By: Dustin G. Rhodes

Dustin G. Rhodes — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:16:52 +0000

Debby Downer was on to something. I am a sucker. Feature a writer on National Public Radio, and the interview is mildly entertaining, I will buy the book. I will also probably read it — the only question remaining: will I actually like it?The Antidote, for sure, is personally fascinating. I abhor positive thinking, gravitating instead toward reality. But I didn’t come by this easily. In my early 20′s, I became obsessed with all manner of self help, positive thinking and new age spirituality. I devoured (embarrassing) self help books, feeling temporarily inspired by them while making feeble attempts to put the words into practice. Inevitably, I’d feel like a failure for not being able to be perfect — or even slightly “better” than I was before; I’d feel consumed with anger and resentment, too, that my problems didn’t magically go away; that life wasn’t easier. It took me a LONG TIME to realize that my faux spirituality was primarily the cause of my dissatisfaction and pain.My actual problems were far less annoying than the books I was reading to solve them.I wish I’d read The Antidote 15 years ago.The Antidote travels familiar — to me, a junkie, at least — terrain. If you’ve ever read a book on buddhism (through a pop culture lens), for instance, much of this won’t be new: accept life as it is. But the context will; the author blends storytelling, cutting edge research, personal anecdote and wry humor into this compelling case for what he refers to as the negative path; the wisdom of the Stoics as a sane approach to life.I am torn as to how many stars to offer; for whatever reason, I wasn’t in love with the book as a whole. The author is certainly a talented writer, but I felt like the book went on and on. And on. This kind of thing, yes, is highly subjective, so take it with a grain of salt. To me, this book would have been a lot better had it been a lot shorter. I often feel this way about non-fiction books — that there’s a quota to fill. What’s wrong with lean and mean?(OK, OK: the book is not actually that long, so maybe it’s my attention span).It also bears mentioning that reading The Antidote is not actually the antidote for, really, anything: you actually have to live — which means accepting that life is hard and messy and sometimes ugly and awful; it means not constantly trying to escape it.But if you’re obsessed with The Secret, then you need this book. The Secret will not-so-secretly let you down, again and again. The Antidote contains actual valuable advice: there are no shortcuts, magical thinking is useless and, my favorite: a little negativity will make us happier.

By: Ney Lemke

Ney Lemke — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:15:16 +0000

A self-help book for pessimists I really enjoyed reading this book. As a pessimist, I always thought that most of my ideas about life were not shared with mankind. The book showed me that some of my personal strategies are in fact quite common and proved effective also by others.If you hate self-help books I am sure that you will love reading this book, if you love them you SHOULD read this book.

By: The Emperor

The Emperor — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:55:50 +0000

Superior self-help This was certainly a lot more enjoyable to read than most self-help books.I actually liked reading it which is a lot more than you say for the usual change your life, awaken the fear within, visualise success and ask the universe type books.The writing style is quite informal and discursive and despite the modesty of the author it is certainly a lot more rigorous and useful than the usual stuff from the snake oil salesmen. He recognises that what seems to work for him might not work for everyone.It probably isn't an essential read if you do always look at his column in the Guardian though obviously in this book he gives each subject a more in depth treatment.

Comments on: The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking

By: Dustin G. Rhodes

By: Ney Lemke

By: The Emperor