Book Review:
Title: What Are You Bringing to the Table?
Author: Sheree
Pages: 201
Publisher: Self published
Date of Publication: February 13, 2013
Source: Publisher
Author Sheree is from Cleveland ,
Ohio and speaks on topics related
to the process of healing from painful experiences, character & self-esteem
building, and cultivating healthy relationships. What Are You Bringing to the
Table is her fourth publication; the first three were collections of poetry in
which she described as “narrative therapy.”
This work is a Christian inspired self-improvement book
primarily aimed at women who are dealing with abuse in past and failed
relationships. The intended purpose is to help them heal, to become stronger women,
and better potential partners with something worthy to bring to the
relationship table.
The title suggests that the baggage we bring to the table can
destroy a new, potential relationship. The format is one that uses Christian
principles as the guiding force in recognizing and correcting our own faults.
It uses examples of parables and actual scripture references. The book is a straight-up woman-to-woman
conversation, but has relevance for anyone looking for a committed long-term
relationship, including men.
The main argument the author makes is that when seeking a
potential mate we hold them to a high standard while we remain oblivious to our
own flaws.
This work is targeted to women dealing with loneliness and
unsatisfying relationships, but anyone can benefit from the self-improvement insights
and suggestions made on how to improve ourselves and how to evaluate a
potential mate.
The author's style is straightforward and easy to follow. Her
use of analogies was especially helpful in explaining the points she was trying
to make.
The writer takes the anti-feminist view and implies that
women of the new millennium are doing themselves a disservice by acting as the
aggressors and taking the position of the hunter when initiating relationships,
“our emphasis can be so much on finding the right one that becoming the right
one is seemingly an afterthought.” She goes on to say “get yourself” together
so that when “the one” does show up, he too can say he found “The one!”
She offers both psychological and scriptural solutions on
how to deal with the pain from past relationships before entering and
contaminating new relationships. She also presents techniques on how to build
ones character.
As a psychiatrist, I especially enjoyed reading her opinions
on how to evaluate a potential mate and how to explore his or her character
traits. Her views on multiple dating and soliciting opinions from close friends
and family differs sharply from those of “the modern day matchmaker” Paul
Carrick Brunson in his book “It’s complicated (but it doesn’t have to be).
The author acknowledges that the sexual attitudes
commonplace in today’s society is at odds with the Fundamentalist Christian
values she promotes regarding committed relationships and marriage.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for a committed
long-term relationship; it will appeal most to those who are open to Christian
values.
Alvin D. Pelt, M.D., Psychiatrist, writer, presenter, and
therapist. Clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at Ohio
University and The Ohio State University.
Blog: alvinpeltmd2educate1.blogspot.com
Twitter: @peltmkt