A review by seclement
The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman

4.0

Although the quip on the book jacket says this is 'a bracing detox for the self-help junkie', I am not at all in that category and more inclined to the grumpy tone in the subtitle of this book. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed this book so much; it's a bit of an affirmation for the likes of us who couldn't fathom the idea of making a vision board or attending a 'power of positive thinking' rally with earnestly enthusiastic self-help junkies. The book is not exactly a scientific piece or even something like a Malcolm Gladwell book where the author pretends to be speaking with great authority. Instead, it is more in the style of, say, a Jon Ronson book where he is exploring little bits and pieces of philosophy, psychology and other social science to better understand the 'negative path' to happiness. It's an eclectic book, and even though it's slim, it covers quite a range of topics. At times I found myself wondering why he was talking about something because the connection to the them of the book is quite lateral at times, but he always brought it back on theme. I particularly enjoyed the material on Stoicism and why goal setting doesn't really work, and was surprised to realise that there was quite a lot in there that I already live by. The fact that I don't set goals but am a functional, productive and successful person has always been an anathema to people I've discussed this with, but it turns out that this is not at all odd, but it's a pretty smart way to avoid foolishly pursuing goals when they should just be abandoned, focussing too much on the future, and setting yourself up for disappointment. There were times in the book where I found the philosophical deep dive to be a bit much for a book that claims to be the antidote to self-help books, but overall this is a thoughtful and engaging book. I can't help but feel that the fact that Burkeman is English is perfectly suited, and I think he got the tone just right.