A review by melhara
Hero by Rhonda Byrne

2.0

"This is your story. This is your purpose. This is why you are here on planet Earth - to take the Hero's Journey and to discover the hero within you. With the invaluable wisdom you're about to receive, and armed with your powerful abilities, you will be able to fulfill your dream and find the true and lasting happiness that every one of us so desperately seeks. No matter where you are in your life, no matter what age you are, it is never too late to follow your dream."

I've never read [b: The Secret|52529|The Secret (The Secret, #1)|Rhonda Byrne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482865039s/52529.jpg|2001660], and after reading [b: Hero|7736182|The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1)|Rick Riordan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464201003s/7736182.jpg|10107891], I'm not sure I want to read any other book by [a: Rhonda Byrne|29655|Rhonda Byrne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1250448613p2/29655.jpg].

If you're really into reading motivational and inspirational stories/biographies then go ahead and pick up a copy of [b: Hero|7736182|The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1)|Rick Riordan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464201003s/7736182.jpg|10107891]. I'm warning you though, there's a lot of repetitive 'motivational' messages, quotes and snippets from the same 10 people, and a sh**load of clichés and extreme exaggerations.

I can flip to any random page in the book and pull out the most cliché-ed sentence ever (because every sentence in this book seems to be written with a cliché in mind). For example:

"To believe in yourself is perhaps the most powerful hero ability you have available to you. Your belief will carry you through every difficult situation or any challenging circumstances, and enable you to ultimately realize your dream!"

or

"The ultimate reward of the success of your dream does not mark the end of the journey, but the beginning of another."

and (this one here actually made me laugh out loud)

"After taking the final step on the Hero's Journey, you become a whole, holy human being - a true hero."

Haha. Ok. If you say so, Rhonda.

Overall, this entire book felt like a poorly written compilation of biographies on (and here I've taken the liberty of including their Wiki links for you to read, to save you the trouble of actually reading this book) Michael Acton Smith, Layne Beachley, Peter Burwash, Pete Carroll, John Paul DeJoria, Peter Foyo, Laird Hamilton, Mastin Kipp, Liz Murray, Paul Orfalea, G. M. Rao, Anastasia Soare, and of course, Rhonda Byrne - None of whom I would really label as 'heroes.' Sure, they all overcame some kind of obstacle in life and now they're all super successful. Is that all that it takes to be labelled as a 'hero'?