Your New Beginning

A Christian guide focuses on helping readers discover their purpose in life.

Garguilo grounds this second edition of his book in his own personal history of happiness, adversity, and Christianity, which he embraced at an early age. His rebirth is dramatically described at the manual’s beginning: “At that moment I felt an urgency to open up my Bible to find the answers I needed.” The hardships are likewise encountered in the guide’s early pages: The author donated a kidney to his brother, experienced post-operation depression that he combated with antidepressants, became a real estate agent, and got thrown into financial chaos by the Great Recession of 2008. Finally, he decided to put his faith in God’s guidance and chased his dream to become a horse farmer in Kentucky. And yet, as he narrates, he still didn't feel completely satisfied, and the self-help books he was reading at the time reinforced one basic question: “What were you put on this earth to do?” Garguilo became a “Christ-centered life coach,” and the bulk of his brief work consists of the useful lessons he’s learned along the way. During the course of his helpful manual, he shares this knowledge mostly in the traditional way of extrapolating life lessons from various Bible tales. He examines the story of Joseph and his brothers, for instance: “We can all relate to feeling betrayed, but holding on to resentment will take your focus off of your vision and cost valuable energy you will need for your incredible journey. I encourage you, like Joseph, to choose compassion over revenge.” The author very effectively blends these Sunday school lessons with his own hard-won life experiences; Christian readers will find it all relatable.

One man’s approachable and worthwhile compilation of the life lessons his faith has taught him.