33. This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike. by Augusten BurroughsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
It'll probably sound silly, but I wasn't quite expecting this to be a self-help book. I've read (and really enjoyed) some of his previous books which were autobiographical. It's because of those other books and the experiences he related that I believe his insights in this book have a lot of merit.
If you're asking yourself, "What qualifications does Burroughs have to write a self-help book?" go read Running With Scissors and Dry.
Simply put, this is my kind of self-help book. A bit cynical, some tough love, and the optimism that things are actually simple (although not necessarily easy). If you've read his books before, this still contains his sense of humor; it's definitely his voice.
I wish it had a table of contents, but it includes chapters like: How to Find Love, How to Be Fat, How to Be Thin, How to Feel Sorry For Yourself, How to Feel Confident, How to Remain Unhealed, How to Be Sick, and many more.
Many may seem counter-intuitive, but he twists and flips ideas in unexpected ways that actually make sense. He's been through most of this stuff, so he would know.
Burroughs acknowledges that the same approach to a problem won't work for everyone, which is great because this book is definitely an alternative to new age-y, positive affirmation fare.
Two years ago on TTaT: Life of Art SitRep #24
There's another "self-help" book out there called "The Nerdist Way," which is aimed at...well, nerds and whatnot. Have you heard of it?
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't. Made me think of The Nerdist podcast and is indeed written by the guy who does that (Chris Hardwick) now that I've taken a quick peek on Amazon. I'll have to see if the library has it sometime. (Just requested a few more graphic novels and have some books lying around I should get to.)
ReplyDelete