The Law of the Garbage Truck

November 8, 2010
We've heard them called toxic people, but Pollay, syndicated columnist, blogger, and speaker, has labeled all the negative people in our lives, whether family, friends, or colleagues, "dumpers," and offers a fresh self-help guide to deal with them all. Pollay differentiates dumping from venting, which he describes as leaving people burdened by your problems, rather than helping them to understand them. Pollay structures his effort around eight "commitments," all beginning with "do" and including "Avoid Becoming Someone Else's Garbage Truck," "Let Your Own Garbage Trucks Pass You By," and "Declare Your Life a No-Garbage Trucks! Zone." A troika of mid-book quizzes help readers discern their GAL, or Garbage Accepting Load, and where they fall on the "Accepter" and "Dumper" scale, and "action guide" prompts end chapters (he urges readers to keep a pen in hand). Also included is research from experts in biology, neurology, and other sciences, and case studies of people who have put his philosophies into practice. Though the ease with which he believes his advice might be implemented can sound naive, he deserves kudos for taking a relatively nascent metaphor and expanding upon it admirably.