Definitely an eat-the-fish-leave-the-bones book. As a 2 time cancer survivor, currently in remission, a friend recommended this book to me. I found the concepts really interesting and worth a lot of thought.

However, the book has a very clear bias towards TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) and Eastern Mysticism/Energy healing. I will be the first to advocate for integrated and supplemental natural medicine but this went way beyond that.

The author states her background is in TCM, but as a book that’s supposed to be fact based interviews about how “radical remission” is possible, it really should have used more rounded, less pigeon-holed data. Every chapter outside of maybe the one on Diet attributes the persons healing to energy or TCM. Chapters that had nothing to do with energy or TCM in concept (like social connection for example) still wove it in there as a necessary part of their healing even tho it was really irrelevant to the concept discussed. Any reference to “God” isn’t actually God but energy or spiritual practice which is by far not the same thing. She even stated in the chapter on Spiritual Connection that everyone she interviewed agreed that it doesn’t matter how you embrace the spiritual, just that you do. Which, being in the cancer world for years, has been far from my own experience and that of talking to many others.

Again, a testament to a very biased pool of data.

All in all, great topics/points that are great to apply and consider in overall concept, but need to be viewed carefully and with a filter.

Just so extremely sad all the way around. Each story was just so heavy and heartbreaking, I would not have read it if I’d realized. I’m ok with sad books as long as there is something redeeming in some way somewhere but there was not here. There wasn’t much on the thriller/mystery side of this either to sway it.

This really wasn't a book about Present over Perfect, it was a book about Present over Busyness.

I'm an Enneagram 1 (personality type) - the entire basis of which is defined by a need for perfectionism. While this applies to me, I'm one of those perfectionists who are selective - there are some things I'm highly perfectionistic about, and plenty I'm not. I've seen this book on lists for 1's over and over again - what I now guess is because of the word "perfect" in the title - because of this and finally decided I'd read it and gather some insight into how to be less perfectionistic, hopefully learn how to be better at accepting grace for myself, not hold to mine or other's expectations of me too tightly, embrace failure, etc. But this book was really only about perfection as it related to ambition, doing all the things, and being seen as being able to do all the things. Even when Ms Niequist touched on other manners of perfection, she continued to bring it back to being less busy, hustling less, finding simplicity as if everything related to this and the root of it. Which it doesn't and it's not. I guess that's an aspect of perfection - being seen as being able to do all and be all - but that is a very small and incomplete view on perfection.

In our US-culture, climbing ladders, selling ourselves, proving our worth is very important and needed, and learning to say No is a real struggle for a lot of people. For those individuals who could use what she's writing about, she seems to gloss over and not be really vulnerable over how she got to that point or the why. She talks about the result of doing this and needing to change it and her mental struggle on why it's not healthy, but not the why, which would be helpful for others struggling with this. Until you know how you got to a point, you generally are going to continue to return to the behavior.

I realize this is a memoir (or should be) so it's about her experience but even the theme of busyness/slowing down itself was constantly reiterated so that it felt redundant as well. And I don't generally struggle with saying yes to everything, so this was a frustrating book for me, thinking I was reading about something else. Maybe it's because I'm an introvert and she's an extrovert, maybe it's because I've done a lot of hard work at setting boundaries, and Ms Niequist seems to have some deep rooted struggle with proving herself in what she does. It would probably have been great if that's what I was looking for and the book was advertised that way. But it wasn't, which is why I rated it lower, in addition to the lack of vulnerability. If the point was about perfection, it really fell very short for me.

Loved the snarky and sarcastic banter, the travel and adventure Poppy and Alex went on and of course the romance in the middle of it. Great light and funny read.

Totally immersive and so hard to put down. Loved it.

I’m finding I really like books based in the Scottish Highlands in the 18th century, so this, of course really fit in. There’s just so much rawness to the culture and the time period - violent yes, but not typically in a misplaced way. The Highland Scots had such sincerity, loyalty, tenacity, and passion for the things they loved and believed in. It’s hard not to be sucked into it, especially when you know how much the English mistreated and abused them.

I enjoyed how Claire had the strength, tenacity and fight in her that was needed for the situation she was in, and for what Jamie needed, especially in his darkest moments. I thought that scenario for him at the end was conveyed so well - emotionally and thoughtfully.

The candor and honesty were also something I loved. Most things were explored and talked thru or at least thought thru in a fairly realistic and relatable way.