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A review by alexampersand
F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin
1.0
Good lord. This was honestly one of the most terrible books I have ever read. Usually if I struggle to finish a book, it's because it's gotten a little dull, or not captivating my attention. This one, however, I found difficult to read due to the sheer amount of eye-rolling occurring at every page, and I could barely manage one page at a time.
The premise is simple enough, and one that I actually agree with: there can be a lot of stress in life nowadays, so sometimes we need to learn to say 'fuck it' and care a little less about inconsequential things.
Right. Lovely.
Except what then follows is the biggest load of pretentious and privileged bullshit I've ever read.
Have an illness? Well, if you stop trying to cure it and stop caring about it then you will find it starts to heal itself.
Are you scared of, like, anything? Well, what's the worst that could happen? Nothing can actually harm you, and once you ultimately realise that, you will never be scared of anything.
Worried about money? No need, just remember that whatever happens, if you end up with 0 then you can just go on benefits and soon find a house to live in and then get a job and everything will be back to normal!
The book just comes across as sincerely tone-deaf; sure, the above strategies work in certain scenarios. But there are never provisions made for 'sometimes these scenarios are incorrect'. Sometimes the thing you are scared of is a legitimate fear, so telling yourself 'nothing is going to happen' is just plainly false. Sometimes illnesses require medical treatment. That's a proven fact. And some illnesses don't get better at all. And anybody who thinks 'just go on benefits' is a solution to not having money has clearly never dealt with the DWP, and has been avoiding all the stories about claimants who have been left to die due to unapproved claims.
But the best part about all this is the hidden disclaimer contained within the book: life will only improve if you say fuck it and ACTUALLY stop caring about things. As soon as you say fuck it just so that things will get better, then you are still placing meaning onto the thing and therefore you are still caring so aren't really saying fuck it, and therefore it won't improve. So life will only improve if you literally do not care about it improving.
I mean, I wish I was making this up, but the above things are literally what is written in the book. I'm not inferring anything or making wild leaps as to its implications. If I could bring myself to find the book and rifle through it for quotes, I would, because I could not believe that someone actually published this nonsense.
So yes. Sometimes you can say fuck it. But please, for the love of god, use your brain to work out when to improve your life by saying 'fuck it' and ceasing to care, and when to improve your life by actually caring and taking proactive steps to make life better.
Oh, and the best part? After getting through the 200 pages of this nonsense, there is then an advert for the 'retreat' that the author runs. Because as if an entire book wasn't bad enough, they also want people to pay go to to Italy for a week to learn how to not care about things. Uhhhh I think I'll pass.
The premise is simple enough, and one that I actually agree with: there can be a lot of stress in life nowadays, so sometimes we need to learn to say 'fuck it' and care a little less about inconsequential things.
Right. Lovely.
Except what then follows is the biggest load of pretentious and privileged bullshit I've ever read.
Have an illness? Well, if you stop trying to cure it and stop caring about it then you will find it starts to heal itself.
Are you scared of, like, anything? Well, what's the worst that could happen? Nothing can actually harm you, and once you ultimately realise that, you will never be scared of anything.
Worried about money? No need, just remember that whatever happens, if you end up with 0 then you can just go on benefits and soon find a house to live in and then get a job and everything will be back to normal!
The book just comes across as sincerely tone-deaf; sure, the above strategies work in certain scenarios. But there are never provisions made for 'sometimes these scenarios are incorrect'. Sometimes the thing you are scared of is a legitimate fear, so telling yourself 'nothing is going to happen' is just plainly false. Sometimes illnesses require medical treatment. That's a proven fact. And some illnesses don't get better at all. And anybody who thinks 'just go on benefits' is a solution to not having money has clearly never dealt with the DWP, and has been avoiding all the stories about claimants who have been left to die due to unapproved claims.
But the best part about all this is the hidden disclaimer contained within the book: life will only improve if you say fuck it and ACTUALLY stop caring about things. As soon as you say fuck it just so that things will get better, then you are still placing meaning onto the thing and therefore you are still caring so aren't really saying fuck it, and therefore it won't improve. So life will only improve if you literally do not care about it improving.
I mean, I wish I was making this up, but the above things are literally what is written in the book. I'm not inferring anything or making wild leaps as to its implications. If I could bring myself to find the book and rifle through it for quotes, I would, because I could not believe that someone actually published this nonsense.
So yes. Sometimes you can say fuck it. But please, for the love of god, use your brain to work out when to improve your life by saying 'fuck it' and ceasing to care, and when to improve your life by actually caring and taking proactive steps to make life better.
Oh, and the best part? After getting through the 200 pages of this nonsense, there is then an advert for the 'retreat' that the author runs. Because as if an entire book wasn't bad enough, they also want people to pay go to to Italy for a week to learn how to not care about things. Uhhhh I think I'll pass.