Book Review: What's Age Got to do with It?

I must confess some lack of enthusiasm as I picked up Robin McGraw's book What's Age Got to do with It? I am very particular about the self-help books I read, and I'm also not a huge fan of Robin McGraw or her popular husband "Dr. Phil." Why read it then, you may ask? For two reasons. As a pastor's wife and natural counselor, my opinion and advice are frequently sought on any number of topics, and I like to have a familiarity with the resources I fall back on to help me offer sound and educated advice. Secondly, Mrs. McGraw's book was published by a Christian publishing company for promotion to Christian women. I was interested to know the motivation and inspiration behind her lifestyle to determine whether this was a book I could truly use as I encourage other women in their walk with Christ.

Very early in the book, Mrs. McGraw expresses that her motivation for a healthy lifestyle is based in her personal desire to look and feel great and to be the best wife and mother she can be for her family. These are wonderful motivations, but they are not Scriptural. 1 Corinthians 10:31 outlines what our motivation as Christians should be...Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Mrs. McGraw does include scattered references to her Christian faith and her reliance on God, and closes the book with a brief discussion of her salvation experience and reliance on prayer. Christ is referred to as her inspiration, and it is my understanding of Scripture that the glorification of Christ should be the full essence of what we do, not the inspiration to do good things for ourselves.

Having resolved that question in my mind, I then set out to read the book for its practical application, and I was pleasantly surprised. Mrs. McGraw has composed one of the better self-help books on living a healthy life. She has a wide variety of resources available to her due to her social and financial status. But rather than using those to insist that the high-cost resources are the only solution to true physical health, Mrs. McGraw draws upon her resources and experiences to share very practical and feasible ideas with women from all walks of life. Mothers with young children underfoot and no money to spend can find as many practical suggestions as women with an abundance of time and financial resources.

My only complaint from a practical perspective was chapter length. The chapters are quite long and have no natural breaks or chapter divisions until the expert advice sections at the end of each chapter. Although the book was very easy to read, I frequently felt that my brief moments of reading here and there (as many mothers must do!) required that I stop in the middle of a thought in the absence of natural chapter divisions.

Would I recommend this book? I believe so! I would, however, also supplement it with resources and Scripture passages that teach Scriptural motivation for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.