Reviewing: “Dare to Author!: Take Charge of the Narrative of Your Life” by Lior Arussy. Greenleaf Book Group. 2024. Hardcover. 260 pages. ISBN-13:‎ 979-8886452501.

As our 5785 Yomim Noraim observances gradually grow more distant in our memory, we struggle to hang on to the ideas we had for spiritual growth in the new year.

One of the primary themes of the chagim is a deep focus on self-improvement and how we can change to take firmer control of our lives, to better espouse the values of our Mesorah.

A new book by a well-regarded author with a successful career leading change management in the business sector, offers valuable perspectives on how we may embrace change in the way we tell our own life stories.

Lior Arussy is a leading authority on customer experience, transformation and change, and the founder of the transformation firm Strativity Group. He has helped some of the world’s leading brands, including Delta Airlines, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Cadillac, MasterCard, FedEx and The Met, write the next chapter in their story. Recipient of several awards, he is the author of seven books and has written over 400 articles for publications around the world, including the Harvard Business Review. Arussy resides in New Jersey with his wife and five children.

Arussy’s new book, Dare to Author! Taking Charge of the Narrative of Your Life, challenges readers to engage in what he calls “intentional authoring” of their life stories. He explains: “Authoring is the process of converting life experiences into future strength, resilience, and elevated performance … By authoring the story of your life, you make a choice to become a victor even in the face of helplessness. You develop your journey to a life story you get to write while training the muscle of resilience. Authoring your life story is taking charge of every aspect of it, no matter what the original plan was or the factors in it that were out of your control.” He asserts that “authoring your life story will assist you in shifting from a state of victimhood to a state of hopefulness.”

“Dare to Author!” is divided into three sections. In the “Author Why?” section, Arussy outlines the different lenses that can cloud the facts of our lives and lead us to react pessimistically to life circumstances. He discusses imposter syndrome, where you believe you stand in your life saga, whether or not you are a hero, our fears of gratitude, whether we seek out good news or bad news, and other topics. In this section, he advocates for “The Authored Story, Free of Influencers.”

In the “Author How?” section, Arussy discusses the challenges of managing the cynical voices in your head, defining milestones of your journey, using words deliberately to create realities, and managing the unknown. In the “Author Now!” section, Arussy looks at topics such as how to evolve your childhood stories, sharing the imperfect story, authoring your work story with purpose, writing the stories of relationships, and other issues.

A personal anecdote of the author provides a clear sense of his approach. As he relates: “Once, at a major bank undergoing a digital transformation program, I came up against employees resisting new changes. Many teller windows had been closed as a result of customers shifting to online banking and seeking self service tools, yet bankers persisted in telling their customers not to use the new services and to keep coming to them for in-person service … The facts made clear that the role of a bank in customers’ lives was shifting dramatically. Yet they insisted that the bank must keep things the way they were. … Only when I softened the process from story dissemination to story co-creation and the development of new listening tools did we start to see evident change. Employees needed to have their story respected and they also needed to play an integral part in the evolution of a new story.”

Arussy’s perspective and life experiences are both deeply instructive and excellent guides for the type of spiritual “life story” work we engage in over the chagim. And if you are concerned about whether or not the author’s worldview complements your hashgacha, you can be reassured by the advance praise the book has received from one reviewer. Rabbi Ethan Katz, the founder and director of OU Relief Missions, writes: “When Lior writes a book, he has the unique talent of making every reader feel that he has entered their lives and written the book especially for them.”

Learn more and order “Dare to Author! Taking Charge of the Narrative of Your Life” at https://www.liorarussy.com.

Harry Glazer is the Middlesex County editor of The Jewish Link. He can be reached at [email protected] and he welcomes reader feedback.