growth, but will have opened herself to total exposure and vulnerability to anyone reading her completed workbook.
My Life begins with a chapter Yamazaki calls the Introduction, about eighty questions of self-description, such as color of hair and eyes, nickname, daily routine, and physical surroundings. These warm-up questions help the reader get in the swing of thinking about self and responding. These safe, easy questions reveal only the outer self that everyone else already knows.
"Chapter Two, Myself," starts with a short question that hints at what's to come, leading with "Are you happy?" A few questions later, one faces "If God told you that you are forgiven for your sins what do you think that forgiveness would be for?" This chapter asks an assortment of questions requiring the reader to reflect and explore herself, including finishing the sentence, "The real me is ..."
Subsequent chapters cover love, relationships, money, and vision, each guiding the reader gently but persistently on a journey of deeper and deeper self-understanding.
Personal Growth Book
The appearance of My Life, A Workbook belies its serious purpose. With an informal front cover of bright yellow punctuated with a small cat image and the title and author in small, casual font, My Life gives the appearance of light reading. Throughout My Life, the illustrations are whimsical and female-oriented, with line drawings that suggest casual artistry. Despite the book's casual appearance, a person serious about personal growth and development who is willing to complete the entire workbook with honesty and courageous self-reflection faces an opportunity of a lifetime – the chance to answer that most difficult of questions, "Who am I?"
Seriously delving into the depth's of one's heart can be a daunting journey, but promises one of life's great rewards. French-American author Julien Green described the journey of self-discovery this way: "The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart."
Jerry Lopper - IPPA member, business and engineering degrees. Jerry's passion for personal development shows in 5 books, hundreds of articles & ...
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