Help Me!

Starred review from January 1, 2019
London-based journalist Power chronicles the harrowing, often side-splitting adventures she embarked on while pursuing happiness and inner peace."At thirty-six," writes the author, "my friends were ticking off the various life stages while I was stuck in the same life I'd had since my twenties. I was always single, I didn't own a house, and I didn't have a plan." One weekend, while suffering through a particularly wicked hangover, Power decided to undertake an extended safari through the wilds of the self-help aisle. For years, the author had turned to self-help books for "comfort," affirming the commonality of her "insecurities and anxieties." Now, she hit on "an idea that would stop me from being a depressed, hungover mess and turn me into a happy, highly functioning person: I wasn't just going to read self-help, I was going to DO self-help." Power set out to act on "every single bit of advice" offered by a different self-help book each month for a year in hopes of "systematically" tackling her flaws "one book at a time." What began as a 12-month "plan" slowly morphed into a 16-month "roller coaster" as the author torturously plumbed the recesses of her psyche at the behest of self-help and spiritual behemoths like Susan Jeffers (Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway), Tony Robbins, Stephen R. Covey (Power gave up at Habit 2 of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), and Eckhart Tolle, all in hopes of achieving "some sort of profoundly moving (but neat and tidy) epiphany." During her grand inner tour, Power faced down some of her darkest demons. Throughout this consistently entertaining book, she writes with unflinching honesty--and bald hilarity, especially as she encountered deadpan reality checks from her mother, sisters, and skeptical friends--about the throes of facing her fears, tackling money issues, living in the present, opening herself up to rejection, and getting over her hang-ups with men ("all Power of Now zen vanished in the face of dating").A winner. Bridget Jones meets Buddha in this plucky, heartwarming, comical debut memoir.

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Starred review from November 15, 2018
Can there be such a thing as too much help? Freelance British journalist Power decides to focus on one self-help book per month for a year to finally get her life into shape. She not only reads each book but also religiously adopts the advice and attends seminars (when available) sponsored by the authors. Inspired by Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway (1987), by Susan Jeffers, Power spends her first month posing nude for an art class, jumping out of an airplane, and doing a stand-up comedy routine. Power taps into such major gurus as Tony Robbins (Unleash the Power Within, 1999), Rhonda Byrne (The Secret, 2006), Stephen Covey (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1989), and Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now, 1997), with variable success. Along the way, Power falls out with one of her oldest friends, finds herself buried in debt, and becomes depressed by her single status. She is brutally honest about her shortcomings and way too hard on herself. Her journey takes months longer than planned, but she has moments of true enlightenment when she realizes that digging deep can be painful. Some of her plights are hilarious; others are almost unbearably poignant. Self-help seekers will be moved and entertained by Power's over-the-top exploits.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)