Bright-Sided
How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America
Ranked #58 in Self-Confidence, Ranked #80 in Sociology — see more rankings.
In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God... more
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Bright-Sided from the world's leading experts.
Oliver Burkeman This is a brilliant political polemic and a critique of the problematic effects of positive thinking. Ehrenreich argues, among other things, that the idea that nothing can go wrong is a terrible philosophy to adopt in the world of business. (Source)
Elaine Fox This, again, is quite a personal book. She talks about her own experiences of when she developed breast cancer. When she discovered she had breast cancer she was extremely concerned and worried about it. Then she was completely horrified by the deluge of messages and emails she got from people telling her that it was a good thing it had happened to her, and that it was really going to help her find meaning in life. So she is writing a very critical overview of the positive thinking movement. (Source)
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