A Selection of Self-Help Books

Dear Unenlightened One:

PRINTDISCUSSE-MAILRSSRECOMMEND...SINGLE PAGE

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

Your last e-mail message to me suggests that you are a very confused lady. Thank goodness I am here to help. Your mind, I sense, is filled with conflict. You have dark thoughts. About me, among others. Empty your mind out, Emily. That's it, empty. Keep emptying. Empty, empty, empty. Good.

I turn your attention now to Richard Carlson Ph.D.'s, 58th and 59th pieces of advice, contained in his masterwork, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... : No. 58: "Relax."

Excellent advice. Are you relaxed yet? I never even heard of "relaxing" until I read Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... But I guess that's why he's a Ph.D. and I'm not.

You have undoubtedly noticed that he does not suggest a method of relaxation. He simply states that relaxation is good. The statement and restatement of the obvious is one of the great weaknesses of the self-help genre (did you already state this?).

Even His Holiness Howard Cutler's book, The Art of Happiness--sorry, His Holiness the Dalai Lama's book, as told to Howard Cutler--suffers from this. I will cede to you--because I am so gracious, because our families are supposed to get together this weekend and I don't want to fight in front of our children, and, also, because you are right--that this is more of an actual book than the other two on our reading list, and yet I came away from it with this basic lesson: Strive for happiness, because the alternative isn't very appealing.

I don't know about you, but I don't have to spend hard-earned (or even stolen) money to know that. Dr. Cutler doesn't actually sound like a bad guy--I spoke with his editor yesterday, and she said he's forking over 50 percent of his profit to the Tibetans. One hundred percent would give him more credibility, but I guess he's got to eat. Or buy a hot-tub, or whatever gurus do.

Whoa, look at me, getting all negative and cynical here. Me, who is already on Day 11 of Iyanla Vanzant's 40 Day and Night Spiritual Strength and Personal Growth regimen. Today, I am Honoring Myself With Affirmation. And I quote: "I am a divine instrument of universal power! I am perfection at its best! I am unlimited and abundant! I am a beauty to behold!"

OK, I ain't a beauty, but, hey, I'm all right. And that's all right with me.

Which brings me to something I learned by reading these self-help books at the same time as I was skimming the Bruce Springsteen "Songs" retrospective: You can learn a lot more about life from His Holiness the Boss than you can from that dimwit Richard Carlson.

But before I got sidetracked (does the Dalai Lama say anything about A.D.D.?), I was going to refer you to Item No. 59 in Dr. Carlson's list of helpful advice, which is, "Adopt a Child Through the Mail."

This should make you feel good about yourself. And it sure beats actually adopting a child, which can be so messy and time-consuming. I hate to repeat myself (actually, I don't--it's one of my great joys), but it seems to me that the self-help genre is all about selfishness. People who spend so much time worrying about their own happiness might actually derive happiness from making other people happy--people with genuine problems, such as those who can't afford to spend money or time on self-help books.

Hey! I think I found it--a nugget of obvious advice that, if we spin it out over 300 pages, will make us millionaires! Let's do it, Emily! Let's make a million bucks by writing, Happiness Is for Other People. You do Oprah, I'll do Montel. Does Montel still have a show? Whatever. Our press people will handle it. We need press people. Can you find some? Maybe Iyanla can lend us hers. God, we're going to be busy. I guess we're going to have to disadopt our mail-order orphans. Fame comes with a price tag, what can I say?

By the way, you still haven't answered my question about your enemies. Are you revering them yet? It's important for our marketing strategy that you do.

Hap-Hap-Happily Yours,
Jeff

PRINTE-MAILRECOMMEND...RSS

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

Emily Yoffe is the former "Keeping Tabs" columnist for Slate and a free-lance writer in Washington, D.C. Jeffrey Goldberg, a regular contributor to Slate, is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. This week they are discussing these self-help books: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff . and It's All Small Stuff, by Richard Carlson (click hereto buy the book); The Art of Happiness, by the Dalai Lama (click hereto buy the book); One Day My Soul Just Opened Up, by Iyanla Vanzant (click hereto buy the book).

SPONSORED CONTENT