Review by ab2020 -- If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta ...

ab2020 · Post by **ab2020** » 30 Aug 2019, 19:31

[Following is a volunteer review of "If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your But's" by Mark L. Wdowiak.]

4 out of 4 stars

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OK, here’s an idea for a conversation starter. How many self-help books have you read? Zero? Way to go. One or two? Good for you. A lot? Well, maybe we should be friends, because I’ve read a lot, too. And in case our friendship ever lacks good conversation, I’m sure we could have a long, long chat about how a lot of those self-help books have not been helpful at all. But before we do that, let me recommend a self-help book that actually is helpful. Such a thing might be rare, but I think I’ve found one.

The book in question is If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your But's by Mark L. Wdowiak. (For the sake of brevity, I’ll refer to it as If Life Stinks.) To be honest, I didn’t expect much of it. The title contains a grammatical mistake (it should be “Buts”, not “But’s”), which discouraged me right off the bat. However, the contents proved to be excellent. In an interesting turn of events, I did not find a single typographical or grammatical error inside the book. Instead, I found honest and straightforward advice on how to “pull it together”, neatly organized and complete with a healthy dose of dry humor.

If Life Stinks is divided into an introductory section and three main parts. Each part describes one step in the process of “getting your head outta your buts”. The first step is “taking control of yourself” (also called “learning to crawl”), the second step is “taking control of your thinking” (“learning to walk”), and the third step is “putting it all together” (“learning to run”). Each step guides the reader through common character flaws and how to work past them. The book also contains advice on interpersonal interaction and how to be a good citizen.

The book’s subtitle is “A No-Nonsense Guide to Happiness and Success”, and I am pleased to inform you that this book actually lives up to its subtitle. Wdowiak’s tone and style are definitely no-nonsense. He does not pity or coddle the reader. Instead, his advice forces the reader to be more humble, self-reliant, and self-aware. His prose is encouraging yet candid, and he completely does away with decorative language. The book is well-organized, easily understandable, and refreshingly concise.

It is rare for me to encounter a truly helpful self-help book, so when I do find one, I tend to recommend it heartily. If Life Stinks is no exception. Aside from the rather poor choice of title (which really isn’t such a big deal in the grand scheme of things), I have nothing at all to criticize about it. As such, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys self-improvement and anyone who doesn’t—because a person can always benefit from a bit of well-considered life advice.

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If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your But's
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Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 05 Sep 2019, 10:14

Solid review. I don't read self-help books, but I've done plenty of therapy. I think changing the way you think can be much harder than a lot of people want to admit. There is an entire branch of therapy dedicated to it, called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and even that is less about changing the way you think and more about teaching you to recognize initial thoughts and then to re-think the situation to change your actions.
Still, this sounds like a well organized book, and I hope it can help people.

ab2020 · Post by **ab2020** » 07 Sep 2019, 16:40

esp1975 wrote: ↑05 Sep 2019, 10:14 Solid review. I don't read self-help books, but I've done plenty of therapy. I think changing the way you think can be much harder than a lot of people want to admit. There is an entire branch of therapy dedicated to it, called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and even that is less about changing the way you think and more about teaching you to recognize initial thoughts and then to re-think the situation to change your actions.
Still, this sounds like a well organized book, and I hope it can help people.

Changing the way you think is indeed difficult, but taking control of your thoughts / recognizing them is a good first step. Unlike many self-help books, this one does a decent job helping the reader recognize their thoughts. However, any sort of change does ultimately lie with the reader, not the author or the book.

Aniza Butt · Post by **Aniza Butt** » 07 Sep 2019, 22:33

I don't read self-help books but I am going to add this to my want to read list.
Thanks for an amazing review

Ekta Swarnkar · Post by **Ekta Swarnkar** » 07 Sep 2019, 23:47

I always loved such books that motivate the readers to admire themselves, and this is exactly the one of such. Lovely review!
And yes we will prove to be good friends.

ab2020 · Post by **ab2020** » 09 Sep 2019, 17:11

Aniza Butt wrote: ↑07 Sep 2019, 22:33 I don't read self-help books but I am going to add this to my want to read list.
Thanks for an amazing review

Thanks for reading! I appreciate the compliments.

ab2020 · Post by **ab2020** » 09 Sep 2019, 17:12

Ekta Swarnkar wrote: ↑07 Sep 2019, 23:47 I always loved such books that motivate the readers to admire themselves, and this is exactly the one of such. Lovely review!
And yes we will prove to be good friends.

Thank you! And in that case, maybe we should start a self-help book club or something...

Ekta Swarnkar · Post by **Ekta Swarnkar** » 09 Sep 2019, 22:53

ab2020 wrote: ↑09 Sep 2019, 17:12
Ekta Swarnkar wrote: ↑07 Sep 2019, 23:47 I always loved such books that motivate the readers to admire themselves, and this is exactly the one of such. Lovely review!
And yes we will prove to be good friends.

Thank you! And in that case, maybe we should start a self-help book club or something...

Count me in.