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   Self-help book - Wikipedia
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});});</script><link href=/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cskins.vector.styles.legacy%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector rel=stylesheet><script async src=/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector></script><meta name=ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles><link href=/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector rel=stylesheet><meta content="MediaWiki 1.38.0-wmf.6"name=generator><meta content=origin name=referrer><meta content=origin-when-crossorigin name=referrer><meta content=origin-when-cross-origin name=referrer><meta content=telephone=no name=format-detection><meta content="Self-help book - Wikipedia"property=og:title><meta content=website property=og:type><link href=//upload.wikimedia.org rel=preconnect><link media="only screen and (max-width: 720px)"href=//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-help_book rel=alternate><link title="Edit this page"href=/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit rel=alternate type=application/x-wiki><link href=/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png rel=apple-touch-icon><link rel="shortcut icon"href=/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico><link title="Wikipedia (en)"href=/w/opensearch_desc.php rel=search type=application/opensearchdescription+xml><link href=//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd rel=EditURI type=application/rsd+xml><link href=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ rel=license><link href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-help_book rel=canonical><link href=//meta.wikimedia.org rel=dns-prefetch><link href=//login.wikimedia.org rel=dns-prefetch><body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Self-help_book rootpage-Self-help_book skin-vector action-view skin-vector-legacy"><div class=noprint id=mw-page-base></div><div class=noprint id=mw-head-base></div><div class=mw-body id=content role=main><a id=top> </a><div id=siteNotice></div><div class=mw-indicators></div><h1 class=firstHeading id=firstHeading>Self-help book</h1><div class=vector-body id=bodyContent><div class=noprint id=siteSub>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div><div id=contentSub></div><div id=contentSub2></div><div id=jump-to-nav></div><a class=mw-jump-link href=#mw-head> Jump to navigation </a><a class=mw-jump-link href=#searchInput> Jump to search </a><div class="mw-body-content mw-content-ltr"dir=ltr id=mw-content-text lang=en><div class=mw-parser-output><style data-mw-deduplicate=TemplateStyles:r1033289096>.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}</style><div class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable"role=note>Not to be confused with the <a title="Samuel Smiles"href=/wiki/Samuel_Smiles> Samuel Smiles </a> book, <a title="Self-Help (book)"href=/wiki/Self-Help_(book)> Self-Help </a> .</div><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux"style=display:none>Book that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems</div><table class="box-Essay-like plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-essay-like"role=presentation><tbody><tr><td class=mbox-image><div style=width:52px><img srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/60px-Edit-clear.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/80px-Edit-clear.svg.png 2x"alt data-file-height=48 data-file-width=48 decoding=async height=40 src=//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/40px-Edit-clear.svg.png width=40></div><td class=mbox-text><div class=mbox-text-span>This article <b> is written like a <a title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not"href=/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_publisher_of_original_thought> personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay </a> </b> that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. <span class=hide-when-compact> Please <a class="external text"href=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit> help improve it </a> by rewriting it in an <a title="Wikipedia:Writing better articles"href=/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Information_style_and_tone> encyclopedic style </a> . </span><span class=date-container> <i> ( <span class=date> October 2020 </span> ) </i> </span><span class=hide-when-compact> <i> ( <a title="Help:Maintenance template removal"href=/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal> Learn how and when to remove this template message </a> ) </i> </span></div></table><p>A <b> self-help book </b> is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from <i> <a title="Self-Help (book)"href=/wiki/Self-Help_(book)> Self-Help </a> </i> , an 1859 best-seller by <a title="Samuel Smiles"href=/wiki/Samuel_Smiles> Samuel Smiles </a> , but are also known and classified under " <a class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/Self-improvement title=Self-improvement> self-improvement </a> ", a term that is a modernized version of self-help. Self-help books moved from a niche position to being a <a class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/Postmodern title=Postmodern> postmodern </a> cultural phenomenon in the late twentieth century. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-1> <a href=#cite_note-1> [1] </a> </sup><div aria-labelledby=mw-toc-heading class=toc id=toc role=navigation><input class=toctogglecheckbox id=toctogglecheckbox role=button style=display:none type=checkbox><div class=toctitle dir=ltr lang=en><h2 id=mw-toc-heading>Contents</h2><span class=toctogglespan> <label class=toctogglelabel for=toctogglecheckbox></label> </span></div><ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href=#Early_history> <span class=tocnumber> 1 </span> <span class=toctext> Early history </span> </a><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href=#The_postmodern_phenomenon> <span class=tocnumber> 2 </span> <span class=toctext> The postmodern phenomenon </span> </a><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href=#Behind_the_self-help_book_explosion> <span class=tocnumber> 3 </span> <span class=toctext> Behind the self-help book explosion </span> </a><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href=#Characteristics> <span class=tocnumber> 4 </span> <span class=toctext> Characteristics </span> </a><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href=#Fictional_analogues> <span class=tocnumber> 5 </span> <span class=toctext> Fictional analogues </span> </a><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href=#See_also> <span class=tocnumber> 6 </span> <span class=toctext> See also </span> </a><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href=#References> <span class=tocnumber> 7 </span> <span class=toctext> References </span> </a></ul></div><h2><span class=mw-headline id=Early_history> Early history </span> <span class=mw-editsection> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> [ </span> <a title="Edit section: Early history"href=/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit&section=1> edit </a> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> ] </span> </span></h2><p>Informal guides to everyday behaviour might be said to have existed almost as long as writing itself. Ancient Egyptian "Codes" of conduct "have a curiously modern note: 'you trail from street to street, smelling of beer...like a broken rudder, good for nothing....you have been found performing acrobatics on a wall! <span style=padding-right:.15em;> ' </span> ". <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-2> <a href=#cite_note-2> [2] </a> </sup> Micki McGee writes: "Some social observers have suggested that the Bible is perhaps the first and most significant of self-help books". <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-3> <a href=#cite_note-3> [3] </a> </sup><p>In classical Rome, <a href=/wiki/Cicero title=Cicero> Cicero </a> 's <i> <a title="On Friendship"class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/On_Friendship> On Friendship </a> </i> and <i> <a title="On Duties"class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/On_Duties> On Duties </a> </i> became "handbooks and guides...through the centuries", <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-4> <a href=#cite_note-4> [4] </a> </sup> and <a href=/wiki/Ovid title=Ovid> Ovid </a> wrote <a title="Art of Love (Ovid)"class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/Art_of_Love_(Ovid)> <i> Art of Love </i> </a> and <i> <a title="Remedia Amoris"href=/wiki/Remedia_Amoris> Remedy of Love </a> </i> . The former has been described as "the best sex book, as valid for San Francisco and London as for ancient Rome", dealing "with practical problems of everyday life: where to go to meet girls, how to start a conversation with them, how to keep them interested, and...how to be sociable rather than athletic in bed"; <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-5> <a href=#cite_note-5> [5] </a> </sup> the latter has been described as containing "a series of instructions, as frank as they are ingenious and brilliantly expressed, on falling out of love". <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-6> <a href=#cite_note-6> [6] </a> </sup><p>Many Islamic scholars write books that could be could be categorized as self-help books, one prominent example is <a href=/wiki/Al-Ghazali title=Al-Ghazali> Al-Ghazali </a> who wrote <i> Ay farzand </i> (O son!) which is a short book of counsel that al-Ghazali wrote for one of his students. The book was early translated to Arabic entitled <i> ayyuhal walad </i> . Another is <i> Disciplining the Soul </i> , which is one of the key sections of <a title="The Revival of the Religious Sciences"href=/wiki/The_Revival_of_the_Religious_Sciences> The Revival of the Religious Sciences </a> .<p>During renaissance, a line of descent may be traced back from Smiles' <i> Self-Help </i> to when "the Renaissance concern with self-fashioning produced a flood of educational and self-help materials": <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-7> <a href=#cite_note-7> [7] </a> </sup> thus "the Florentine <a title="Giovanni della Casa"href=/wiki/Giovanni_della_Casa> Giovanni della Casa </a> in his book of manners published in 1558 suggests: 'It is also an unpleasant habit to lift another person's wine or his food to your nose and smell it <span style=padding-right:.15em;> ' </span> ". <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-8> <a href=#cite_note-8> [8] </a> </sup> The <a title="Middle Ages"href=/wiki/Middle_Ages> Middle Ages </a> saw the genre personified in " <i> Conduir-amour </i> " ("guide in love matters"). <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-9> <a href=#cite_note-9> [9] </a> </sup><h2><span class=mw-headline id=The_postmodern_phenomenon> The postmodern phenomenon </span> <span class=mw-editsection> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> [ </span> <a title="Edit section: The postmodern phenomenon"href=/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit&section=2> edit </a> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> ] </span> </span></h2><p>It is however in the last half-century or so that the humble self-help book has jumped to cultural prominence, a fact admitted by both the advocates and the critics – often highly polarised – of the self-improvement genre. Some would 'view the buying of such books...as an exercise in self-education'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-10> <a href=#cite_note-10> [10] </a> </sup> Others, more critical, still concede that 'it is too prevalent and powerful a phenomenon to overlook, despite belonging to <a title="Popular culture"href=/wiki/Popular_culture> "pop" culture </a> '. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-11> <a href=#cite_note-11> [11] </a> </sup><p>For better or worse, it is clear that self-help books have had 'a very important role in developing social concepts of disease in the twentieth century', and that they 'disseminate these concepts through the general public so that ordinary people acquire a language for describing some of the complex and ineffable features of emotional and behavioral life'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-12> <a href=#cite_note-12> [12] </a> </sup><p>Where traditional psychology and psychotherapy will tend to be written in an impersonal, objective mode, many self-help books 'involve a first-person involvement and often a conversion experience': <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-13> <a href=#cite_note-13> [13] </a> </sup> in keeping with the <a title="Self-help groups for mental health"href=/wiki/Self-help_groups_for_mental_health> self-help support groups </a> on which they often draw, horizontal peer-support and validation is thus offered the reader, as well as advice "from above".<p>Yet arguably with the movement from the self-help <i> group </i> to the individual "self-improvement" reader something of that peer support has been lost, reflecting the broader way that 'over the course of the last three decades of the twentieth-century, there has been a significant shift in the meaning of "self-help"'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-14> <a href=#cite_note-14> [14] </a> </sup> A collective enterprise has become a refashioning of the individual self: 'in less than thirty years, "self-help" – once synonymous with mutual aid – has come to be understood...as a largely individual undertaking'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-15> <a href=#cite_note-15> [15] </a> </sup><h2><span class=mw-headline id=Behind_the_self-help_book_explosion> Behind the self-help book explosion </span> <span class=mw-editsection> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> [ </span> <a title="Edit section: Behind the self-help book explosion"href=/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit&section=3> edit </a> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> ] </span> </span></h2><p>'What social theorists call " <a href=/wiki/Detraditionalization title=Detraditionalization> detraditionalization </a> " – the tendency of advancing capitalism to disrupt the cultures and traditions that may stand in the way of the <a title="Capital accumulation"href=/wiki/Capital_accumulation> accumulation </a> of profit' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-16> <a href=#cite_note-16> [16] </a> </sup> has been seen as underpinning behind the self-help phenomenon in two (overlapping) ways. The first is the eclipse of the informal, communitarian transmission of folkways and <a title="Folk wisdom"class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/Folk_wisdom> folk wisdom </a> : 'the charge that when self-help writers are being simplistic and repetitious, they are also being banal and unoriginal, merely offering their readers <a href=/wiki/Platitude title=Platitude> platitudes </a> ...on behalf of the best parts of folk wisdom', <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-17> <a href=#cite_note-17> [17] </a> </sup> may simply be because they are providing a <i> formal </i> conduit for the conveyance of such "home truths" in an increasingly unstructured and <a class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/Anomic title=Anomic> anomic </a> world.<p>The other result of the loss of ' <a title="Max Weber"href=/wiki/Max_Weber> Weber </a> 's "traditional behavior...everyday action to which people have become habitually accustomed"' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-18> <a href=#cite_note-18> [18] </a> </sup> is an increased social pressure for <a href=/wiki/Self-fashioning title=Self-fashioning> Self-fashioning </a> : 'while one's identity might have been formerly anchored in (and limited by) a community...the self-creating self must create a written narrative of his or her life'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-19> <a href=#cite_note-19> [19] </a> </sup> self-help books 'written and read for the purpose of helping people build a personal philosophy' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-20> <a href=#cite_note-20> [20] </a> </sup> contribute to that end.<p>The danger may arise however of an overestimation of the possibilities of change, given that 'we do not in any meaningful sense intend or choose our birth, our parents, our bodies, our language, our culture, our thoughts, our dreams, our desires, our death, and so on'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-21> <a href=#cite_note-21> [21] </a> </sup> In the <i> PsyBlog-Understand Your Mind </i> , Dr. Jeremy Dean states that "the dark side of hope is that claims about potential improvement can, and are, grossly exaggerated, in order to prise open our wallets. Similarly a bright and breezy approach to potential change may lead us to believe that changing ourselves is easy, when often it requires considerable, sometimes monumental, effort". <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-22> <a href=#cite_note-22> [22] </a> </sup> The ' <a title="Twelve-step program"href=/wiki/Twelve-step_program> Twelve-step "Traditions" </a> ...have fostered a notion of individual self-mastery or self-control as limited...use of the <a title="Serenity Prayer"href=/wiki/Serenity_Prayer> Serenity Prayer </a> encourages individuals to accept what they cannot change, to find courage to change what they can change, and to seek wisdom in discerning the difference'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-23> <a href=#cite_note-23> [23] </a> </sup> Self-help books will indeed often acknowledge formally that 'this book does not replace the need for therapy and counselling for troubled relationships or survivors of a <a title="Dysfunctional family"href=/wiki/Dysfunctional_family> dysfunctional family </a> '. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-24> <a href=#cite_note-24> [24] </a> </sup> In practice however, fueled by competitive advertising, often 'such books hold out to the reader the promise of a virtually "instantaneous" transformation'; <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-25> <a href=#cite_note-25> [25] </a> </sup> and there ensues something of a 'built-in contradiction of the celebratory arc of the self-help book combined with the stubborn realities' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-26> <a href=#cite_note-26> [26] </a> </sup> of the human world.<p>The reader may go away disillusioned; or may seek for <i> the </i> answer in the next book, so that 'self-help books can become an addiction in and of themselves' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-27> <a href=#cite_note-27> [27] </a> </sup> – a process that will 'have fostered the belabored self' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-28> <a href=#cite_note-28> [28] </a> </sup> rather than relieving it. In that perspective, since all self-help books 'have at least one common message. They tell you that you have the power to change yourself....By implication all of these books are saying, if you are in pain, if you are stuck and can't seem to change, it's no one's fault but your own'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-29> <a href=#cite_note-29> [29] </a> </sup><p>It is important to note that the popularity of self-help books may cause a <a href=/wiki/Placebo title=Placebo> placebo </a> effect and thus appear to be an effective way to change an individual's way of thinking about their life and selves. This is because individuals will believe these books will change their lives like others have endorsed.<h2><span class=mw-headline id=Characteristics> Characteristics </span> <span class=mw-editsection> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> [ </span> <a title="Edit section: Characteristics"href=/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit&section=4> edit </a> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> ] </span> </span></h2><p>Self-help books often focus on popular <a href=/wiki/Psychology title=Psychology> psychology </a> such as romantic relationships, or aspects of the mind and <a title="Human behavior"href=/wiki/Human_behavior> human behavior </a> which believers in self-help feel can be controlled with effort. Self-help books typically advertise themselves as being able to increase self-awareness and performance, including satisfaction with one's life. They often say that they can help you achieve this more quickly than with conventional therapies. Many celebrities have marketed self-help books including <a title="Jennifer Love Hewitt"href=/wiki/Jennifer_Love_Hewitt> Jennifer Love Hewitt </a> , <a title="Oprah Winfrey"href=/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey> Oprah Winfrey </a> , <a title="Elizabeth Taylor"href=/wiki/Elizabeth_Taylor> Elizabeth Taylor </a> , Charlie Fitzmaurice, <a title="Tony Robbins"href=/wiki/Tony_Robbins> Tony Robbins </a> , <a title="Wayne Dyer"href=/wiki/Wayne_Dyer> Wayne Dyer </a> , <a title="Deepak Chopra"href=/wiki/Deepak_Chopra> Deepak Chopra </a> and <a href=/wiki/Cher title=Cher> Cher </a> .<p>Like most books, self-help books can be purchased both offline and online; 'between 1972 and 2000, the numbers of self-help books...increased from 1.1 percent to 2.4 percent of the total number of books in print'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-30> <a href=#cite_note-30> [30] </a> </sup><h2><span class=mw-headline id=Fictional_analogues> Fictional analogues </span> <span class=mw-editsection> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> [ </span> <a title="Edit section: Fictional analogues"href=/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit&section=5> edit </a> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> ] </span> </span></h2><p><a title="Stephen Potter"href=/wiki/Stephen_Potter> Stephen Potter </a> 's "Upmanship" books are satirical takes on status-seeking under the cloak of sociableness – 'remember, that it is just on such occasions that an appearance of geniality is most important' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-31> <a href=#cite_note-31> [31] </a> </sup> – cast in advice-book form. A few decades later, with the <a class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/Neoliberal title=Neoliberal> neoliberal </a> turn, such advice – 'Remember the reality of self-interest' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-32> <a href=#cite_note-32> [32] </a> </sup> – would be being seriously advocated in the self-help world: in bestsellers like <i> <a title="Harvey Mackay"href=/wiki/Harvey_Mackay> Swim with the Sharks </a> </i> , all 'kinds of seemingly benign guile are encouraged', on the principle that 'status displays matter: just don't be suckered by them yourself'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-33> <a href=#cite_note-33> [33] </a> </sup><p>Perhaps the best-known fictional embodiment of the world of the self-help book is <a title="Bridget Jones"href=/wiki/Bridget_Jones> Bridget Jones </a> . Taking 'self-help books...[as] a new <i> form </i> of religion' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-34> <a href=#cite_note-34> [34] </a> </sup> – 'a kind of secularised religion – a sort of moral values lite' <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-35> <a href=#cite_note-35> [35] </a> </sup> – she struggles to integrate its often conflicting instructions into a coherent whole. 'She must stop beating herself over the head with <i> <a title="Women Who Love Too Much"href=/wiki/Women_Who_Love_Too_Much> Women Who Love Too Much </a> </i> and instead think more towards <i> <a title="Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus"href=/wiki/Men_Are_from_Mars,_Women_Are_from_Venus> Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus </a> </i> ...see Richard's behaviour less as a sign that she is <a class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/Co-dependent title=Co-dependent> co-dependent </a> and loving too much and more in the light of him being like a Martian rubber band'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-36> <a href=#cite_note-36> [36] </a> </sup> Even she, however, has the occasional crisis of faith, when she wonders: 'Maybe it helps if you've never read a self-help book in your life'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-37> <a href=#cite_note-37> [37] </a> </sup><p>In the <a class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/BookWorld title=BookWorld> BookWorld </a> Companion, it is suggested that 'those of you who have tired of the glitzy world of shopping and inappropriate boyfriends in Chicklit, a trip to Dubious Lifestyle Advice might be the next step. An hour in the hallowed halls of invented ills will leave you with at least ten problems you never knew you had, let alone existed'. <sup class=reference id=cite_ref-38> <a href=#cite_note-38> [38] </a> </sup><h2><span class=mw-headline id=See_also> See also </span> <span class=mw-editsection> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> [ </span> <a title="Edit section: See also"href=/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit&section=6> edit </a> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> ] </span> </span></h2><ul><li><a title="Business fable"href=/wiki/Business_fable> Business fable </a><li><a title="Conduct book"href=/wiki/Conduct_book> Conduct book </a> – A precursor to self-help books from the Middle Ages to the 18th Century<li><a title="Mirrors for princes"href=/wiki/Mirrors_for_princes> Mirrors for princes </a><li><a title="New Thought"href=/wiki/New_Thought> New Thought </a><li><a class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/Occultism title=Occultism> Occultism </a> <ul><li><a title="List of occult writers"href=/wiki/List_of_occult_writers> List of occult writers </a></ul><li><a href=/wiki/Optimism title=Optimism> Positive thinking </a><li><a href=/wiki/Spirituality title=Spirituality> Spirituality </a> <ul><li><a title="New Age"href=/wiki/New_Age> New Age </a></ul><li><i> <a title="The Wellness Doctrines"href=/wiki/The_Wellness_Doctrines> The Wellness Doctrines </a> </i> (2015) self-help book</ul><h2><span class=mw-headline id=References> References </span> <span class=mw-editsection> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> [ </span> <a title="Edit section: References"href=/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&action=edit&section=7> edit </a> <span class=mw-editsection-bracket> ] </span> </span></h2><style data-mw-deduplicate=TemplateStyles:r1011085734>.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width"style="column-width: 30em;"><ol class=references><li id=cite_note-1><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-1> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Micki McGee, <i> Self-help, Inc.: Makeover Culture in American Life </i> (Oxford 2005) p. 11 </span><li id=cite_note-2><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-2> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> A. Rosalie David, <i> The Egyptian Kingdoms </i> (Oxford 1973) p. 113 </span><li id=cite_note-3><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-3> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 5 </span><li id=cite_note-4><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-4> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> H. J. Rose, <i> A Handbook of Latin Literature </i> (London 1967) p. 184-5 </span><li id=cite_note-5><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-5> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Eric Berne, <i> Sex in Human Loving </i> (Penguin 1970) p. 226 </span><li id=cite_note-6><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-6> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Rose, p. 330 </span><li id=cite_note-7><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-7> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Frank Whigham/Wayne A. Rebhorn eds., <i> The Art of English Poesie </i> (New York 2007) p. 33 </span><li id=cite_note-8><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-8> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Erving Goffman, <i> Relations in Public </i> (Penguin 1971) p. 71 </span><li id=cite_note-9><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-9> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> C. G. Jung ed., <i> Man and his Symbols </i> (London 1978) p. 196 </span><li id=cite_note-10><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-10> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> <style data-mw-deduplicate=TemplateStyles:r999302996>.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}</style> <cite class="citation book cs1"id=CITEREFSandra_K._Dolby2005> Sandra K. Dolby (2005). <i> Self-help books: why Americans keep reading them </i> . Illinois. p. 8. <a title="ISBN (identifier)"class=mw-redirect href=/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)> ISBN </a>   <a href=/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0252075186 title=Special:BookSources/978-0252075186> <bdi> 978-0252075186 </bdi> </a> . </cite> <span class=Z3988 title=ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Self-help+books%3A+why+Americans+keep+reading+them&rft.place=Illinois&rft.pages=8&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=978-0252075186&rft.au=Sandra+K.+Dolby&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASelf-help+book> </span> </span><li id=cite_note-11><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-11> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Steven Starker, in Dolby, p. 57 </span><li id=cite_note-12><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-12> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Lennard J. Davis, <i> Obsession: A History </i> (London 2008) p. 172-3 </span><li id=cite_note-13><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-13> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Davis, p. 173 </span><li id=cite_note-14><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-14> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 18 </span><li id=cite_note-15><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-15> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 19 </span><li id=cite_note-16><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-16> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 76 </span><li id=cite_note-17><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-17> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Dolby, p. 63-4 </span><li id=cite_note-18><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-18> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Alfred Schutz, <i> The Phenomenology of the Social World </i> (Illinois 1997) p. 197 </span><li id=cite_note-19><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-19> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 157 </span><li id=cite_note-20><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-20> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Dolby, p. 79 </span><li id=cite_note-21><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-21> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Adam Phillips, <i> On Flirtation </i> (London 1994) p. 9 </span><li id=cite_note-22><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-22> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Jeremy Dean, <a class="external text"href=http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/01/is-modern-self-help-just-massive-money.php rel=nofollow> "Is Modern Self-Help Just a Massive Money-Making Scam?" </a> , <i> PsyBlog-Understand Your Mind </i> , 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2015. </span><li id=cite_note-23><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-23> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 186 and p. 240 </span><li id=cite_note-24><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-24> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> John Gray, <i> Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus </i> (London 1993) p. 7 </span><li id=cite_note-25><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-25> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Mel D.Faber, <i> New Age Thinking </i> (Ottawa 1996) p. 350 </span><li id=cite_note-26><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-26> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Davis, p. 231-2 </span><li id=cite_note-27><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-27> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> J. and L. Fried, <i> Adult Children </i> (1988) p. vii </span><li id=cite_note-28><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-28> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 176 </span><li id=cite_note-29><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-29> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> P. R. McGraw, <i> It's Not Your Fault </i> (2004) p. 5 </span><li id=cite_note-30><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-30> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 200 </span><li id=cite_note-31><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-31> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Stephen Potter, <i> Some Notes on Lifemanship </i> (London 1950) p. 32 </span><li id=cite_note-32><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-32> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Robert J. Ringer, in McGee, p. 55 </span><li id=cite_note-33><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-33> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 74 </span><li id=cite_note-34><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-34> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Helen Fielding <i> Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason </i> (Picador 2000) p. 75 </span><li id=cite_note-35><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-35> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> McGee, p. 20 </span><li id=cite_note-36><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-36> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Helen Fielding, <i> Bridget Jones's Diary </i> (London 1997) p. 21 </span><li id=cite_note-37><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-37> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Fielding, <i> Diary </i> p. 60 </span><li id=cite_note-38><span class=mw-cite-backlink> <b> <a href=#cite_ref-38> ^ </a> </b> </span> <span class=reference-text> Jasper Fforde, <i> One of Our Thursdays is Missing </i> (London 2011) p. 339 </span></ol></div></div><noscript><img style="border: none; position: absolute;"alt height=1 src=//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1 width=1></noscript><div class=printfooter>Retrieved from " <a dir=ltr href=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&oldid=1047395207> https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Self-help_book&oldid=1047395207 </a> "</div></div><div class=catlinks data-mw=interface id=catlinks><div class=mw-normal-catlinks id=mw-normal-catlinks><a href=/wiki/Help:Category title=Help:Category> Categories </a> : <ul><li><a title="Category:Non-fiction genres"href=/wiki/Category:Non-fiction_genres> Non-fiction genres </a><li><a title="Category:Self-help books"href=/wiki/Category:Self-help_books> Self-help books </a></ul></div><div class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden"id=mw-hidden-catlinks>Hidden categories: <ul><li><a title="Category:Articles with short description"href=/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description> Articles with short description </a><li><a title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata"href=/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata> Short description matches Wikidata </a><li><a title="Category:Wikipedia articles with style issues from October 2020"href=/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_articles_with_style_issues_from_October_2020> Wikipedia articles with style issues from October 2020 </a><li><a title="Category:All articles with style issues"href=/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_style_issues> All articles with style issues </a></ul></div></div></div></div><div id=mw-data-after-content><div class=read-more-container></div></div><div id=mw-navigation><h2>Navigation menu</h2><div id=mw-head><nav class="mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal vector-user-menu-legacy vector-menu"aria-labelledby=p-personal-label id=p-personal role=navigation><h3 aria-label class=vector-menu-heading id=p-personal-label><span> Personal tools </span></h3><div class=vector-menu-content><ul class=vector-menu-content-list><li class=mw-list-item id=pt-anonuserpage><span> Not logged in </span><li class=mw-list-item id=pt-anontalk><a title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]"accesskey=n href=/wiki/Special:MyTalk> <span> Talk </span> </a><li class=mw-list-item id=pt-anoncontribs><a title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]"accesskey=y href=/wiki/Special:MyContributions> <span> Contributions </span> </a><li class=mw-list-item id=pt-createaccount><a title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"href=/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Self-help+book> <span> Create account </span> </a><li class=mw-list-item id=pt-login><a title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. 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