Review: Become the Best You

Mum blogger Renee Davis has led a colourful life. In her new book, Become the Best You, she talks engagingly about making peace with the past, breaking the cycle of dysfunction and becoming the person you want to be.

Renee had a dysfunctional childhood and self-destructive young adulthood. The words ‘brave’ and ‘inspirational’ can be overused, but the candour with which Renee talks about her difficult early life is extraordinary, and the determination she channelled to turn her life around is truly inspirational.

The book shares many of Renee’s personal stories, and dependent on the scenario, how she recovered; moved on; or changed her ways.

Renee blogs at Mummy Tries; she has been talking about her book for a while, and I have been looking forward to reading it.

I downloaded the book to my Kindle and read it in one sitting during an evening. Renee’s style is very easy-going and conversational, and it felt like we were having a chat over a cup of tea.

My own childhood was dysfunctional for different reasons, and the book provided a useful validation for me that I have broken the cycle. It is one of those things you often don’t consider until you step back and think about it.

Through the book, Renee gave me some useful tips to think about in terms of becoming the best me – the message I have taken away from it is that if you want something badly enough, you can do it. You just need to reflect on what is important and take little steps towards your goal.

You don’t have to have had a dysfunctional childhood to read or gain insight from the book: it gives any reader some prompts to change or tweak parts of their life they are not wholly happy with. I think having at least one thing in our lives we are not happy with is something we can all relate to.

She also talks about making peace with your past (most of us have some ghosts); losing toxic relationships (those people who cause more stress and bother than they are worth); taking responsibility for your life and the decisions you make; forming healthier habits to last you a lifetime – and if you don’t like it, change it. Very empowering!

Unlike many books of this genre, Renee doesn’t preach or finger-wag. In a nutshell, she says through her book: “This is what happened in my past, I took control and gave myself a brighter future, and this is how I did it. You will have different issues in your own life, and you can use what you need from my tips so you can become your best you, too.”

With the new year coming up, many people will be thinking about the resolutions they will make for 2015. If one of your resolutions is to make positive changes to your life, I can thoroughly recommend buying this book.

Disclosure: I bought the book myself. I have written the review, which contains my own honest opinions, because I wanted to!