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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In his self-help memoir Eyes Wide Open: Learning to Suffer, Jason L. Sharp examines the role of self-assessment, personal identity, and the impact of biases in evaluating oneself. He advocates for embracing failure as a growth opportunity and stresses the importance of extreme ownership and resilience. Sharp shares his experiences overcoming homelessness, addiction, and instability, drawing from mentorship and community support, including from figures like Yael at PetVets and SFC Brian Galarza. He describes his military career, including the rigorous Ranger School, and his battle with Stage III Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, leaning into the role of perseverance and support. Sharp underscores the development of non-cognitive skills like emotional intelligence through strife and critiques social media’s effect on these skills, proposing the integration of social-emotional learning in education.
In Eyes Wide Open, Jason L. Sharp shows us through first-hand experience what personal growth looks like via the lens of resilience and self-awareness. His writing is simple, straightforward, and conversational, drawing from his own tumultuous life. As someone not an American reading this inspirational memoir, encouraging readers that the US military is the best developer of character wasn't entirely helpful. However, the book definitely has international appeal. I loved Sharp's discussion on self-assessment revealing the pitfalls of internal biases and the value of honest feedback. I also found his reflections on suffering and adversity as a transformative power when facing challenges head-on to be excellent. Overall, Eyes Wide Open is a poignant reminder of the strength found in vulnerability and the growth that emerges from confronting life’s harshest trials, and that learning to suffer means one is learning to thrive. Very highly recommended.
