self-help Archives - Awful Library Books

Who are you?

March 10, 2022 Mary Kelly Talkin 'Bout My Generation 5 comments

Who are you?
Teenager’s guide to self-understanding
McGough
1976

Teens! Do you know who you are? Are you stressing over friends, parents, and dating? This book is for you. The content is mostly anecdotes, quizzes (if you were the president, what would you prioritize?), and “exercises” (write your own obituary!). I really don’t get how any of this stuff is going to help you find your inner self.

Obviously, this book is dated. I actually liked these kinds of books when I was a young teen. For all I know, I might have even read it since I was the right age in 1976. To use the vernacular of the late 1960s/1970s, the book was pretty square.

The Art of Loving

January 19, 2021 Holly Life, Death, Love, and Marriage 6 comments

The Art of Loving
Fromm
1974

Submitter: This book was submitted into our library as a donation. Due to its age it won’t be joining the collection. First published in 1954 and later again in 1974 (this is that edition) it’s your standard love and romance psychology book. However, there are plenty of newer books on this topic and ones that deal with a more diverse set of couples.

Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?

December 14, 2020 Holly Condition/Processing Fail, Department of God, Feelings and Self Help 11 comments

Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am
Powell
1969

Submitter: This well loved 1969 copy of John Powell of the Society of Jesus – Why Am I Afraid To Tell You Who I Am is filled with underlining and other notations from some past perplexed borrower. Still in print today and time for this copy to move on. Included the creepy clown picture for Mary…

Mommy and Daddy Issues

June 24, 2019 Mary Kelly Feelings and Self Help 3 comments

Cutting Loose
An Adult Guide to Coming to Terms With Your Parents
Halpern
1976

Back in the day, transactional analysis was all the rage. I even had a college professor that spoke the “I’m okay, you’re okay” speak all the time. It was awful. Everything was a discussion of my inner child, ego, and id. I hated that class. You couldn’t ask this guy when a paper was due without enduring a mini psychotherapy session.

Turn on Your Personal Power!

March 4, 2019 Mary Kelly Feelings and Self Help 4 comments

Personal Power Taylor 1982 I picked up this book because of the cover. I get the feeling these people are waiting to be called up to the mother ship. This is basically an LDS church sanctioned book about getting your

You can take charge of your career

September 25, 2018 Mary Kelly Making a Living 6 comments

Take Charge Success Tactics for Business and Life Cannie 1980 This is more of a beginner’s guide to management. It reads like a self help book about esteem and personal growth. Heck, there are even a few mantras or positive

Beat the Blahs

July 18, 2018 Mary Kelly Department of God 8 comments

How To Beat The Blahs
Prater
1977

So, the Blahs are hovering around and making you sad, bored, unloved, inferior, etc. My teen brain remembers that word being used to mostly refer to boredom. This isn’t the first time the “Blahs” have appeared on ALB. We featured a self help book that suggested things like having an affair or adopting a child as a solution. In another book we featured, “Blahs” was used as another term for depression. Again, the advice was pretty unhelpful and all these ladies needed to do was to suck it up. Today’s post addresses the Christian with the blahs. Short answer is God still loves and cares about you. As a Christian devotional, this isn’t a bad book. It is more a gentle reminder of gratitude and grace. Honestly, this book could work in 2018 with a different title and some updating.

Popularity has its ups and downs Schneider 1991 First, I am not sure that anyone (let alone a teen) would be caught dead reading a book about popularity. Second, it is from 1991, so I doubt any of the references

Tag: self-help