Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Author: Mark Manson
Genres: Nonfiction, Self-help
Release Date: September 13th, 2016
Publisher: HarperOne
Pages: 210
Format: Print, Hardcover
Where to buy: Amazon
In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.
For decades, we've been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F**k positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let's be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it." In his wildly popular internet blog, Manson doesn't sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is—a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let's-all-feel-good mindset that has infected American society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.
Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—"not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault." Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.
There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.
I really, really wanted to like this book. I wanted SO bad to enjoy it—and I think I set my expectations entirely too high, which is why I'm so irritated that I sorta-kinda hated it.
There were some really good points in the book, some "aha" moments for me. There were a few quotes that stood out to me:
- "Adversity and failure are actually useful and even necessary for developing strong-minded and successful adults." (Page 44)
- "The true measurement of self-worth is not how a person feels about her positive experiences, but rather how she feels about her negative experiences." (Page 46)
...But the rest for me was just regurgitated garbage, Eastern philosophical statements we've all heard before, and comments about existentialism that he seemed to know absolutely nothing about. Honestly, it sounded like he just read a bunch of self-help books or books on Eastern philosophy and then tried to translate the information into his own words. Blah. Not the book for me.
Oh, and page 128 about rape and false memories? What the hell? I truthfully don't even know why that was thrown into there. I won't give too much information in case any one out there is actually wanting to read it, but let me just say I wasn't impressed. Not in the least.
My rating:
One lonely little heart. Boo.
