Thursday , March 28 2024
An honest, useful guide to navigating life's unexpected challenges and crises.

Book Review: The Real Rules of Life: Balancing Life’s Terms with Your Own by Ken Druck, Ph.D

Life is not fair. Bad things do happen to good people. Closure is a myth; real healing takes a lifetime. These “real rules” sound harsh, but once you accept them, you can learn to deal with any problem or crisis more successfully and not only cope but add joy to your life. That is the premise of Ken Druck’s The Real Rules of Life: Balancing Life’s Terms with Your Own, along with a 18 other simple, matter-of-fact rules that sometimes run counter to what we are taught.

At some point,we all feel that if we just do everything right, work hard, and take care of ourselves and our loved ones, our lives will go smoothly. Then something turns our lives upside down and we can become disappointed, disillusioned and bitter.

Druck states that no matter what sort of “deals” we make with life, life will still have its say sometimes. You can do everything right, and things will still go wrong. He knows, because he faced terrible tragedy when his daughter died in a horrible bus accident while visiting India at age 21.

This book will be especially helpful for those who are facing crisis of some sort, whether through death of a loved one, divorce, job loss, or even retirement or just the everyday challenges of parenting. But it will be helpful for any reader who feels the need for some guidance in dealing with everyday existence.

The rules are simple and handled in short chapters, so that the book is a quick, easy read. There are key points presented in boxes throughout and suggested exercises at the end of each chapter.

Some of the rules deal with keeping an open heart, being open to taking risk, the benefits of letting go and breaking down, and how to be a good listener and friend to others.

While those whose lives are going well may not need this book now, we all face crisis sometimes. And if we aren’t, we probably know someone who is. For those times, Ken Druck’s book offers real help and support.

About Rhetta Akamatsu

I am an author of non-fiction books and an online journalist. My books include Haunted Marietta, The Irish Slaves, T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do: Blues Women Past and Present, Southern Crossroads: Georgia Bluesand Sex Sells: Women in Photography and Film.

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