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Family & Relationships. Self-Improvement. Nonfiction. Humor (Nonfiction.) HTML:From the New York Times bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck and Get Your Sh*t Together comes more straight talk about how to stand up for who you are and what you really want, need, and deserve � showing when it's okay to be selfish, why it's pointless to be perfect, and how to be "difficult." Being yourself should be easy, yet too many of us struggle to live on other people's terms instead of our own. Rather than feeling large and in charge, we feel little and belittled. Sound familiar? Bestselling "anti-guru" Sarah Knight has three simple words for you: YOU DO YOU. It's time to start putting your happiness first � and stop letting other people tell you what to do, how to do it, or why it can't be done. And don't panic! You can do it without losing friends and alienating people. Knight delivers her trademark no-bullsh*t advice about: The Tyranny of "Just Because" The social contract and how to amend it Turning "flaws" into strengths � aka "mental redecorating" Why it's not your job to be nice Letting your freak flag fly How to take risks, silence the doubters, and prove the haters wrong Praise for Sarah Knight: "Genius." � Cosmopolitan "Self-help to swear by." � The Boston Globe "Hilarious... truly practical." � Booklist.… (more)
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In a nutshell: Author Sarah Knight (who has written two other sort-of-self-help books) offers some updates to the social contract to help people get more out of life with a little
Worth quoting:
“The friends who don’t judge you for choosing what’s best for you are the ones you’ll want to keep closer than anyone.”
“You’re not ‘unsuccessful’ if you never dialed up a particular destination in the first place, regardless of how popular it may be with others.”
“Prioritize your needs, but don’t be an asshole about it.”
Why I chose it: My partner drew it to my attention. I mostly enjoyed one of her previous books, so I figured, why not.
Review:
I enjoyed this more that the previous book of hers that I reviewed during my last Cannonball Read. It has the same snark and sass, but it felt a bit more relateable this time around for some reason. She’s got the humor down, but she also offers some solid life advice.
I appreciate the premise - you should be allowed to live your life as you see fit, provided that you aren’t as asshole about it and aren’t actively hurting others. I think that there are a lot of us who make some choices (to keep renting instead of buying, to live together but not get married, to not date at all, to not have children) but find ourselves feeling judged and possibly adjusting how we act around other because of that.
Ms. Knight is offering another way - a way to reframe our thinking and end up happier because we are making choices that are authentic to who we are. And as is key, this doesn’t mean you get to yell at people because you want, or litter, or do other things just because, as those things are asshole things. But not giving your parents grandkids? That’s not an asshole thing; that’s you making the choice that fits the life you want to live.
If you struggle with choices that don’t fit the mold, you might find this helpful. Even if you and everyone you love is cool with your full-face tattoo, you’ll still probably enjoy the humor here.
It mostly boils down to : Accept who you are and act with confidence and "You do you also means accepting other people for who they are, and acting with deference" (page 290)
Don't be a
I really enjoyed reading it, I found it worthwhile and it gave me a few things to think about.