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Self-HelpLifestyles

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Michelle Lovric has compiled another charming, illustrated anthology of letters that allows readers the frisson of peeking at other people’s mail. Woman to Woman: Letters to Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Friends is the result of five years of research into the correspondence of women of all ages, famous and obscure. Grouped by the roles of womanhood such as child, student, young lover, mother, mentor, etc. the letters reveal the common experiences of all women, from all epochs and cultures. Most enchanting are the three-dimensional facsimiles of real handwritten letters from Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Marie Antoinette, and others.

Michelle Lovric has compiled another charming, illustrated anthology of letters that allows readers the frisson of peeking at other people’s mail. Woman to Woman: Letters to Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Friends is the result of five years of research into the correspondence of women of all ages, famous and obscure. Grouped by the roles of […]
Self-HelpFamily & Relationships

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Jimmy Carter is getting into the act of promoting positive aging. In his 12th book, The Virtues of Aging, the former President joins America’s luminaries on this increasingly popular topic in exuding confidence in the good life after 65 and exhorting each and every one of us to follow suit.

All should decide on a life path which, above all, centers on giving us a purpose, quality relationships, and a disciplined exercise program. We should see our lives as expanding, not contracting, writes Carter, who at age 56 left the White House and Washington.

He and his wife, Rosalynn now enjoying their second 50 years of marriage returned to Plains, Georgia, where he writes they struggled to find their place again in the world away from the political spotlight and outside the frenzied Washington beltway.

After months of uncertainty except when the concern was returning their peanut farm to prosperity, the Carters established the Carter Center in nearby Atlanta as the focus for pursuing their multiple interests.

From this enviable vantage point, the Carters together and individually convene meetings on favorite topics of national and international import, participate with hammer and pliers in Habitat for Humanity (building houses for those who are less well off), and maintain an interest in promoting international citizen exchange through the Friendship Force.

Paraphrasing a verse from the Old Testament, Carter tells his readers to forget caution and take a chance.

The Virtues of Aging is a virtuous (sometimes saccharine sweet) book written by a virtuous man. The author’s approach is down-home and conversational. He might preach on occasion ( Social Security laws must change. )He also might meander, but never far from his readers who feel as if they are sitting across the kitchen table in Plains.

We almost see him blush when he deals all too briefly with the subject of sexuality and aging, reminding us painfully of his admission of experiencing lust in his heart. In a chapter entitled What Is Successful Aging?, Carter writes, You may be surprised to learn that I think one of the most important [goals] should be our own happiness. Well, not really. But read this short and sweet book anyway. It’s written to the point, which is this: go experience life, even though you’ve crossed the threshold of 65.

Marsha VandeBerg is a writer in San Francisco and founding national editor of a magazine for readers who are 50 and older.

Jimmy Carter is getting into the act of promoting positive aging. In his 12th book, The Virtues of Aging, the former President joins America’s luminaries on this increasingly popular topic in exuding confidence in the good life after 65 and exhorting each and every one of us to follow suit. All should decide on a […]
NonfictionSelf-Help

Resolve to make 2021 as bright as possible

Feature by Julie Hale

To guide you on the path of positivity in the new year, four books provide support, affirmation and inspiration.

Beginners

In Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning, author Tom Vanderbilt demonstrates the importance of cultivating curiosity and trying new skills on for size. Vanderbilt was looking for ways to reengage with life when—taking a cue from his inquisitive young daughter—he decided to immerse himself in activities he’d always wanted to tackle, including drawing, singing and surfing. “I was a quick study when it came to facts,” Vanderbilt writes, “but what had I actually learned to do lately?”

In Beginners, Vanderbilt reveals what it’s like to pick up skills as an adult novice. He blends his personal story with research into neuroscience, psychology and education and recounts his rookie experiences with humor and heart. His insights into midlife learning will resonate with readers who have a desire to try new pursuits but may need a little nudge. Beginners, he says, is not “a ‘how to do’ book as much as a ‘why to do’ book. . . . It’s about small acts of reinvention, at any age, that can make life seem magical.” As Vanderbilt proves, there’s no expiration date on the ability to learn. Pick up a copy of Beginners and make 2021 a time of discovery.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Tom Vanderbilt narrates the audiobook for Beginners, and it’s just the encouragement we all need.

This Book Will Make You Kinder

If becoming a nicer, more tolerant human is one of your objectives for the year ahead, then check out Henry James Garrett’s This Book Will Make You Kinder: An Empathy Handbook. Garrett’s academic background is in the field of metaethics, the study of the nature and meaning of morality, and he views empathy—“our capacity to experience those feelings we witness in others”—as the primary motivator of human kindness. In his new book, he offers guidance on how to maximize our empathetic impulse.

As he provides advice on overcoming limitations to empathy, building better listening skills and coming to grips with your own potential for not being nice, Garrett outlines concrete steps to help you increase your kindness quotient. A bang-up artist (you may have seen his Instagram account, Drawings of Dogs), his delightfully droll illustrations of talking animals and objects (e.g., two magic markers discuss the impact of coloring outside the lines) bring levity to his lessons. “If you don’t do the work of good listening, of paying attention,” Garrett writes, “you’ll continue to be cruel in ways you otherwise couldn’t and will fail to be outrageously kind in ways you otherwise would.” A total attitude-changer, this book will carry you into the new year on a tide of positivity.

Laziness Does Not Exist

In Laziness Does Not Exist, social psychologist Devon Price explores the culture of work and how our society’s emphasis on achievement is leading to burnout and exhaustion. From an early age, Price says, we’re conditioned to believe that productivity equals self-worth—an idea that’s part of what they call the “laziness lie,” which leads to feelings of guilt over not doing enough. “It’s also the force that compels us to work ourselves to sickness,” Price explains.

Price proposes that we adjust our perspectives on work and stop using achievement as a benchmark for appraising personal value. In the book, they take a cleareyed look at the science and psychology behind the concepts of laziness and productivity and share stories from folks who have grappled with work-life balance.

Perhaps most importantly, the author stresses the necessity of simple relaxation: “It’s not evil to have limitations and to need breaks.” With tips on setting boundaries and integrating beneficial techniques like expressive writing into your daily routine, Price’s book will give you a fresh perspective on the meaning of success—and the confidence to schedule more “me-time” this year.

Friendshipping

Making friends is a basic element of socialization, yet the ability to bond doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and many people find that the process becomes more difficult as they get older. How can we break down the barriers that keep us from connecting with others? Authors Jenn Bane and Trin Garritano offer answers in Friendshipping: The Art of Finding Friends, Being Friends, and Keeping Friends.

Hosts of the popular “Friendshipping” podcast, the authors have devoted many hours to the study of social networks large and small, and their chatty, accessible book collects the best of their advice, with suggestions on how to make new friends, how to handle a friendship that could be morphing into something more and how to call it quits when a friendship fails. The volume also includes valuable questions from podcast listeners and sample scripts that will kick-start your socialization skills.

Featuring fabulous illustrations by Jean Wei, Friendshipping provides readers with the right tools for building—and sustaining—valuable relationships. Whether you’re looking to enlarge your circle of intimates or cultivate more one-on-one connections this year, Bane and Garritano will help you develop habits and behaviors that will widen your world.

To guide you on the path of positivity in the new year, four books provide support, affirmation and inspiration.

NonfictionSelf-Help

Overcome fear, set boundaries and take control of your life

Feature by Sarojini Seupersad

The self-help genre has a long history of providing advice to readers seeking change, guidance and empowerment. These two highly anticipated books, while wildly different, are positive, entertaining additions to the bunch.

In Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual, bestselling author Luvvie Ajayi Jones uses her trademark humor and insight to show readers how to break down—and break through—the fears that hold them back from their professional and personal goals. Her principles are explained in three sections: Be, Say and Do.

In the Be section, Ajayi Jones emphasizes how important it is to first know who you are and what you want. As you determine these things, remember that being audacious and dreaming big aren’t just for other people; they’re for you, too. In this section, readers meet Ajayi Jones’ grandmother, a joyful woman who took time to celebrate her life and always made space for herself in the world. In the Say section, Ajayi Jones explores how speaking up and setting boundaries are steps worth taking toward fighting your fears. Finally, in Do, she explains that there is no progress without action. 

Throughout the book, Ajayi Jones provides helpful examples of fear-fighting from her own life, such as the time she almost turned down the opportunity to give a TED Talk because she was scared of failure. She also provides useful exercises like writing a mission statement and listing your values and goals. Ajayi Jones’ fans will appreciate this bold display of her signature fearlessness, and new readers will connect with her funny personal stories and flair for language, which make reading this book feel like talking to an old friend.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of the Professional Troublemaker audiobook. Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ commanding, cheerful voice will hype up even the most fearful listener.

Nedra Glover Tawwab, a therapist with a hugely popular Instagram account, debuts with Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself. Tawwab, who specializes in relationships, began writing this indispensable guide after her Instagram post “Signs That You Need Boundaries” went viral. Her book aims to address frequently asked questions from people who may not even know they have boundary issues, since they’re often disguised as other problems such as time mismanagement, anxiety and burnout. Once someone understands boundaries better, Tawwab explains, they can begin to improve their relationships through open communication.

Beginning with a description of Tawwab’s own process of setting boundaries with family members, the book establishes six types of boundaries—physical, sexual, intellectual, emotional, material and time—and gives examples of how these issues might play out in real-life scenarios. Tawwab then dispenses advice about how to handle each type of situation through personal anecdotes and examples from anonymized therapy clients.

Although Set Boundaries, Find Peace is written with authority, Tawwab’s voice is friendly and sincere as she presents her ideas in a clear, no-nonsense fashion. For example, when explaining time boundaries, she gives a brief description of the issue; follows it up with examples of time boundary violations, such as overcommitting or accepting favor requests from people who won’t reciprocate; then tells the reader what time boundaries might sounds like (“I won’t be able to make it to your event on Tuesday”) and ends with an exercise to reinforce the information. 

Tawwab excels at presenting complicated ideas and behaviors in an accessible, nonjudgmental manner, helping the reader feel at ease and understood. Anyone looking to regain control over their time, energy and needs will appreciate her book’s wisdom and practical advice.

These two highly anticipated self-help books are positive, entertaining guides for readers seeking change, guidance and empowerment.
Self-HelpLifestylesHealth & FitnessFamily & Relationships

Aging gracefully

Review by Joanne Sears

New books on aging remind us that the ranks of over-50s move toward the millennium like a melon through a boa constrictor. Are You Old Enough to Read This Book? Reflections on Midlife, edited by Deborah H. Deford, directs its cheerful and varied wisdom to the over-50s gang in the voices of some of our age's wittiest and wisest spokespeople. Network journalist Linda Ellerbee introduces a collection of pieces reprinted from New Choices magazine. The volume's slick pages and bright visuals give Are You Old Enough? the feel of a hardcover magazine. Moving from the general topic of aging to observations on marriage, parenting, friends, work, and values, this book can sit on your night stand, in the bathroom, or on top of the TV zapper by your favorite chair.

In this pick-up-over-and-over-again kind of book, literary gems share space with pragmatic advice and sociological observation. John Updike observes in "The Truth about Life after 50" that "Fun comes in many flavors, and there is, believe it or not, an over-50 flavor." Deborah Mason reveals "Why Women over 50 Have Affairs," and observes that smaller families make "Reinventing the American Grandparent" a necessity. Interviewed by Susan Cheever, Arthur Miller offers some perhaps surprising advice born of his happy 32-year marriage to photographer Inge Morath: "It's a magical confluence of events, and it's amazing it occurs at all. We've solved some of our problems by ignoring them. This is probably the most long-term, safest solution ever devised by man: ignoring things."

Addressed to an older audience, Successful Aging places control over the aging process firmly back in our own hands. Author Dr. John W. Rowe, M. D. heads the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and chairs the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging. His co-author, Professor Emeritus Robert L. Kahn, Ph.D. taught psychology at the University of Michigan. As an octogenarian himself, Kahn speaks with personal as well as professional authority. In 1987 the MacArthur Foundation began a broadly-based longitudinal study of aging. Successful Aging reports a decade's worth of results of studies focused on factors contributing to a healthy and active old age. Some of these results will come as no surprise (lose weight, laugh a lot, stay involved with life), while others may offer new insights.

As Ernest Burgess said, "old age is a roleless role, a time of life when nothing is expected of you." A life without structure can be both a gift and a burden. Both of these books concentrate on age's gifts.

New books on aging remind us that the ranks of over-50s move toward the millennium like a melon through a boa constrictor. Are You Old Enough to Read This Book? Reflections on Midlife, edited by Deborah H. Deford, directs its cheerful and varied wisdom to the over-50s gang in the voices of some of our […]
NonfictionFictionTravelSelf-HelpHumorHistoryFamily & Relationships

For the love of all things Irish

Review by Sharon Chance

With St. Patrick's Day approaching, a widely varied batch of Irish-themed offerings are appearing on the bookshelves. For all those who are a wee-bit Irish, and for those who long to be Irish, the following books represent the best of the bunch.

Take seven of Ireland's most famous storytellers, give them a great subject such as an infamous Dublin hotel, then stand back and see what magic they're able to spin. The result in this case is the delightful novel, Finbar's Hotel. This cooperative project, devised and edited by best-selling Irish author Dermot Bolger, includes the literary efforts of Roddy Doyle, Colm Toibin, Jennifer Johnston, Hugo Hamilton, Anne Enright, and Joseph O'Connor. Each lends a distinctive, imaginative flair to individual chapters as the overall book explores the varied guests on the final night in the life of a dingy urban hostelry. A bestseller in the United Kingdom, Finbar's Hotel gives Americans a chance to experience a side of Ireland not often seen.

St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, stands out as the most familiar and beloved of all the saints, and the most recognized symbol of all that is Irish. In his book, The Wisdom of St. Patrick: Inspirations from the Patron Saint of Ireland, Greg Tobin presents a treasury of St. Patrick's inspirational observations. Topics include St. Patrick's own views on grace, faith, prayer, and honesty; a commentary on his life and times; contemplations on how St. Patrick's words apply to modern, everyday life; and finally, a meaningful prayer relevant to each passage. Tobin seeks to prove how the powerful, charismatic words of the remarkable saint are just as relevant today as they were more than a millennium ago.

More than 44 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, but how many really understand that heritage, and the many contributions Irish Americans have made to this country? The amusing and informative May the Road Rise up to Meet You: Everything You Need to Know About Irish American History by Michael Padden and Robert Sullivan is written in a lively question-and-answer format and covers every aspect of Irish history from the first Irishmen back on the Emerald Isle to contemporary Irish Americans who are making their mark in the world today. (Who would have guessed that General Colin Powell is of Irish descent?) With a foreword by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (a heavy-duty endorsement in itself), this one is an absolute must-have for every son and daughter of the auld sod, or anyone interested in Irish history.

For a more humorous look at Irish traditions, authors Sean Kelly and Rosemary Rogers offer How to Be Irish: Even If You Already Are. This whimsical guide includes tongue-in-cheek advice on How to Talk, Look and Act Irish, How to Eat and Drink Irish, and How to Vote Irish. Cute illustrations, including cartoons, photos, charts and graphs, along with hilarious quizzes and lists make How to Be Irish the perfect book to take to St. Patrick's Day parties.

Ireland, that glorious isle of emerald green, has inspired writers for centuries. They write of its beauty, its mystery, and its wonder. In The Reader's Companion to Ireland, edited by Alan Ryan, 19 authors, both present and past, share observations on travels through this incredible land.

From Michael Crichton's Dublin experiences while filming The Great Train Robbery in the 1970s, to Chinese author Chiang Yee's reflections on walking down O'Connell Street in the 1940s, this collection of delightful vignettes will enhance any traveler's journey (whether armchair or actual) to Ireland.

Sharon Galligar Chance is a book reviewer for the Times Record News in Wichita Falls, Texas.

With St. Patrick's Day approaching, a widely varied batch of Irish-themed offerings are appearing on the bookshelves. For all those who are a wee-bit Irish, and for those who long to be Irish, the following books represent the best of the bunch. Take seven of Ireland's most famous storytellers, give them a great subject such […]
Self-HelpFamily & Relationships

The good side of getting older

Review by Marsha VandeBerg

Jimmy Carter is getting into the act of promoting positive aging. In his 12th book, The Virtues of Aging, the former President joins America's luminaries on this increasingly popular topic in exuding confidence in the good life after 65 and exhorting each and every one of us to follow suit.

All should decide on a life path which, above all, centers on giving us a purpose, quality relationships, and a disciplined exercise program. We should see our lives as expanding, not contracting, writes Carter, who at age 56 left the White House and Washington.

He and his wife, Rosalynn now enjoying their second 50 years of marriage returned to Plains, Georgia, where he writes they struggled to find their place again in the world away from the political spotlight and outside the frenzied Washington beltway.

After months of uncertainty except when the concern was returning their peanut farm to prosperity, the Carters established the Carter Center in nearby Atlanta as the focus for pursuing their multiple interests.

From this enviable vantage point, the Carters together and individually convene meetings on favorite topics of national and international import, participate with hammer and pliers in Habitat for Humanity (building houses for those who are less well off), and maintain an interest in promoting international citizen exchange through the Friendship Force.

Paraphrasing a verse from the Old Testament, Carter tells his readers to forget caution and take a chance.

The Virtues of Aging is a virtuous (sometimes saccharine sweet) book written by a virtuous man. The author's approach is down-home and conversational. He might preach on occasion ( Social Security laws must change. )He also might meander, but never far from his readers who feel as if they are sitting across the kitchen table in Plains.

We almost see him blush when he deals all too briefly with the subject of sexuality and aging, reminding us painfully of his admission of experiencing lust in his heart. In a chapter entitled "What Is Successful Aging?,"  Carter writes, You may be surprised to learn that I think one of the most important [goals] should be our own happiness. Well, not really. But read this short and sweet book anyway. It's written to the point, which is this: go experience life, even though you've crossed the threshold of 65.

Marsha VandeBerg is a writer in San Francisco and founding national editor of a magazine for readers who are 50 and older.

Jimmy Carter is getting into the act of promoting positive aging. In his 12th book, The Virtues of Aging, the former President joins America's luminaries on this increasingly popular topic in exuding confidence in the good life after 65 and exhorting each and every one of us to follow suit. All should decide on a […]
NonfictionAudioSelf-Help

Professional Troublemaker

Review by Mari Carlson

Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual (8 hours) is a candid, can-do guide to making the world a better place by cultivating a better you. Narrated by the bestselling author, three sections—“Be,” “Say” and “Do”—detail steps toward understanding the core of yourself and making decisions based on those crucial personal values. Jones describes her own process and experiences, draws inspiration from her Nigerian heritage and shows what it looks like to live authentically in a judgmental world, with her grandmother as her favorite example.

Famous for her blog posts, podcast and TED Talks, Jones will hype up even the most fearful listener with her commanding, cheerful voice. She recommends that professional-troublemakers-in-the-making find friends or aunties to “gas [them] up” and cheer them on in their journey, and for the length of this audiobook, she is that friend. With special audio-only features such as a recording of Jones’ aunt speaking in Yoruba, it is impossible not to be won over by Professional Troublemaker’s empowering message that fighting fear is finding freedom.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of the print version of Professional Troublemaker.

Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ commanding, cheerful voice will hype up even the most fearful listener.
NonfictionAudioSelf-Help

Beginners

Review by Jill Ratzan

Acquiring a new skill is often daunting, and as an adult it can be downright embarrassing to struggle with an unfamiliar process. In Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning (7.5 hours), author Tom Vanderbilt invites us to work through our fears and embrace the joy of learning something new.

Vanderbilt, who reads his own book, acknowledges that adults are rarely comfortable learning new skills. He takes listeners on an exploratory tour through infant psychology, educational theory and cognitive science. As he chronicles his own experiences of studying how to sing, surf, draw, weld and juggle, he encourages listeners to embrace a “beginner’s mind” that facilitates lifelong learning. He’s also subtly radical in his unabashed rejection of futurism. There may be instructional videos galore on YouTube, he argues, but it’s still better to learn with a class and a teacher.

Whether inspiring parents to join their children in trying new activities, encouraging group learning experiences or explaining how a neurobiologist might benefit from studying the tango, Vanderbilt maintains an upbeat and optimistic tone, like an encouraging friend.

 

To guide you on the path of positivity in the new year, four books provide support, affirmation and inspiration.

In Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning (7.5 hours), author Tom Vanderbilt invites us to work through our fears and embrace the joy of learning something new.
NonfictionSelf-Help

Chatter

Review by Harvey Freedenberg

In Buddhism it’s referred to as “monkey mind”—that cascade of often critical and judgmental self-talk that runs in a ceaseless loop in our heads. In Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It, experimental psychologist and neuroscientist Ethan Kross provides a useful introduction to some of the intriguing research on this phenomenon and offers a toolbox full of constructive techniques for quieting our persistent inner voice or, better yet, turning it in a positive direction.

When he received an anonymous threatening letter several years ago, Kross, who directs the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan, first turned inward to investigate how our default biological state creates an “inescapable tension of the inner voice as both helpful superpower and destructive kryptonite.” Any attempt to silence that voice, he explains, is doomed, but through a process of trial and error, most people can find some method of transforming it from foe to friend.

Relying on a host of laboratory studies and compelling anecdotal evidence—like the story of major league pitcher Rick Ankiel, who suddenly lost the ability to control a baseball but reinvented himself as an outfielder—Kross is an amiable guide through this fascinating and complex territory. He illustrates the value of the simple act of distancing—visualizing oneself as a third-party observer or invoking mental time travel—to gain perspective on how a momentary crisis might appear to a neutral party or with the benefit of hindsight. In one experiment, something as simple as a temporary shift from negative “I-talk” to referring to oneself in the second or third person provided dramatic benefits. And in one revealing chapter, Kross explains how placebos and rituals can help tame the worst aspects of the inner voice.

“The challenge isn’t to avoid negative states altogether,” he concludes. “It’s to not let them consume you.” Anyone seeking help along that road will find Chatter a useful traveling companion.

In Chatter, experimental psychologist and neuroscientist Ethan Kross offers a toolbox full of constructive techniques for quieting our persistent inner voice or, better yet, turning it in a positive direction.
NonfictionSelf-Help

Nobody’s Normal

Review by Amy Scribner

From autism to anorexia, people with mental illnesses or neurodivergent brains have long experienced stigma. The extent of what they endure depends on their culture—for example, some Nepalis are placed in restraints, and some Americans are incarcerated when they should be in treatment—but for centuries, humans have placed less value on humans who need more help. In fact, mental illness categories were first invented in Europe during the industrial revolution, to separate those who were not productive workers.

“We’ve long idealized the autonomous individual, dignified those who produce the most capital, and stigmatized those who produce the least,” writes anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker. In the fascinating and illuminating Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness, Grinker explores the origins of this stigmatization.

Much of how Americans think about mental illness stems from the traumas of war and our nation’s woeful response to troops’ needs. At the beginning of World War II, the U.S. Army only had 35 psychiatrists, most of whom were doctors with minimal training in mental health. In 1973, Vietnam veterans began lobbying for more attention to their psychological needs, as they experienced homelessness, substance use disorder and depression.

Yet even as society began recognizing mental illness as a real issue, there remained significant controversy about how to treat it. Grinker recalls the grim midcentury period when a neurologist in Washington, D.C., performed thousands of lobotomies by inserting an ice pick into patients’ eye sockets. His patients included Rosemary Kennedy, who was institutionalized for the remainder of her life after this surgery.

Pharmaceuticals have, of course, helped individuals with mental illness live fulfilling and stable lives, and Grinker explores how use of drugs and therapy has evolved over time. His compassion shines through in this meticulously researched and carefully written book, a passionate call for humans to think about how we view those with mental illness. “Of course, it is impossible to end stigma completely—every society can find something to demean and marginalize,” Grinker writes. “But we can still resist, name, mute, and shape it. Stigma is not a thing but a process, and we can change its course.”

In the fascinating and illuminating Nobody’s Normal, Roy Richard Grinker explores the origins of the stigmatization of mental illness.
NonfictionSelf-HelpAging

The New Long Life

Review by Harvey Freedenberg

In The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World, London Business School economist Andrew J. Scott and his colleague, psychologist Lynda Gratton, offer a lively, thought-provoking survey of a world in which life and work will be fundamentally altered by increasing longevity and rapidly changing technology.

Building their discussion around composite characters they call “everybodies”—like Tom, a 40-year-old truck driver from Texas who ponders the impact of autonomous vehicles on his employment, or Radhika, a single college graduate in her late 20s working as a professional freelancer in Mumbai—Scott and Gratton focus on the transition from a traditional “three-stage life” (education, work, retirement) to a multistage one that will present both individuals and institutions with new opportunities and challenges.

As they explain, relying on examples drawn principally from developed societies around the world, individuals will be living longer as the future progresses and having relatively good health for more of those added years. This will require them to become “social pioneers,” “looking forward, building insight, facing truths, and unflinchingly looking at what is and what could be” in both their personal and working lives. In concrete terms, Gratton and Scott explain how the careers of the future won’t simply involve ascending a corporate ladder with experience and seniority, or perhaps shifting to a different company within an established industry. Instead, workers will likely find themselves alternating periods of employment with time out of the workforce, with some of that hiatus used to acquire skills that will enable them to cope with evolving technologies.

Pointing to the “malleability of age” in this world of expanding longevity, Scott and Gratton are ardent critics of biases that consign workers to obsolescence based solely on chronological age. They also offer thoughtful proposals for how corporations and governments might respond to these new realities. With the world confronting an economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, it’s refreshing to encounter two original thinkers who can envision a brighter future, albeit one with its own daunting problems.

London Business School economist Andrew J. Scott and his colleague, psychologist Lynda Gratton, offer a lively, thought-provoking survey of a world in which life and work will be fundamentally altered by increasing longevity and rapidly changing technology.

NonfictionSelf-Help

Kill Reply All

Review by Amy Scribner

Be honest: Have you ever been guilty of phubbing? Have you ever been Tindstagrammed? Do you often show off your #ootd?

Now really be honest: Do you know what any of those things are? Because I sure didn’t before reading Kill Reply All, a clever and informative guide to online etiquette by Victoria Turk, a senior editor at Wired magazine. (For the record, “phubbing” is snubbing someone in favor of your phone, “Tindstagramming” is stalking someone on Instagram after they rejected you on Tinder, and “#ootd” is a tag used when you post a picture of your outfit of the day.)

Living in the digital age is confusing. By now, most of us know the subtext of the eggplant emoji and understand that using punctuation in our texts is a sure sign we’re old. Still, navigating the online world is complicated. To make things simpler, Turk divides her practical and straightforward advice into four categories: work, romance, friendship and community. Turk’s Marie Kondo-like approach to email inbox management may actually make you excited to tackle those 1,500 unread messages.

The section on online romance—from choosing a photo for your dating app profile to avoiding “some of the invasive species that have made online dating their habitat”—is fairly specific. Not everyone needs a tutorial on online flirting, but for those who do, Turk’s hilarious pointers on what your dating bio really says about you are not to be missed. (When someone is “adventurous,” it means they “did a gap year.”)

Probably the most useful section is the chapter on how to behave in different online communities. The rules vary, and so will your persona. (Think of how you present yourself on Twitter versus LinkedIn.) This chapter offers ample food for thought on how to artfully unfriend someone on Facebook, when it’s appropriate to tag someone on Twitter and how to make a meme. 

At the end of the day, we all fall prey to online pitfalls. The trick is to use your best judgment, use emojis sparingly and, for the love of God, don’t accidentally like a photo when you’re stalking your ex-boyfriend’s Facebook page.

Be honest: Have you ever been guilty of phubbing? Have you ever been Tindstagrammed? Do you often show off your #ootd? Now really be honest: Do you know what any of those things are? You will after reading this clever and informative guide to online etiquette.

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