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A review by mandirigma
The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman
4.0
Social media has turned many of the messiest people I know into pseudo-life coaches, to the point where if you start bothering me about positive changes I should make in my life, I can't help but assume your life is falling apart. I have grown so disillusioned by people wanting to constantly performing success and well-being, and I was inspired to pick up this book after a particularly toxic and tone-deaf exchange with someone offering unsolicited positive-thought advice on dealing with trauma. I found The Antidote to be really refreshing and validating.
The point of this book is not to assuage your existential dread or anxiety, but it gives some pretty great arguments for just embracing it. In that way, I don't think it should be viewed as a self help book, but rather a primer on different philosophies and ways of letting go of the need to control your life. Burkeman cites a lot of studies and the book is very philosophy-heavy, but it's interesting and accessible and never dry.
He also cites Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright Sided, which I tried to read earlier this year but DNF'ed at around one of the last chapters because it actually made me feel too hopeless. In contrast, The Antidote never gets too close to that point, even in its chapters about death and security. It's a great read, and I'd recommend it to anyone tired of positivity culture.
The point of this book is not to assuage your existential dread or anxiety, but it gives some pretty great arguments for just embracing it. In that way, I don't think it should be viewed as a self help book, but rather a primer on different philosophies and ways of letting go of the need to control your life. Burkeman cites a lot of studies and the book is very philosophy-heavy, but it's interesting and accessible and never dry.
He also cites Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright Sided, which I tried to read earlier this year but DNF'ed at around one of the last chapters because it actually made me feel too hopeless. In contrast, The Antidote never gets too close to that point, even in its chapters about death and security. It's a great read, and I'd recommend it to anyone tired of positivity culture.