Confident by Choice by Juan Bendaña

CONFIDENT BY CHOICE by Juan Bendaña is a very energizing text. Bendaña writes with verve and enthusiasm. His main message centers around the idea that confidence can be built. He starts out by noting four confidence myths regarding being an extrovert; absence of insecurity; having the “right” genetics; and needing competence first. I particularly liked his point that “1. You're going to fail. 2. But that's OK because failure is the path to success.” At the end of each chapter, Bendaña suggests an action item, a micro-step, often designed to help his readers further clarify their goals. Many of his ideas (“change your posture, skip around, do a little dance”) are small actions which can really have a big impact as they help improve attitude and overcome fears.  CONFIDENT BY CHOICE, published in August 2025, made me think of earlier titles like Be Fearless by Jean Case or Resilient by Rick Hanson.

The Flipside by Michelle Curran

THE FLIPSIDE by Michelle "MACE" Curran explains “How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower.” As the publisher says, this former Air Force fighter pilot “channels her unique perspective into relatable storytelling to empower others to make bold choices and find their inner courage.” Curran describes her decision to become a pilot and discusses silencing one’s inner critic, noting that she “eventually saw that avoiding discomfort came at a higher cost than facing it head-on because it forces us back into our comfort zones, which stunts our growth and keeps us emotionally, spiritually, and personally small.” Another section looks at the differences between reacting and responding and her stories about relying on her training to land safely are memorable. Overall, Curran combines her personal experiences with research and the varied perspectives of others; slightly less than ten percent of the book is devoted to endnotes. While readers may not agree with all of her suggestions (e.g., the timeframes seem too short in one minute to pause, one hour to analyze; and one month to transform), THE FLIPSIDE will encourage readers to reflect on their habits and mindsets. This made me think of other related texts like Be Fearless by Case or Resilient by Hanson.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

OUR MISSING HEARTS by Celeste Ng (Little Fires Everywhere) should not be missed, even though it is an emotionally difficult read. Ng sets this dystopian novel in the near future; it occurs after the Crisis (a period of economic upheaval) and subsequent passage of PACT (Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act). Desperate leaders sought a common enemy and Asian Americans suffer the consequences of anti-Chinese feelings. One of them is a young mother and poet named Margaret Miu. She becomes a target when a poem that she wrote transforms to a rallying cry for those protesting as more and more children are taken from their supposedly subversive families and “re-placed” in foster care as a form of re-education. Margaret flees, leaving behind her husband Ethan Gardner, and their mixed race, pre-teen son called Bird. This story - with literal and figurative journeys by Bird and by Margaret - allows Ng to explore the characters’ feelings and dawning comprehension while also encouraging readers to reflect. At one point, she writes, “Would one person be compelled? One out of eight million, a fraction of a fraction. But not nothing. … saying to others at last: Listen, this isn’t right.” Book banning and suppression of dissent is repeatedly referenced, as is the quiet resistance and strength of librarians (e.g., “the brain of a librarian was a capacious place”).

A LibraryReads selection for October, OUR MISSING HEARTS received starred reviews from Booklist (“utterly stupendous tale”), Kirkus (“sensitive, nuanced, and vividly drawn”), Library Journal (“beautiful yet chilling tale”), and Publishers Weekly (“remarkable”). Ng is an extremely gifted writer; consider this description of a rainstorm: “The rain hisses as it falls, like a thousand tiny snakes, and where it hits, the ground writhes. It needles the dirt, punching holes that widen to craters that fill and swell into ponds.” Her wordplay (“Spirare, Bird hears his father say. To breathe. Con: together. So conspiracy literally means breathing together”) and emphasis on fables and the art of storytelling is amazing. Start reading for yourself or with others – this title would make an excellent book group or literature circle selection. For more reaction, see Stephen King’s review in the New York Times. He says, “Governments are right to fear words. They can change hearts and topple tyrannies.”

Ready for Launch by Scott Kelly

READY FOR LAUNCH by Scott Kelly is subtitled “An Astronaut's Lessons for Success on Earth.” Writing for “anyone who has a dream or a goal but isn’t sure they have what it takes to achieve it,” Kelly has chosen ten life lessons (e.g., Diversity is a Force Multiplier) and devotes a chapter to each. For example, he places special emphasis on the positive role of failure: “I believe that everyday human failures …can be one of our greatest opportunities to learn, grow, and succeed. …only when you are willing to risk failure are you aiming high enough.” When I read Kelly’s comments about “how adversity shapes us depends on how we choose to respond to it,” I immediately thought of Randy Pausch ("We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand") and his book, The Last Lecture which, ironically, has a rocket ship on the cover. At just over one-hundred and twenty pages, READY FOR LAUNCH is both entertaining and inspirational; hopefully, it will provide readers with the same sort of motivation that Wolfe’s The Right Stuff gave Kelly. The first astronaut to spend an entire year in space, Kelly has written several other books for adults (Endurance) and children (My Journey to the Stars). He is a prolific writer – I vividly remember his essay “I Spent a Year in Space, and I Have Tips on Isolation to Share” published by The New York Times in March 2020 as the pandemic began. School Library Journal describes READY FOR LAUNCH as an “excellent addition to all library collections” and recommends it for grades 5 and up.

Organization and Motivation ... part 3

These two titles deal with emotions: anger and fear and how those can often stand in the way of  accomplishment and better organization.

ZERO TO 60 by Michael A. Tompkins is subtitled “A Teen’s Guide to Manage Frustration, Anger, and Everyday Irritations.” Its primary focus is on dealing with anger and explaining cognitive and behavioral strategies to promote better communication and the de-escalation of situations where aggressive behavior can get out of control. Unfortunately, there was no table of contents in the eBook preview, but the author does make an effort to speak directly to troubled teens; “zero to sixty” is just the first of many analogies to driving a car. Tompkins, a licensed psychologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at UC Berkeley, emphasizes reducing speed to regain control, pulling over, and leaving anger by the side of the road. ZERO TO 60 received positive reviews from Booklist (“a must for social-emotional learning collections”) and Kirkus (“a welcome workbook for teens wishing to get a handle on their anger issues”). Each chapter contains worksheets to help with anger management skills as well as a summary of key points; near the end there are several pages with lists of helpful resources (books, web sites, etc.) for teens, families, and educators. (APA/Magination Press) ordered – 4 stars

STOP AVOIDING STUFF by Matthew S. Boone, Jennifer Gregg and Lisa W. Coyne reviews “25 Microskills to Face Your Fears and Do It Anyway.” The authors’ credentials, a social worker, professor of Psychology at San Jose State, and a practicing clinical psychologist, are impressive. They bring much needed insight to overcoming fears with practical suggestions in sections designed to build awareness, feel your feelings, free yourself of fearful thoughts, shift your view, and take small steps. Noting that avoidance is about control, the authors use each of the 25 short chapters (e.g., take perspective or practice gratitude) to describe a microskill by using stories and scientific background. This means there are many words, but, unfortunately, few images or diagrams appear to be interspersed. (New Harbinger)  3 stars