Book Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Hubby used to drive an hour to work and an hour home. Because of that, he used to listen to books on the drive. This was one of the books he “read” and he just about “ran off the road” laughing. Not really, but something just cracked him up. He told me and told me I needed to read this book. Since we had it in audible, that meant I had to listen to it. Listening to books isn’t quite my strong suit, so it took me a while to get through it. I started it in September of 2018, then didn’t touch it again until February 2020. I finally finished it.

This is such a good book. Seriously.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be “positive” all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.

For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. “F**k positivity,” Mark Manson says. “Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it.” In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is—a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected American society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.

Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—”not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault.” Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.

There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about the experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.

Thoughts

The bad part of listening through this makes it so hard to take notes. Haha, I blame my English degree. He said a lot of great things. This is definitely a book to read or even listen to. There are a lot of good points. I’ve looked through his website. Since he’s wildly popular, you have to pay for info now, but still… it’s a good listen/read. He has other books too. Maybe the next book is on my reading list.