By Willow Sibert

 There are many self-help books utilizing different frameworks. Some have different theories on why the individual is stressed, while others offer different methods of dealing with stress. Most are not interactive. This book assigns homework every other page. It takes the approach that you are doing this work not for yourself, but for someone you care about deeply, namely your dog. I personally found this approach very motivating, given the amount of homework involved.

There are motivational quotes, a frequent presence in self-help books, but the dog theme does give them a refreshing twist. Instead of ‘take a break when you need one’, its ‘When life gets ruff, hug your dog’. This is practical advice, as well as a lot more actionable and cute enough to actually stick.