One Sentence Summary
Dr. Nicole LePera’s How to Do the Work is a comprehensive guide for achieving personal growth and transformation by addressing the patterns keeping one stuck and the steps needed to create a life of lasting fulfillment.
Book Genre
Self-help/personal growth/psychology/psychotherapy
Main Topic of the Book
The book focuses on the methods needed for individuals to recognize and change the patterns that keep them stuck in life, heal from the past, and create their self.
Key Ideas
- The importance of getting to know the self
- Effectively addressing the deep-seated patterns preventing personal growth and transformation
- Adopting healthy strategies to create true and lasting self-fulfillment
Main Parts of the Book and a Short Summary
Part 1 addresses the importance of recognizing the self and understanding our thoughts and behaviors. It explores ways to accept our patterns without making ourselves the problem while exploring effective strategies for genuine growth and transformation.
Part 2 focuses on the need for healing from the past. It emphasizes the power of self-compassion to let go of past wounds and slow down the ruminating mind.
Part 3 presents mindfulness and awareness as the tools for creating a self-fulfilling life with steps to establishing deeper relationships with oneself and others. It stresses the importance of identifying our deepest longings and creating healthy goals to gain and maintain the life we desire.
Part 4 outlines the application of each step in the journey of transformation with ideas on how to keep the momentum going and make changes that last.
Key Takeaways
- We are all inherently worthy and capable of growth, regardless of past experiences
- Our internal process is key to external transformation
- Self-compassion is a pillar for inner healing
- We create our lives when we take consistent and mindful action
Author’s Background and Qualifications
Dr. Nicole LePera is a board-certified clinical psychologist and psychotherapist. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Neuroscience from The College of William & Mary. Dr. LePera then achieved her Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University (LIU). She further obtained a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology.
Target Audience
How To Do The Work is best suited for individuals looking to break free from old patterns and achieve true self-fulfillment.
Publisher and First Publication Date
The book was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and was released on April 14, 2020.