How to Ditch the How-to

Kristen Wetherell

Truth and grace mark the ministry of our Lord, and they also mark Tieler’s perceptive book on ditching the endlessly exhausting pursuit of self-help. Full of insight into the human heart, How to Ditch the How-to will expose your need—and Christ’s perfect, abundant grace.

Jen Oshman

Take it from someone who’s been there: Tieler Giles really has put all the latest self-help trends to the test (manifesting, meditating, setting intentions, positive self-talk—you name it, she’s done it!). In How to Ditch the How-to, Tieler takes us with her on her years of trying to find happiness and fulfillment within herself. She shares candidly the effort and exhaustion, the high hopes and deep disillusionment. And then she shares with us the relief, peace, and soul-deep joy she finally found in Jesus. No doubt every reader will see some of herself in Tieler’s story. Who among us hasn’t succumbed to self-help? But Tieler tells us the better and truer story of who we are, in light of who our Creator is and how he made us to find abundant life in him. Tieler’s story is authentic, transparent, and ultimately full of the best news there is. If you’re tired of trying to keep up, then take up this book and find real rest.

“great encouragement”

The concept of this book is fantastic. The amount of "self-help" books, podcasts, shows, etc. there inundate our wavelengths is astounding! And all of them, every single one of them, miss the most important step: Jesus. Yes, there are many Christian, Jesus-oriented self-help resources out there, but they try to take the Bible and sum it up in a 10 step process. That's impossible! That's disrespectful and dishonoring to the God we love and worship.

Giles structures her book with three parts and ten total chapters:

- Part One: Striving

- Part Two: Searching

- Part Three: Surrendering

Each chapter begins with a quote relating to the topic of that chapter and concludes with two sections: Embracing Grace and Memory Verse.

What I found most interesting about this book was Giles' inclusion of some of the more popular self-help strategies, her journey following these and her conclusion with each one: not enough. She was honest, raw, and transparent with her personal journey to discovering that only the Holy Spirit can give us the self-help we so desperately need and want.

She does a wonderful job of sharing her experience and encouraging her readers to skip the self-help strategies and go directly to seeking Jesus.

I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review.