Book Review: "Remodel Your Brain"
- marthaengber
- Jul 21
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 21
by Sherian Lee
Well-organized, well-written, kind and hopeful, Sherian Lee, the author of this remarkable book does a fabulous job of talking directly to all of us about a simple truth: we do not have to live with what we don’t like about ourselves, or what’s been done to us, but instead can change our brains to think more clearly, feel better in our bodies and love more fully.
Throughout the book, she uses the conceptual metaphor of a “remodel” to great effect by equating the different steps of an actual house remodel, with which we’re all familiar, to that of changing our brains. The first step is to want to make a change. The second is to create a plan with the help of a professional. The third is to do the project in manageable phases.
As she talks about the process, she explains to a relevant — instead of overwhelming — extent how our nervous system works and why trauma, whether known to us or not, can cause the systems to go awry, creating negativity like stress and anger that can foil our relationships and our lives.
The book goes over a number of therapies, including newer modalities that are time-efficient and effective, like Brainspotting and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) that use eye movement to treat “trauma capsules.” The author even covers ideas for covering the cost of the therapies.
Throughout the book, the author openly shares her personal experiences, including the psychological phenomenon of “adoption rejection” from being given up for adoption. She offers harder truths she learned while searching for, and discovering, her birth family, and very thoughtfully pauses to warn readers about topics they could find triggering.
I think there are two best things about this book. The first is that while the author is a therapist, she’s also a fitness professional, and so understands what we think and feel show up in our bodies in any number of ways. If we’re upset or stressed, we might get a headache or feel our shoulders tighten. The lesson is that we humans are not two components — mind and body — but instead only one.
The last “best part” about this book is the kindness and care the author shows her readers as she encourages us to remodel our interiors so they become places we love and cherish, and that make us better, happier people.
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SCATTERED LIGHT, a novel, sequel to WINTER LIGHT, (Nov. 2025)
THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD a historical novel
BLISS ROAD, a memoir
WINTER LIGHT, a novel, in paperback and audiobook
THE WIND THIEF, a novel
GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS, a resource for writers
Just finished reading your review and it really hit home for me. The point about forming new mental pathways is so true. I found that listening to audio stories in the UK was a simple way to practice this and train my brain to focus better.