Book Review: Surf the Seesaw

Reviewed by Jadidsa Perez

A self-help style memoir with engaging personal stories and meaningful insight

A multi-industry success story, Scott Davis, explores relationships, parenting, work, and self-improvement in Surf the Seesaw. 

How did we get so divided? How do we raise our children to become part of that symphony and guide them through it? And how can we better ourselves in ways that are manageable in this fast-paced world? Readers will find much commonality and synergy to guide them through some some of life’s most pressing concerns in Surf the Seesaw.

This memoiris exceptional in conveying its personable and fully-lived journey. From exposition to epilogue, Scott A. Davis writes for the mindful reader. When you scour this text, you’ll find each phrase carefully constructed and redolent. Careful reading is important with prose as sharp as this. 

“This book requires something unusual in this hasty, overscheduled world: time.”

Davis includes prompts and journal opportunities at the end of each chapter, too. Don’t only reflect here; actually write down your answers. It creates a good routine to build upon. The journaling functions as a mirror for the reader to see themselves and begin to understand themselves more through Davis’s life experiences.

Surf the Seesaw also features some really incredible essays on how society functions. From smaller things like gift-giving to big ones like tyranny, each essay is unique and evocative. Rather than just ruminate, the book offers insight on worldly conflicts and spirituality and explains why self-improvement is essential. As the book says, we require constant and mindful self-reflection to understand who we are and what we want to improve. Surf the Seesaw gives us so much of what we’re looking for in a self-help style memoir, led most by its deeply engaging personal stories.

Out of all of the chapters, my favorite was “‘I Love You is Code.” It contains a lot of vulnerability from the author regarding his marriage and the way attraction works. I’ve never come across such a succinct yet simple way of explaining the sincerity behind an, “I love you.”

Surf the Seesaw might go down as one of my favorite memoirs ever. Even for sections that don’t pertain to me—like being a parent—I remained just as keyed in to its stories and momentum. Davis’s book is not just inspiration; it motivates readers to want to keep learning for the rest of their lives.

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