Feel the Fear . . . and Do It Anyway Paperback – December 26, 2006

I listen to books on my kindle (I turn on "text to speak") as I get ready in the morning for work. I've listened to this book twice now. I swear, I will probably listen to it countless more times. It's amazing how powerful this book is for me. I've struggled with depression most of my life, I am currently going through a divorce, & living alone for the first time in my life. I was, & at times I still feel like a lost puppy...I had a pretty unique life, I lived with my mother, we moved a lot, I was sexually abused by one of very few male figures in my life...I never had many friends (we moved too much for me to get close to people), & my mother was emotionally unavailable. To this day she is not emotionally available, but I accept her as she is, & that took years to learn how to do...the point of me putting my life story out there is because no one in my life cared about me, in any way shape or form. My mom couldn't wait for me to get married, she just about signed for me to marry my then 21 year old boyfriend when I was 15, because I think she could not wait to get rid of me, her "burden" off of her chest. So, when I did finally get married a few years ago, I thought my life's mission was accomplished, I was married, that was what I was supposed to do in my life, if I ever wanted my mother to be proud of me...I was never around anyone in my life that told me "feel the fear, & do it anyway", no one said "you can do this, keep going forward"...I didn't have that. I feel like I was raising myself, I raised myself emotionally, I gave myself pep-talks to be able to make it through new schools a few new ones every year, stomach aches of worry when my mom would be freaking out, concerned about bills or whatever else she had going on in her life... Severe neglect, that's what I'd say my life was. I had maybe 2 friends through my entire school career, real friends, that is. And, we moved so much, I never even kept in touch. Anyway, the point is, that when you grow up without someone there telling you that you can do whatever you want, you can be whatever you want, you are great, you are amazing, even amazing people get scared...you don't assume those things. I have had irrational fears, sooooooooooooo many, I was scared of the dark, scared of Michael Myers (as if this fictional character was going to come after me...seriously, I was afraid he was, I know it probably sounds so ridiculous to the average person, but I've been to therapy, these fears come from trauma & basically the things I went through growing up)...sometimes I never thought I'd be able to get past all of the fears that crippled me. I've been wanting to go back to school, & get my degree, but school was very hard for me, I am anti-social, & going to school was traumatizing in itself for me, with all that was going on in the background of my life, school was just as torturous to me...I never had any friends, I wasn't the cool kid, I ate lunch alone a lot...it was awful.I signed up to go to school a few years ago, I made it to the parking lot that first day, burst into tears...turned around & went home...cried for hours, nearly committed suicide...these feelings run very deep, & it's hard to move forward when there is so many painful memories of the past.Anyway, with this book, I feel like I'm very close to being able to have the courage to go back. I think a few more times of listening to this book, & I'll actually be able to do it. But overall, this book makes me less afraid of life. That again is probably not what most people want this book for, but me not being afraid of life, that is monumental, I was afraid that I was not a real person/woman without being married or a wife, the one thing I'd idolized my whole life (I was taught to), to be married. I survived, & everyday is a new day & journey, & you never know where life might take you. I feel great when I read this book, I'll keep reading, whenever I have something I want to achieve, I will read it again - this is a timeless book, & I'm thankful I found it.

I loved this book and found it so relatable. I feel more relaxed and fearless. Read it today!

I'm no fan of self-help books, of which this (I suppose) is a specimen. That said, Dr. Jeffers is a common-sense counselor with some good ideas. Even her less-than-good ideas may spur you to devise better ones of your own. Its biggest strength is the high value it places on positivity, of which, in our deeply cynical and angry age, we are in greater need with every passing month (week? day?).

I have read many self help books and they have been great, but the author of this book does a great job making the content clear and easy for the reader to understand. Susan Jeffers does a great job motivating the reader to face their fears no matter what it is in order to grow in life. I had to buy a hard copy of this book to always have with me.

Well, I must confess that years ago I was lead to a class after the love of my life passed away suddenly. Just when I thought I would survive and become the single parent our 7 year old son needed, I was laid off from my job.The fear I felt paralyzed me. My former employer offered me the opportunity to take classes to help with my job search. One happened to be titled “Feel The Fear and Beyond”.The instructor was a kind and slightly familiar looking woman. She had compassion and kindness throughout her beautiful being. Slowly I began to “Do it anyway” and was able to move clear across country and find a beautiful place for our dear, sweet son.It all happened perfectly - until my son graduated high school and went off to college. Unfortunately, I had let go of the valuable lessons in this book. I couldn’t handle the deaths of my sister, my uncle, my dad and finally my mom. I went into such a deep depression that, although I put on a good show, I wasn’t functioning at all.I didn’t “wake up” until a check bounced at the bank because I had no more money in the bank.Thankfully, the Father helped me sell my house. But my sister became seriously ill with a heart condition. I flew to her bedside and then the pandemic hit. She recovered but I sank into a hole I couldn’t climb out of. Yet, one day a gift from above came!! The updated Feel The Fear and do it anyway!! I don’t know exactly what my future will be but I do KNOW that I CAN HANDLE IT!! This time I won’t let go but will keep moving forward.

Great book! Recommend. Feel the fear and do it anyway is going to be my favorite phrase from now on.

Great book. It gave me a lot to think about. Highly recommended.