Book Review: The New 10 – 40 Days to Creating a Boldly Beautiful Life From the Inside Out, written by Dawn McIntyre
Reviewed by Lisa Kerner
Give Dawn McIntyre 40 days and she’ll give you 40 ways to change your life. At least one can hope for a change after reading her book, The New 10 – 40 Days to Creating a Boldly Beautiful Life From the Inside Out, recently published by Experts Academy Press, an imprint to Morgan James Publishing.
McIntyre, described as a professional spiritual intuitive, shares a bit about herself and her poor self-image as a child in her introduction. The New 10, compared to the original “10” Bo Derek from the movie of the same name, “is a paradigm of beauty that supports the mind, the body, and the spirit,” according to McIntyre.
Her goal is for the New 10 movement to become global (www.thenew10.com)
To prepare her readers for change, McIntyre offers up a quiz prior to Day 1 (each chapter is a day). The same quiz is offered at the end of the book. Hopefully, readers will see changes in their answers on the second quiz after their 40-day journey.
McIntyre breaks up her 40 days of self-improvement into sections focusing on thoughts, body, spirit, and how to live boldly.
Each short chapter mirrors a question on the quiz and provides a tip from McIntyre on what works for her. Each chapter title indicates two sides to an issue, such as Day 12 I Am Weak and Sick. I Am Healthy and Strong.
McIntyre’s formula seems to be to introduce the issue, acknowledge its two sides, suggest ways to change your thoughts or actions for self-improvement in that area, and offer up pearls of wisdom from her own experience.
For example, for Day 18 I Am A Mess. I Am Perfect., McIntyre acknowledges messages about beauty that women receive from the magazines and how women may feel lacking as a result. McIntyre then talks about what changes a woman can make to improve her appearance, such as coloring her hair or exercising, and cautions against going to extremes for perfection (Botox, plastic surgery). On Day 18, the reader is advised to spend some time realizing she is beautiful because everyone is intrinsically beautiful.
Under “What Really Works for Me” at the end of the chapter, McIntyre ironically admits that she uses Botox, goes to salons and uses “high-quality products” on her hair, skin, and body so that she can be her best self (the best me I can be). She also says she is a normal woman.
Some of McIntyre’s daily suggestions for building a better life are pretty basic, such as journaling, meditating, being thankful, and appreciating yourself flaws and all.
The 175-page book is an easy read and for me, a little too simplistic. While the 40-day format is easy enough to follow, it may not be interesting enough to hold a reader’s attention for that long.
Lisa Lassman Kerner is a wife, mother, and freelance writer. She lives outside of Charlotte, N.C.
Parenting viewpoints from parents in the trenches, because parenting doesn’t come with a manual. In addition to
I have to say, you got me interested enough to do a Google search on Dawn. She seems to have a passion for helping women achieve the most that they can.–Good article!