Community: Real Life

Self-help books


Asha

Since Asha was a nipper, she dreamed of being in a band. But seeing as her singing voice makes small babies cry, she originally hails from the sleepy backwaters of Essex and has incurable stage fright, it was never going to happen! She's always been passionate about pop culture, music and writing, so journalism seemed the perfect plan B. She has stacks of notebooks filled with snippets of bizarre conversation overheard in buses or checkout queues as research for the novel she plans on penning one day.

Invisible to the opposite sex? Constantly overlooked at interviews? Kicking cigarettes only a pipe dream? Transform your life today in 168 easy steps. Walter Ripov's (geddit?) Get What You Want Out of Life (By Asking Politely) is more than just a book - you may just have stumbled upon your Holy Grail! Results guaranteed or your money back!

Were you seduced by the wild claim made in the blurb for the book above? Come on, admit it. You were reeled in for just a second, right? Well, you wouldn't have been alone.

Although the book in question is thankfully pure fiction, there are countless others in the same vein being whipped off the bookshelves. Our appetite for self-help books knows no bounds. Any title purporting to turn you into an irresistible, high-flying tycoon harbouring an unhealthy fixation with Martians or Venusians becomes an instant bestseller, making the author an overnight millionaire.

Doesn't all this strike you as a little distasteful? Self-improvement manuals are, as far as I can see, designed to appeal to either the perpetually neurotic or the raving egomaniac. Hardly the most well-balanced members of society.

A recent news story that appeared in a national paper confirms my suspicions that this genre has spiralled completely out of control. Plummeting to ridiculous new depths, American (what a surprise!) Ken Blanchard's Whale Done! The Powers of Positive Relationships aims to show you how to "supercharge your effectiveness at work and home using the positive, trust-building techniques learned from training killer whales at Sea World." Need I say more? Don't worry, if I spot it first, I'll pulp it.

"Self-improvement manuals are designed to appeal to either the perpetually neurotic or the raving egomaniac"

The man to hold responsible for spawning a multitude of Bridget Jones-style self-obsessives is Dale Carnegie, the writer of the first ever self-help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Now, such books cater for every possible need, from finding your perfect partner (The Rules) to getting in touch with your spiritual side (The Celestine Prophecy).

But do they actually work? Living By The Book was a Channel 4 programme in which 'real' people put a self-help tome to the test. After religiously following the instructions set out in The Rules, the single women's dating bible, Karen, described at the start as a "nice and generous women", reportedly ended the documentary as a "confused maniac" who scared the life out of her potential suitor, Dave. Proof, surely of the psychological harm these can books inflict, not only on their disciples, but also the doomed targets of their affections.

Staunch supporters of the self-help industry argue that it avoids endless sessions in therapy. I'm of the view that those poor souls who see their dreams come crashing down to Earth after failing to reap the mostly unattainable rewards promised in these books are headed for a long spell in The Priory anyway.

So: fluffy psychobabble or genuine pearls of wisdom? I suppose I can only pass definitive judgement on self-help manuals once I've put one of them to the practical test. Now where did I put my copy of World Domination in Ten Simple Stages?

Angry? Submit a rant

Updated: 19/12/2005


  • Print this page
  • Share/Bookmark

Also on TheSite.org