Review of "This is Your Brain on Joy"

I just finished reading This is Your Brain on Joy by Dr. Earl Henslin. In many ways, this was unlike any other book that I have ever read. It fits into the “psychological self-help” category. The book is mainly about the various problems in brain chemistry that affect our daily lives. At the beginning of the book, there is a quiz to help determine which category the reader fits into. From there the reader is encouraged to go to their individual chapters. Each chapter ends with a variety of creative ways of dealing with various disorders. Movies, music, prayers, and Scripture references are included for each disorder. Unfortunately, there are a few problems with the book a whole. The author is not fond of using Scripture, the book as a whole does not resort to Scripture very often and the few verses that are quoted are usually taken out of context. Another problem is that the author seems to give too much leniency to sin, choosing to blame it instead on brain dysfunction. There also seemed to be a great deal of overlap in the questions – it made me wonder whether the data collected would be skewed. Finally, the book seems to be a large advertisement for a particular medical test called a SPECT Scan. In my opinion, the advice in this book should not be followed until it has been reviewed by your personal doctor.