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Bright-Sided: How The Relentless Promotion Of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America (2008)

by Barbara Ehrenreich(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0805087494 (ISBN13: 9780805087499)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Metropolitan Books

review 1: Barbara Ehrenreich outlines a very good case for the dangers of positive thinking pervasive in our society, and goes to the source of it finding early American Calvinism andMary Baker's teachings of Christian Science at the root of our current love affair with mind over matter.As I had an aunt who was a practicing Christian Scientist and a cousin (her daughter) who thought positive thinking and prayer would cure her cancer - and changed her mind a bit too late - I was intrigued. The book is well researched, although long winded and goes into detail regarding corporate America and the importance of the cheerleader and go-getter mentality.Note well - as someone else said - the opposite of positive thinking is not pessimism, it's realism. Not to say that we can't hope for t... morehe best, but there is a huge culture in this country of mind over matter - and the outcome can be tremendously depressing when things don't work out. Ehrenreich takes on mega churches and books such as "The Secret." Finally! Pray and tithe and hope for good things and they shall come your way. BS in my opinion and hers. Oprah once was interviewing Julia Roberts and asked her what she attributed her success to, and Roberts answered, "Hard work and a lot of luck." Oprah was taken aback and kept insisting that because she dreamed it, she achieved it. Roberts laughed at that notion and insisted that without luck (and let's face it, she lucked out in the looks department, her long legs and charm) she would never have accomplished what she did. And that's the thing. My mother wanted to be a ballerina. She wanted it, she envisioned herself dancing to Swan Lake - but the reality is that she was pear shaped and had cankles. Ballet was never going to happen. Cancer patients have a right to a pity party - to say cancer is the best thing that ever happened to them is downright funny. Who are they trying to fool? themselves? If you want to get a handle on life and be grateful, there are other ways. To tell a cancer victim to "think positive" is almost insulting. Their attitude doesnt have to suck, but certainly knowing that life as you know it may well be coming to an end is a sobering thought. In any case, she says it way better than I do, but I share most if not all of her conclusions.
review 2: Positive thinking, and the exhortation to conform to it, permeates our society. I can't count the number of times I was told to "be positive" and "think good things" and "picture the job you're going to have" during my stint of unemployment. And okay, maybe dwelling in depression isn't a good idea (and the author states this, too), but sometimes you really need to focus on the problem instead of being all pie in the sky.The author does a great job of exploring different things that are fueling the positive thinking glut, from religion to corporate America, and shares her own experience with positive thinking after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She also details how positive thinking, in many cases, is actually harmful to individuals and society. It's a great book for those of us who are sick and tired of being chided, nagged, and generally hit over the head with a positive thinking stick. less

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