a Self-Help book review?

This is going to be a first on the blog. A self-help book review. A friend of mine asked me to do it here on the blog, so regardless of how I feel about its genre, I'm going to do it.

Disclaimer: I read this entire book. I am not going through a break up nor am I getting paid for this review. However, my friend read this when she was going through a bad one and she said that this has helped her accept the fact.

Now we all know self-help books are not for everyone. There are those who swear by them, who truly find comfort, encouragement, and advice from them. Then there are those like me, who never quite got into it.

I just never found it useful for me. That's just my personal opinion. Now I have nothing against self-help books; I think that if people really do get comfort, positive encouragement, and sound advice from them, then I'm 100% all for that. But for me, personally, my relationship with self-help books have never been a good one. Usually, self-help books come off as preachy to me for some reason, and that turns me off. (I'm simply generalizing, of course. I know not all self-help are like that)

This particular book I'm reviewing is called, "Let's just be friends - recovering from a broken relationship." The title and its description says it all. It's a book to help you when you're going through a trying time, a.k.a "a break up." Now I have to admit, I actually enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting, and it offered unique points of view that I myself would never think of. It talked about a couple of things from red flags that you can find in bad relationships, getting through breakup blues, making the best of it, grieving, moving on... etc.

I got to say the best part about this book was that it did not seem at all preachy, and it didn't feel like the book was talking to me like I was a 5-year old. It didn't sound like it was written by an elitist or a know-it-all; it just sounded like someone who could be somebody's friend, if that makes any sense.

I still do think that a close friend or a family member can give me the same advice this book did, but I could definitely see how this would help those who are not as comfortable talking to someone just yet. This actually gives realistic and unbiased advice. So yes, I would recommend it if you want something to uplift you if you are going through the breakup phase.

I have to be honest though, I don't think self-help books will be included in my future reading lists, but then again that's just me. I'm curious now, what do you all think of self-help books?