Revew: 25 Truths book

 I had the privilege the past few weeks of reviewing a great little book by Ed Douglas Publications called 25 Truths: Life Principles of the Happiest and Most Successful Among Us.
This inspirational, 150 page paperback book retails for $12.50 and is full of great topics for leading a prosperous life.

I flipped through it to get a feel for it, then gave it to Captain C to read through. He would read a chapter at a time (and I would skim it) and we would discuss it together. Right off the bat, first chapter is on protecting your reputation. Nice start! At first, C kinda blew it off as a joke (such a fun age), but then as we went through the questions and I asked him if he new anyone with a "bad reputation" and he immediately said a name and that "no one can stand him." We got to talk about why he has that reputation and how C can be sure to NOT get a rep like that. Good stuff.

The book is laid out in 25 short chapters, each focusing on a different "truth." Mr. Douglas mixes in scripture, stories, movie/book quotes, etc and it is a very easy read. The chapters are only about 4 pages each, and then he gives a one line summary and a page of discussion questions. There is space after each question to answer in the book, but we chose to do it orally.

This book isn't a devotional or Bible study and it won't replace your daily quiet time. While the topics are good sound topics, they would relate to all people, not just Christians. Topics include things like "See the Glass as Half Full," "Don't talk Negatively about Others," and "Spend Time with Your Family." "See the Glass Half Full" was perfect for C, who has a tendency to be negative. While some of the stories didn't relate to him right now, the discussion time was where we tied it into his own life and circumstances.

I let C pick 3 chapters to do each week. I thought he would jump around, but he just wanted to go through them in order. We had some interesting discussions because of this book. Each chapter is quick enough that he was willing to do it without a fuss, but the information was really good. I skipped ahead and pointed out some topics that caught my eye and he surprised my by saying he had already read those. People, he isn't one to go read for pleasure (much to my chagrin - ugh) so it was huge to me that he had taken his own time and read through more than I asked him to.

I think this is a good value for this book. I have enjoyed the time together that we have spent discussing the topics. It is best suited for 6th-12th grade, but you could easily read them aloud to the entire family and discuss them. It only takes about 5 minutes to read the chapter so you could do it at dinner each night and have a nice discussion.I wanted to work through it all with C first before beginning it with the other two. Somethings are higher than their level, but have worked well for C, who is about to begin 8th grade (yikes).

Check it out and let me know what you think. To read other Crew members reviews, click on the banner below.