An excellent overview of self-control as a concept and an explication of biblical principles with related scientific theory. The author's personal notes/journals were a good introduction to the concept-- we can all relate, right? We're all either trying to start something or trying to stop something. By the end, it was a little less than optimal-- he was working through his learnings, but didn't seem to have accomplished what we promised could be accomplished. A minor nitpick.

A more major nitpick-- chapter 9 is dedicated to addiction: a notable failure of self-control, among other things, and recovery. It brings together most of what Dyck has written to this point and dives into AA territory, because, of course, the best, most effective path anyone has found to recovery so far involves surrender of will to a Higher Power. His merger of the ideas he'd outlined so far in this chapter was very well done and I appreciated both is plain language and the fact he pulled no punches. Where I have to say hold up is that, with any amount of cursory digging, you're going to find that Bill W. (with or without Dr. Bob) did not just invent AA and its 12 steps off the top of his head. AA was an offshoot of the explicitly Christian Oxford Group, which said that fear and selfishness were root of all problems. A nitpick. I had to put it out there. Might delete. Not sure.