The book that fell flat
A triggering book that gaslights you. The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest is one of the books I would not reread. Although hinted at with some beautiful themes and messages, this book screams self-help with someone telling you who you are.
The book is split into 6 chapters entitled:
The Mountain is You
There’s No Such Thing as Self-Sabotage
Your Triggers are the Guides to Your Freedom
Building Emotional Intelligence
Releasing the Past
Building a New Future
The trajectory of the chapters and their themes is a welcomed adventure, but the lack of scientific studies and the way it is quoted puts it in a projection tonality. Quotes like the following where the subject is “you” are prevalent throughout the book:
“Maybe you aren’t writing your magnum opus because you don’t really want to write; you just want to be seen as “successful” because that will get you praise, which is typically what people revert to when they want acceptance but haven’t gotten it.”
Some quotes still spoke profoundly with their principles such as the following:
“The less that you feed your core needs, the ‘louder’ your core commitment symptoms will be.”
This example highlights the dichotomy of needs and commitments, but there is little to reinforce the claim. Something that could have been added is more scientific and subjective case studies. Having this gives a little bit more meat to the writing to let the ideas marinate and stick for the reader.
While the book explores meaningful themes, its lack of depth and over-reliance on unsupported claims left it falling flat. A missed opportunity for what could have been a powerful self-help guide.
