Saturday, August 31, 2013

Open by Craig Gross

*The following is my personal review. I was not influenced in any way in my honest review. For my review I received a complimentary copy of this book from Booksneeze.com*

Accountability: What is it? Why do we need it? How does one go about with accountability? These questions and more are addressed in Craig Gross' newest book Open: What Happens When You Get Real, Get Honest, and Get Accountable. The book is broken into three sections: Why? What? How? Each section deals with its aforementioned heading.

In the Why? section, Mr. Gross explains, and gives his reasons, for why accountability is desperately needed in the lives of people today. He gives examples for his own life and the lives of his friends on why they came to realize their needed for accountability. He also addresses that accountability need not be for sexual addictions alone. It can be for scheduling concerns, budgeting, smoking, spousal issues, and others. I found this to be a great challenge as I had not given much thought to having accountability on how I spend my money and how booked my calendar may be.

With the foundation laid in Why?, Mr. Gross then proceeds to the What? What is accountability? Mr. Gross discusses that it is not a coffee house chat but a courageous effort to get into the intimate lives of people and hold them to a higher standard. The goal is aid others, and be aided by them, to keep an interference from ruining a life. By willing to open oneself to another there is a located freedom that could be potentially lost by someone going it alone.

The next section How? laid the groundwork of what it could look like to being accountable with others. Suggested questions, locations, and potentials pitfalls are discussed as well as what is needed in the people involved: courageous dedication. Being accountable will not be easy but having dedication married with courage will allow for the maximum benefit.

 This was such a great book that I hope a study guide or DVD curriculum will shortly follow. I say this because I see a desperate need for openness and training people on how to be accountable and keep other accountable is the first step. Such a fabulous book and I would love to see the accountability movement started with it.