Today for my Sunday Book Review, I’m sharing my review of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. This book was one I enjoyed while on winter vacation, and since I read it at the pool in paperback version, it got a lot of attention. Surprisingly, 3 people around the pool came up to me to ask what I thought about the book and they also commented on how much they enjoyed it. The book reads like we’re in a conversation with the author who is sharing his strategy of sorting out in life what’s important enough to care about and why we should let go of the rest.
Blurb:
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.
My 5 (4 1/2) Star Review:
Manson demonstrates, in conversational anecdotes, how life is always going to throw problems our way, but informs us on how to choose what is important in life to give a ‘f*ck’ about. His raw truths, told in satirical humor with many profanities are expressed to inform us that not everything in life is worth the energy to care about. He makes the points through sharing examples from his own life experiences and how he came to writing this book from his well-known blog, illustrating how often from childhood worrying about everything we encounter as children can lead to distancing our values and affect our self-esteem. Through his ups and downs in life he has found the antidotes to what’s really important and what to let go of by not telling us not to care, but explains how to decide what’s important to care about and how to avoid being overwhelmed by every little thing that bombards our emotional well-being.
This book reads like we’re listening to the author speak directly to us. Some parts were a bit draggy, but didn’t detract from the amount of stars I give it.
©DGKayewriter.com
DGKayewriter.com 