By Luis R. Ruan
Publisher: Independently Published
This book is a motivating read in that the focus is on spiritual guidance and healing for the afflicted youth of America. So did the book deliver on its purpose and information? Most definitely!
The book takes the reader on a tour of how the author began studying martial arts and how it propelled him towards a certain direction in his career. In addition to the martial arts, working in a correctional facility with disadvantaged youths also gave Mr. Ruan a different perspective on life and how to better assist these individuals so that they become more vested in their lives and to work towards becoming better citizens.
The author reveals some personal mishappenings in his own life, which also shifted his perspective on how to better assist youths outside the antiquated and corrupted juvenile system that currently exists. He provides guidelines to camping and hiking in a difficult outdoor environment, as well as concrete information on how to better work with underprivileged youths so that they make better life choices, and he also includes an element of spirituality and healing. All these three things make the book solid.
If I could change a few things, it would be that the book was mostly a “tell” book instead of “showing” the reader. For example, there was a powerful section where the author realizes his father is dying. If this had been put into a dialog scene it would have been riveting. There were many powerful moments throughout the book where the author lost some opportunities to include as scenes and to move the story forward.
In addition, the book was a hybrid between a memoir and a self-help guide book and had the author chosen one or the other, it may have been more influential to the reader as sometimes I noticed a struggle between these two genres.
Overall, the message and information was good; although, I couldn’t help but think that it would have been captivating if the author had focused on just one of those camping trips taken with a few of the disadvantaged youths and their overall transformation. The message would have been so powerful.
Because the book was written in first person, that drew the reader in immediately and it quickly connected him to the author. A nice touch! The writing was very informal and was truly an easy read – it flowed well. The information was enlightening. What made the book interesting was that the author shared his thought process and life struggles and experiences with the reader, which gave lots of credibility to his message. Definitely lots of teaching moments!
Source: Book was provided by author for review. It was reviewed by Corina Martinez Chaudhry.
