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Comments

• [1] cranky from east village, nyc January 07, 2008 - 11:16AM

  I am so tired, tired, tired of hearing about these stunt books about an author's year of doing this or that. Please, WNYC, can't 2008 be a year free of dull manufactured trends? Can't we take that "journey" now that at least a dozen of these books have been foisted on the public?

  
  
• [2] chestine from NY January 07, 2008 - 12:32PM

  way to go, cranky!

  
  
• [3] Rae-Ann from Yonkers January 07, 2008 - 12:42PM

  Sheesh. With 300-odd shows a year there are bound to be segments you don't like. Turn off your radio then.

  
  
• [4] et from here January 07, 2008 - 12:43PM

  I think it is fine.

  It will be interesting to see where the genre goes.

  Of course I hope it moves toward depth.

  
  
• [5] Sarah from Brooklyn January 07, 2008 - 12:45PM

  The self-help books I read to are always about one of two things:

  1) clearing my clutter and staying on top of my packrat tendencies (like Karen Kingston's book Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui)

  2)being in the present and mindfulness (as in, any books by Thich Nhat Hanh)

  Both have really helped me...at least for a few weeks after I read them. I have to pull them out and re-read them periodically to remind myself of their messages.

  
  
• [6] et from here January 07, 2008 - 12:48PM

  A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle is a great read.

  
  
• [7] Susan from Kingston, New York January 07, 2008 - 12:52PM

  This show belongs on CNN! Boring!

  
  
• [8] sq from brooklyn January 07, 2008 - 12:54PM

  this sounds really elitist. if leonard doesn't like self help good for him. if other people do that's their business.

  
  
• [9] Greg Schnese from Union Square January 07, 2008 - 12:55PM

  Hi,

  I work at beYOU.tv - an instructional video community. We have many videos featuring Dr. Deepak Chopra, you can view this videos for free online or purchase and download them.

  Here's the link:

  http://www.beyou.tv/videos?q=deepak

  Enjoy,

  Greg

  
  
• [10] Rob Levine from NY, NY January 07, 2008 - 12:55PM

  This woman cheated on her husband and apparently has no remorse at all. Rather than trying to assess the benefits of self-help programs and gurus, she should try to get the help she needs.

  I don't want to hear the pontifications of an adulterer as an expert on self-help.

  I am very disappointed in this segment.

  Rob

  
  
• [11] Christopher from Middle Village January 07, 2008 - 12:58PM

  I have read self-help books and have friends who've used them after divorces, break-ups etc. They're a lot cheaper than psychotherapy. Yes, some of them are very badly written and patronising.

  Making Peace with your Past by Harold Bloomfield is good.

  
  
• [12] chestine from NY January 07, 2008 - 12:58PM

  Or those ubiquitous posters when I was in college with the tree and the couple and "I do my thing you do your thing" Fritz Pearl - a friend walked around with a magic marker and wrote on every one she saw "wanna f---?"

  I see lots of those gurus as wolves in sheeps clothing

  I'm so glad someone is finally doing something like you are doing

  
  
• [13] Don Gabor from Brooklyn January 07, 2008 - 12:59PM

  My self-help book, How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends (Simom & Schuster 1983/revised 2001), has helped a lot of people get over what for many has been a lifelong problem. These folks never learned the knack of small talk, but with a few techniques and skills anyone can become a good conversationalist.

  Don Gabor

  
  
• [14] Michelle from Manhattan January 07, 2008 - 01:06PM

  I am surprised to hear the author's apparent derision for life coaches. I don't have one, but I don't think it's any more "self-absorbed" to spend money on trying to be a better person than it is to spend money on HDTVs, new cars, or a wardrobe from Banana Republic.

  
  
• [15] Alina from New York January 07, 2008 - 01:41PM

  I am a Life Coach in NYC, and ironically I am the biggest skeptic when it comes to touchy-feely/self-help/uncluttering approaches. I also have to say that none of my clients are "self-absorbed"; they are mostly no-nonsense busy professionals who are trying to make time to hear themselves think. It's a wonderful thing to have someone Listen to you, ask honest questions, and help you sort through the answers. Take a look at coaching here if you are curious: http://www.AllowAPossibility.com

  
  
• [16] L.R. Olderman from NJ January 07, 2008 - 03:00PM

  The Self Help industry is just that: an industry. In 20 years of purchasing books, cassettes, CDs, DVDs, and tickets to speaking engagements for the likes of Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Gary Zukav, Debbie Ford, Dr. Phil, and Anthony Robbins, I have yet to derive any lasting benefit by following their advice. If you can write a fluffy inspirational book packed with maxims sans substance, rather than tell people they just need to work diligently and consistently at dieting, relationships, etc., you can make a bundle, which is why they continue to offer yet another new CD, DVD and book.

  
  
• [17] Tom from Edison, NJ January 07, 2008 - 03:56PM

  My own personal experience with self-help books is that they've been very "helpful". Particulary the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. I found that really working on 2 of the habits in particular really helped me in both my personal and professional life:

  Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

  Habit 5: Seek First to Understand and then to be Understood

  How can regularly trying to integrate and improve on those 2 habits be a bad thing?

  The other 2 self-help books I've found very "helpful" are "Codependent No More" by Melody Beattie and "Bradshaw On: The Family" by John Bradshaw.

  If you read the Beattie book first and then the Bradshaw book and then the Covey book you'll really see how powerful these books can change your life in a positive way. But, even if they don't you may come to see why some people are like "wow, that's inspiring" and others are completely dismissive.