The Last Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need
By Paul Pearsall
Perseus, $24
ISBN 0465054862

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REVIEW BY DEANNA LARSON

The ubiquitous Dr. Phil and hundreds of self-help books published each year prove that pop therapy is big business, but its jargon, catchphrases and accepted ideas are "fast food for the hungry soul," according to neuropsychologist Paul Pearsall (The Pleasure Prescription). His latest book, The Last Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need: Repress Your Anger, Think Negatively, Be a Good Blamer, and Throttle Your Inner Child is a groundbreaking guide that chips away at the marble pillars of self-help theory. "The unsubstantiated prescriptions, programs, guarantees and gurus of self-help stand in the way of our fulfilling our true potential," says Pearsall, a cancer survivor and adjunct clinical professor at University of Hawaii. In his counterintuitive psychic world, it's OK to feel angry and guilty, to be a quitter, silence your inner child, blame (then forgive), give up hope, feel terrible about yourself and cultivate cheerful denial. Pearsall explores how these authentic states allow for healing, real humanity and a "contrarian consciousness" that creates mindful well-being and an individual brand of "the good life."