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"How to Be Enough" is such a breath of fresh air; especially those with us struggling with various forms of perfectionism (aka consciousness in overdrive), there's many things within this book that you can walk away with. I've personally struggled with a number of the thought patterns and behaviors that are illustrated here, but have found it increasingly difficult to talk about. In today's society, as Hendriksen points out, perfectionism frequently leads to many rewarding and praise-worthy outcomes. But there are a number of detrimental outcomes, including our mental and physical health, a higher frequency of mental illnesses and suicide rates, and the overall quality of life and relationships we form.

I found this self help book to be well well-balanced between the number of Hendriksen's personal experiences, stories of patients and acquaintances, and research and case studies. She breaks down the different components to perfectionism (hypercritical relationship with oneself, overevaluation, orientation to rules, focus on mistakes, etc.) , as well as the different types (self-oriented vs. other-oriented) before delving into each area in more detail and introducing different strategies and methods for managing and improving them. Each section is sprinkled with humor and an acknowledgement that, while small, these strategies can have large impacts over time.

A great thing about a book like this is that readers can focus on sections that are more relevant for them, and skim or skip the ones that aren't. I personally thought that Hendriksen's section on "doorknobs" for conversations would be applicable for anyone; far too often, I've encountered people who can't carry a conversation or end up spending making it all about themselves. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and found the larger takeaways - to focus more on values and process, and less on outcomes and goals; and to encourage more self-forgiveness and authenticity - to be applicable and actionable. Very much recommended when "How to Be Enough" is published in January 2025!

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of this novel!