This is a change from my normal reading material, but it was something that really appealed to me. It is written by Dr Richard Pile, who is a GP, husband, Father and Christian. As an Atheist, I was slightly wary when the first chapter was talking about the author's faith; however, although it features regularly in the book, it did not affect my enjoyment. I did particularly enjoy one of the early sections in the book where he talked about his life up until this point, it certainly made him more relatable and I felt more connected with him as an author.

This book explores what it means to be fit for purpose in life: physically, mentally and spiritually. It covers exactly what you would expect in a book of this type, including food, movement, sleep, relationships and more. I can't pretend that it is groundbreaking, but then it doesn't claim to be. At the end of each chapter, it is summed up with a 'prescription' for both individuals as well as organisations. There is a whole chapter on HOW to go about making these changes.

As the author acknowledges himself, this much information in one go can be overwhelming, so there is encouragement to take notes and take small steps. This makes it feel manageable and I found that I finished the book feeling motivated and ready to start implementing some small changes into my life.

There were a few parts that made me cringe slightly and that felt a little condescending, although I don't think this was intentional.

Overall, it was a good book and I'm pleased I've read it, but all very much common sense advice.

Sadly this book was not for me. I’ve read quite a lot about how to live our best lives and this didn’t really teach me anything new and in truth was too ‘religion’ heavy for me.

'If we are to move on from imagining our purpose to fulfilling it, we need to be living a lifestyle that enables this: sleeping well, moving more, eating good food, and living mindfully. Improving these areas will help you with understanding your purpose. Having a purpose will help you to live better.'

I have always been cautious about endorsing books that advocate a lifestyle change, since there are so many of them and not all necessarily following the same pattern. One author will emphasise diet, another fitness, another sleep deprivation, another mental wellbeing.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, mental wellbeing has become ever more important and something that all of us need to address to varying degrees.

What Richard Pile does is address all of these areas and, in doing so, places them in the context of the Christian faith. This won't be comfortable for all readers, but it is not intended as preachy - rather, it gives a different context in which to consider the content of each of the chapters. I found it useful but appreciate not everyone will; however, a person can be spiritual without believing in a higher deity.

Coming from a medical background, Richard Pile is concerned that a lot of lifestyle problems end up being medicated and not treated holistically. He advocates a more inclusive approach, looking at how changing a person's lifestyle may help lessen or eradicate health and wellbeing issues.

The author's personal experience underpins the book and makes it more authentic as he has actually applied many of the principles he writes about.

This will not be an easy book to read as it advocates change, which as a race we are naturally resistant to; however, questioning our lifestyle and whether we are really happy with it deep down may provide the impetus to look at things differently. This book provides a useful starting point and can help focus on specific areas. On that basis, it is a welcome addition to an ever-increasing field.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by HarperCollins UK, in return for an honest appraisal.

I was looking forward to getting a new insight to healthy living and a boost of motivation to live healthier. Unfortunately this book didn't contain anything new that hasn't been covered in many other books and TV shows.

In addition to this, the book is very Christian heavy, I am not religious and ended up just skipping those parts of the book, which is about 30% of the book.

I got bored very quickly with the simplistic options provided and the book felt like it was teaching us to suck eggs.

I learnt a lot from this book and it brought together ideas that I have been coming across recently about sleep, nutrition, movement etc. The author's experience as a GP enables him to write with authority, and his family's struggles with a child's health issues gives credibility and keeps the advice grounded in real-world experience.

Although I share the author's faith, I found the Bible references less enlightening - basically just proof-texting with few genuine insights. However, although everyone can profit from reading this book (and putting it into practice), there are some interesting insights that are especially relevant to faith communities and their leaders.

Dr Richard Pile seems like a lovely man who cares a lot about health. The book has lots of useful pointers, but I found it too chatty and anecdotal for me (like I was having a chat over tea!) and as such wondered how sound some of the suggestions were. I'm sure that it will be a good choice for some people, but I'd prefer a book with more guidance and science.

Full of common sense and useful reminders but could have done without the religious bits.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley but the review is my own.

This is a book full of common sense but it could have been written without the religious parts

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

Interesting, filled with common sense suggestions that perhaps would have been overlooked. Not so sure about the religious aspects.

What an interesting read - not completely an eye-opener but enough to provoke quite a few thoughtful moments. If you are looking to better your physical and mental wellbeing surely this is a book that is worth reading. Some of hte case studies are fascinating. I shall recommend this book to several people I know simply if nothing more than a conversation starter. Thank you.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Much of this was common sense but the religious elements weren’t for me.

My thanks to Netgalley for my kindle version of Fit for Purpose. This book was not at all what I was expecting but it contained a lot of commonsense, none of which was really new to me. The religious aspect was totally unexpected but ignoring those passages didn't distract from what is an eminently readable book about the holistic approach to mental, physical and spiritual health.

This book wasn’t for me. I am afraid that the religious overtones put me off. Quite apart from that, it didn’t seem to offer me anything new. The advice is sound and sensible, but, for me, the book seems too evangelical and unsympathetic towards our failings and weaknesses. I struggled to read it.

Not my usual genre but interesting nevertheless. Spiritual and geared towards Christianity which may not suit everyone. Well worth a read

I thought this book looked quite interesting. It wasn't quite what I was expecting really but it was still a pretty good read. I don't consider myself to be religious at all but I have to admit some of the things written in this book did make me think more about it. So all in all quite good just not what I was expecting.

Self-help and wellbeing books are not my usual read, but this one looked interesting. The book explores the definition of wellbeing. Each chapter discusses the author defined components of wellbeing in greater detail using a fusion of anecdotal, case study, medical, personal and research experiences. There is also a Christian perspective for each chapter. It's an engaging book to read and gives the reader a reasoned perspective to consider, for their own health, lifestyle and wellbeing.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Inspire via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Fit for purpose combines sleep, food, movement, wellbeing and spirituality like many books of this genre lots of good tips for making changes to benefit one or all areas covered. This book is different to others in this category it feels more personal because of the stories and sharing about the authors life and how his thoughts were formed. I don’t actively follow religion so didn’t relate to the spiritual parts of the book as much as the other areas.
I enjoyed reading and the stories helped bring out the key messages , as a reflector I have reflected on many points in the book and have found value to carry forward into my life.

Fit for Purpose; Your Guide to Better Health, Wellbeing and Living a Meaningful Life by Richard Pile is a mix of getting fit for life, and also a big dollop of Christianity, which was a surprise for me as I was thinking he would be coming from a medical stance only as a GP.

Richard Pile looks at different aspects of health, and things like stress, and relates it to life, and what you eat, and how you move.  He gives you the background for why he's written this book, and his experiences in life, and why he so needed help, and thought that others might benefit from his learning.

I am sure some people will find the medical Christianity slant a helpful one, but it didn't do a lot for me.  I thought the things he was suggesting made sense, but I am not running out to buy the book.

 Fit for Purpose  was published on 25th May 2021 and is available to buy from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review so my thanks to NetGalley and to  HarperCollins .

This book is all about the mind, body and spirit (especially the spirit). It’s the type of book you’d dip into rather than read cover to cover. It’s thought provoking and continues a lot of information. It is quite biased towards the Christian faith, which wouldn’t suit some people. I was interested in some parts, but not others. It did vacillate a fair bit.

I have to confess it took me many weeks to finish this book. Written by a GP, it covers health, sleep, food, movement, mindfulness and a religious take on all of those topics. It was an interesting read, but I found it more a case of seeing a lot of information that I had gleaned myself over the years, collated into one place. Where the author and I agree is that the medical profession do not try to, or have time to explore the importance of diet and holistic influences on our health. His questioning of this subject was really interesting. But I'm afraid the religious sections found me quickly flipping through the pages and I believe this could have been a much slimmer book.